Drink Up!

Have you noticed that very subtly we have become a beverage-driven nation? Oh sure, Americans, at least most, have been drinking water since time immemorial. But just look how drinking has become the national pastime, almost. I like to cover myself with words like almost and virtually.
Who would have thought that thirty years ago, that so many manufacturers could make so much money selling bottled water. Rather than taking time to investigate the facts, I'll just say that the sale of bottled water rakes in at least a thousand dollars a year. And, when you start talking four figures, you have my attention.
But, it's not just water. Look at coffee. I'm sure the boomer generation has a lot to do with coffee consumption. When I was in kindergarten, my mother limited me to two cups a day. But now, I could drink the brew all day long. Not because i like the taste. In fact, look how Seven-Eleven has made a fortune (yes, at least a thousand dollars), providing all the stuff that will help their coffee not taste like coffee. I think the real success of coffee is its ability to produce a euphoria that most of us boomers haven't felt naturally since we graduated from high school with the foolish notion that we were going to make a success of life. Give me enough coffee, and I even begin to think I can write.
Speaking of Seven-Eleven, I do love their multi-flavor coffee bar. I'm partial to that sugar-free raspberry syrup. Sometimes, I just drink it straight (the syrup, not the coffee). The other day I noticed a mocha syrup, and my first thought was, hey, that's cool. Then it dawned on me. Isn't mocha coffee flavored? So what they're really offering is coffee-flavored coffee. I figured I didn't need that syrup.
Back to this beverage thing though. What's with this new obsession with high-energy drinks? They have to have the dumbest names. Red Bull. If it's red and came from a bull, I don't want to drink it. There are others too, such as Kronik and Rock Star, and one called I Can't Believe This Is Legal. Experts say these drinks are dangerous. But hey, they've been saying the same thing about red meat for years, and I'm still alive...thanks, of course to angioplasty and stents.
I'll tell you the main thing, though, that has me convinced that we are now such a beverage-oriented society. I heard a radio commercial for a new car, and the primary selling feature was not the air-conditioning, the CD player, or the twin-turbo, multi-rimmed wheels (I just made that up). It was the fact that the vehicle came with eight cupholders. I knew beverage holders were the thing that turned my wife on about cars, but I thought that was just her. I envision a day when, along with the gas tank, cars will come equipped with the beverage tank. It will hold about 15 gallons of your favorite beverage, and in the luxury models will be able to both heat and cool that beverage of choice. Then, instead of cupholders, there'd be a straw for the driver and passengers. You could just drive and suck at the same time. Which, come to think of it, well never mind.
I could go on, but there's another pot of the java waiting in the kitchen. I'll talk to you tomorrow.