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.