My family and Soda Pop

I'm a soda connoisseur. 

Trained.  Seriously. 

My favorite soda, hands down, is Mello Yello.  Now, Mountain Dew is a fine beverage, but Coca-Cola's answer to it? 

Far Superior, friends & family. 

I take a lot of grief from my editor and wife for being addicted to soda.  Addicted?  I'd say enthralled and educated.  However, as a kid, My Dad had established a two cans a day rule for me when I hit the age of 12.  Like that was the alcohol age for soda or something.   I held to that, as it wasn't hard.  This was the early 80's where you could turn in your empty glass bottle for a deposit.

Why does it feel like a million years ago?

Also, what happened to the language issue:  It was once called "Pop".  In the mid 80's, in Texas, they called it "Soda Water".  

Now everywhere it's soda.  I have no idea what happened there with the verbage.

Digressing.  Soda is a preference thing.  As evidenced above, citrus soda is my favorite, with Mello Yello getting harder and harder to find.  Not available in Texas anymore, I have to get it from a Wendy's or Arby's fountain, or those finer restaurants (because Firehouse and Pei Wei is CLASS) that have Coca- Cola Freestyle machines.  Otherwise,  I'm shit out of luck.  My siblings?  My family tends to lean toward Pepsi.  

I remember during the Cola Wars, my mentor and brother-in-law Don had to demonstrate his skills in knowing the difference.  At a minor league baseball game in Wausau, Wisconsin circa 1987, Coke had a taste testing table in the dirt path to the restroom.  He took a sip of each and blew the Coke in a spray of defiance across the walkway.  Overdramatic?  Sure, maybe.  

I call it loyalty, as he WAS a soldier in the Cola war.

My sister Linda prefers Pepsi, or as she calls it, ZI.  Like a fine wine student, she pairs it with her favorite food.  Pizza, or ZA. 

That's right.  Zi and Za on a Friday Night.

However, Ma is a Coke drinker from way back.  She still is.  On visits, there's always a cold 12 in the fridge.

Speaking of cola, one afternoon in 1989, I drank two Jolts and cleaned my brother-in-law's basement.  

Anyway.

Laurie isn't much of a soda drinker as I can remember, neither is my brother Dan.  Although everybody took part in imbibing Wisconsin's multi-flavor mix and match, Jolly Good at one time.  The taste was indeed cost effective on most of their flavors.

My connoseiurship probably began in early childhood with a company in Kenosha, Wisconsin called Sparco.  Also a mix and match outfit, they made their own, it wasn't carried in grocery stores.  This is probably where Laurie's love of Black Cherry Cola came from.  You walked in and filled a case of 24 glass bottles.   Dad brought this out with the popcorn on movie nights.

However, I've experimented a lot, despite my pickiness.  Next door to my sister Pam's Taco Bell that I worked at was Carl's Hardware.  Standing stoically out front was a really old Double Cola machine.  I often hit that on my way home from work.  It must be some astronomical anomaly as this has been the only time in my life I've encountered that machine.   The soda is regional to the northeast, (New Jersey, New York, and Philadelphia), but it's headquartered in Tennessee apparently.  

So, what that machine was doing in Schofield, WI is still a mystery to me.  

I mean, I've even done some research.  Like a carbonated beverage Fox Mulder.  Can you hear the theme from the X-Files?

I think Double Cola was briefly held at a warehouse in Schofield or Weston WI.  I remember picking up a 12 pack from there wholesale.  Somehow, my Dad found they were stocking it there, and that may be the link to Carl's vending machine. 

My Dad was always finding shit like that out?  How did he do that?

But stocking that machine seemed a lot of effort for a small return if upping sales was their goal.

Now here In Texas, everybody loves this funky Big Red stuff. I've tried it, and  I don't get it.  It's red cream soda.  Kinda tastes like bubble gum. 

But it's BIG apparently.  Like everything else in Texas.  (eye rolls here)  

My kid, Aidan using a shocking video brought me to the attention of Mountain Dew Voo-Dew.

For a breakdown of my flavor variant experimentation, especially seasonally, click here.

In the culture, I'm sure it raises questions, like what the hell is McFly asking for here:

 

 It's all about this:

And maybe this:   Voo-Dew

And if you need more reminding of the truth, turn to no other than the late, great Jim Varney, or Ernest P. Worrell: