If you have any knowledge of me, and I do mean any,
You will know that I am a cheerwine fanatic.
I love that beverage, the wonderful token of the south. To be honest, I think it really is one of my favorite things.
This evening, as I was doing my homework, I decided that tonight was a goodnight to drink a cheerwine.
And that is a little bit of a big deal for me.
Because of my location in Utah, getting cheerwine is actually quite difficult. So drinking any of my supply, brings down my total a noticeable deal.
Whenever I drink soda at home, any soft drink really, I have this habit of putting it in a tall glass with ice. I'm not entirely sure why, but I think it just makes it feel like a special occasion. Tonight was no different, as I put several ice cubes in the glass, and filled it to the brim with dark red Cheerwine.
I then lifted the glass, and took a sip. A funny thing happened then.
You know when you smell a certain smell, or hear a sound and it reminds you of an exact place an time?
Up until now, I have loved cheerwine, but that sort of flash back moment hadn't really happened.
It did this time. And in a series of events.
First, I remembered my suprise goodbye party.
It was really a bittersweet farewell, but because I technically would see the same people just a few days later, it took of some of the pain. This party had a LOT of cheerwine, as my good friends realized I would be without it for a long time. And when I took that first sip of beverage, that was exactly what I remembered.
Then I remembered a time earlier that same week, when me and my mom were out driving.
By chance, we saw a cheerwine car, and when it stopped, we got photos of it, and free paraphernalia. Because I was leaving the Ol' North State that coming Saturday, It was a really special surprise.
Just after that, I remembered my second youth conference, with just the Winston-Salem stake youth up in the mountains.
Aside from getting no sleep that conference, the vending machines on the campus sold plenty of cheerwine. So I bought two, and filled my water bottle to the brim with the drink. As it turns out, my bottle was air tight, so when ever you bit on the cap to take a drink, cheerwine would spray out over 2 feet. It was so much fun, and a great memory.
Finally, it reminded me of a special someone, who introduced me to the drink in the first place.
One of the sweetest girls on earth, Miss Allison Asbury.
I can clearly recall the very first time I went over to her house, and she offered me a cheerwine, also remarking how it was pretty much the greatest thing ever. Being a sheepish little boy, not wanting to admit I hadn't had it before, gladly accepted and instantly became enchanted.
During our time as significant others, we had lots of adventures. And time after time, cheerwine was there. I remember when we traveled up to the town of Pilot Mountain, the very most classic Carolina town. As we were walking down the street one Saturday evening, we came to a small table, with people selling glass bottle sodas. There we bought two glass cheerwines, and enjoyed the taste of the south then.
I actually still have that bottle, and it is sitting on my desk right next to me.
I'm gonna say it right out I'm getting a bit teary as I'm writing this.
Cheerwine has been such a part of my life, and a great part at that.
And when I took a sip of it this evening, all these memories came flooding back.
But the memories are not ending. Another chapter in my life had opened, and after the page turning, even more is to be written.
Just one more memory.
Maybe you can imagine now why I was so happy when a certain Utah girl went through the trouble of asking me to the dance in such a sweet way.
Raise your glass to this legendary soft drink of the South.
To this tall, bubbly drink of good cheer.
To this flavor that always surprises.
Cheerwine.
My Opera
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