by Nick Somoski

Created on: May 02, 2009

Who doesn't love drinking a can of Coke? One of my favorite things to do is plop myself down in front of the television, with a nice, cold, refreshing can of Coca-Cola by my side.

My wife says I drink too much pop. And in all honesty, she's completely right. I am constantly found with a can of pop in my hand. All I can say to that is that at least I don't come home drunk, to which my wife rolls her eyes. I just love drinking pop. The empty cans will stack up in front of me and I just watch them grow. Whether its healthy or not is arguable. While I love pop, I'm as healthy as a racehorse. I've never had a cavity in my life.

So yes, you can say I know a little about pop.

I didn't even know Cherry Coke existed until I was about 10 years old. When I was young, I do remember drinking Coca-Cola. My mom would let us have 1 can of pop a week, which we drank every Sunday evening with dinner. You see, we barbecued in my family every single Sunday night. So, drinking Coke just made the meal that much better. I thought Coke was the only pop that existed, actually, probably because it's the only pop my mom ever bought us.

That is until one Sunday evening. My mom went downstairs to the refrigerator to get our pop for the week. When she came back up, I noticed a different looking can in her hand. Since I was 10, I didn't think much of it. Maybe they just changed the can, maybe I was just imagining it - I really didn't know. But, my mom poured the pop in a glass, and as she was pouring, I heard her telling my dad that she bought "Cherry Coke" this week.

I was 10 - I hated cherries. Well, I didn't HATE them, I just never had one before. I thought Cherry Coke meant there were cherries or something actually in the pop. When she put the glass down in front of me, I wouldn't take a sip. And then it got bad - I actually remember my mom forcing me to drink the pop. You don't normally see a mom doing that, do you? I cried, and I cried, because I didn't want to drink Cherry Coke. I wanted Coke, and that's all I'd accept with my meal. I ate nothing, I drank nothing . . . I just cried.

But nowadays, I'll happily be satisfied with a can of Cherry Coke. I love Cherry Coke - it just has that extra kick, that extra flavor that regular Coke doesn't have. And while there are all those other kinds of Coke out there, like Vanilla Coke, Coke with Lime, Coke Zero, and more, Cherry Coke remains my favorite. It's authentic. It's different. It's flavorful.

So yes, I like Cherry Coke.

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