Every so often, we all need a little fruit punch soda

 

For the record, the official name is Tahitian Treat Fruit Punch Soda. And we have a bit of a history together.

First time I ever stumbled across it, I was playing youth basketball. League held games in a couple of locations, and one was something of a multi-purpose facility that was truly a few rooms built around a small gymnasium. Off to the side was a vending machine, and cans of this delicious beverage were inside.

There were two years that I played in that league, and a handful of games were held in that gym both seasons. Tahitian Treat was available for a quarter a can.

Had never seen it anyplace else. And once I stopped playing games there, I kind of gave up on ever seeing it again. The joyous memories of youth, captured in small moments.

A handful of years later I was attending college. Different state. Several hundred miles away from that small court. It was a weekend, and I happened to be in a convenience store near campus. A few of us were out grabbing food from one restaurant or another, and had stopped to pick up something to drink. I have no clue how right time right place right everything swirled around and connected, but there they were. Bottles of the believed lost to time fruit punch soda.

Over my time at that school, I would stop in once or twice a month to pick up a bottle or two. Sometimes it was to add to a meal of sandwiches or a pizza. Other times it was just to stock the fridge where I lived with a little indulgence. And then, graduation, once again leading to thoughts of delightful memories that were quite unlikely to continue.

Decades pass.

Literally.

Decades.

Like some of you, I find myself working on the computer. Internet browser running. If we want to set a true scene, then sure it was a rainy day, I was a bit down and looking for something to brighten my mood. (Honestly, no clue about the rain or the mood brightening. But, like I said, set a scene. Anyway…)

Visiting Amazon. The site has a search bar. For laughs, every so often I’ll type in something to see if it shows up. Sometimes it’s an old favorite. Sometimes it’s just a hunch that something exists. Wife has some chimpanzee novelty t-shirts as a result of this. On this one particular day, I practically fell out of my chair.

Tahitian Treat Fruit Punch Soda.

Now let’s temper the commotion a bit. I didn’t go crazy setting up deliveries of cases of the stuff. I didn’t set up a repeating shipment.

However, I definitely did place an order. It was wonderful. And I’ll almost certainly order it again.

On a ho hum afternoon, during a ho hum week, I found a little something that brought a smile to my face. And over the course of a week or two, I enjoyed everything about it, reaching into the fridge and pulling out a refreshing memory.

Nothing wrong about that. We could all use a bit of happiness on occasion created by a simple thing.

 

If you have any comments or questions, please e-mail me at Bob@inmybackpack.com