The city bus was waiting outside a major fast food chain. While the driver was inside, a gentleman who had exited the bus came out with a large soft drink. He was very happy to realize that this large soft drink was only $1.
I asked him what he was drinking. He said, "a Coke." I pointed out to him that the drink only costs pennies for the restaurant, but also noted that the value of the drink was on him, not the restaurant. To him, $1 was a good value.
We kept talking soft drinks. He said that he had quit soft drinks 3 years ago. He never said why he went back, and I didn't pry. He was worried about the impact of soft drinks on his teeth, and was concerned for his 6-year-old daughter.
I made it clear to him that I could sympathize, I had been there, and wasn't judgmental. Soon after, it was my stop and we waved goodbye.
The ritual was simple and familiar. A warm summer evening and you are outside enjoying a nice cold drink. He could have gone to the grocery store less than a block away and bought a sports drink or orange juice or even a glass bottle of Mexican Coca-Cola (sugar, not high-fructose corn syrup). He could have used water to quench his thirst, either his own water bottle (free) or bought water in the store.
He could rationalize in his head that his choice wasn't the best one. Sometimes we make that choice anyway. The warm air, memories of soft drinks on a warm evening, being tired, being lazy, cost (perceived or otherwise), convenience (bus stopped there, needed to get home): all reasons why this choice went the way it did.
This guy had hair and was younger, but otherwise, I had been in his shoes. Even before I gave up high-fructose corn syrup soft drinks, I knew they weren't good choices, but I still made them anyway. And if someone had been preaching the evils of high-fructose corn syrup soft drinks, I would have nodded in agreement, but certainly didn't want to hear it from a stranger, especially on a bus.
I offered sympathy to the guy because that was easy for me. It has been over 7 years, and that drink looked tempting to me. The night was warm and I could have used a drink. I chose to keep my money in my pocket and wait to quench my thirst at home.
This story wouldn't have happened in winter or even mid-fall. This is a summertime exclusive. Bad choices are magnified in summer because we're hot, tired, and thirsty. Summer is also the time we want to lose those pounds we didn't lose in spring.
Being thirsty in summertime isn't a choice; this will happen. What we do with that thirst is our choice.
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