The parched throat of an elementary school kid is no minor crisis. It feels like death. A painful, lingering kind that the adults just don’t understand. I can testify to the severity of the situation. The glory of a summer day can be destroyed when a little girl is dying of thirst. Her parents will definitely hear about it. I know mine did.
“I’m dying,” I remember declaring during a short hike in the Mt. St. Helens area. The sunbaked terrain felt like I was climbing a massive volcano. Too hot. Thirsty. Need a drink now. More specifically, a cold soda. I really was dying! Can’t anyone see my suffering?
Okay, I admit to being a dramatic child, and not much has changed. I am a dramatic adult, and I continue my passionate love of beverages, whether they are hot or cold, summer or winter. Give me the drinks!
My beverage obsession, especially a nice cold soda, started in the late eighties. I was an elementary school kid, loving neon colors and Bubble Tape commercials. I especially loved that Michael J. Fox commercial where his rolled-up photo of a Pepsi® turns into a fizzy drink. Amazing! Whether it was the sticky, freezer-infused taste of a cheap popsicle in its plastic sheath, or the over-sweetened tang of a homemade lemonade stand, I was a child on the hunt for refreshment.
Well, what do you know? One magical day, I became aware of a place that shared my affinity for iced beverages, specifically diet pop. A store where you will never find yourself thirsty again. A true oasis. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the AmPm® mini mart located inside the Arco gas station. Here, you could purchase a 32-ounce, refillable cup. An entire pound of soda for minimal expense. And not only could the cup hold a solid thirty-two ounces, but it brandished the nickname “Thirsty-Two.” Clever, clever, indeed. Plus, the cups came in gorgeous shades of neon (affinity previously noted). Does it get any better than this?
When I finally had my opportunity to purchase my Thirsty-Two ouncer, I chose a cup in brilliant yellow hue, and I cherished it. Granted, like most childhood treasures, I couldn’t tell you where it ended up, but for that one summer, that neon yellow vessel was one of my most beloved items. That summer, the squirt bottle and I journeyed to Yakima where our family floated down the river inner tubes with childhood friends. So many good memories, in part, due to AmPm® and their beautiful soda campaign.
In case you can’t tell, I must confess a life-long addiction to diet soda. I often kept a 2-liter by my bed in college. I can consume a 12-pack in two days. My summers working at Denny’s and Applebee’s® were fueled by their soda machines. Yes, friends, I have serious aspartame/saccharin issues. And thanks to places like McDonald’s and their $1 for any size fountain drink, what was once a summer fascination can be enjoyed all year long by adults who don’t know how to drink plain water.
Am I proud of my soda addiction? No. Will I try to drink more water? Yes. Do I know that diet soda is supposedly worse than regular soda? I’ve heard it all, friends. But there is something about a sweltering day and the harmonious fizz of carbonation meeting ice. Add a generous straw to go along with it, and you have a wonderful product. When I think of summer, there’s a cold soda pop to go along with it. And so, it is with great fondness for that Thirsty-Two campaign that I offer my heartfelt salute. My hats off to dopamine mules like AmPm® for instilling a deep love of fountain drinks in the heart of a dramatic kid like me.
About the Creator
Heidi Beth Sadler
I am a wild violinist & visual artist in Portland, OR. I co-front world-folk rock band Chasing Ebenezer with my husband Benjamin. I paint in the spirit of pointillism and textured art. I love writing and am so grateful you visited my page.
Comments (1)
I love your memories and your soda pop too! Multumesc Fanta!!!