Remember when kids drank soda?

I do.

In my home when I was growing up, soda was a treat.  My parents did not carry soda in the house as part of the regular store of beverages.  Orange juice, lemonade…but no soda.  Or pop.  Or whatever you call it where you are from.

Soda was something we drank at pizzerias and McDonald’s and Chuck E. Cheese’s.  And friends’ houses.  I had a friend who had bottles of Coke in his fridge.  He brought me a bottle of Coke while we were playing video games.  My parents did not let me have video games, either.  But that is another story for another time.  Drinking soda and playing video games at the same time—I thought I had died and gone to heaven.

When I got to college I could drink soda whenever I wanted.  I could drink soda with breakfast if I wanted.  And I did.

But now…now kids don’t drink soda.  Their parents don’t let them.  Parents who neglect or beat their children are ignored by the authorities.  But parents who give their kid a Coke or Pepsi on Monday will be arraigned on Tuesday.

As for me, soda is still a treat.  I drink in the dark and I don’t care how many calories it has.  And it still tastes awesome.