By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
April 30,2024 | It was a quest that turned unexpected.
Hearing that a new Spiced Coca-Cola was now available, curiosity got to me. But when shopping in the supermarket, Spiced was only available in 12-pack cartons. What if I didn’t like it? I didn’t want to have to “eat” the other 11.
That’s why I didn’t make a purchase. But heading home, there was a convenience store on Peachtree Industrial (er, that is, now “Peachtree Boulevard” to be proper), so maybe a smaller pack would be available there. But no six pack. How about a single, to at least get the taste?
Do you know how sometimes an item is in front of you but you can’t see it? Well, actually, several Coke varieties were on the upper shelves, but I could not see a “Spiced.”
I stood looking for less than a minute, when another customer, a lady, asked “Can’t find what you are looking for?”
“Yes, I was looking for a Coke Spicy.”
“There it is,” she said, pointing to one bottle on a lower shelf almost hiding where two doors came together.”
“Yeah, I see it now,” says I, now pleased to find a single Spicy.
Heading for the cash register, there were four others in line, with the lady who pointed out the Spicy for me was just ahead of me. Eventually, the line moved when another cashier went to her register. Soon the lady ahead of me went to the other register. The guy in front of me was taking his time, having bought several items, but soon I was at the register.
That’s when the other cashier reported: “The lady who was in front of you paid for your drink.”
What? “She paid for my drink!?”
“That’s right.” But by then, she was out the door. I never got to thank her! And, if today I bumped into her again, I probably would not even recognize her. Just some good soul performing a random act of kindness for a fellow creature.
What a wonderful, selfless act! In our modern society, random acts of kindness don’t happen every day to most of us. But they can occur at most unexpected times.
Now, it’s incumbent upon me to return the favor to another stranger. I’m anxious to try, and will soon. And I know it will give me a warm feeling. Makes me proud to continue to be positive about mankind!
So I finally opened the Spiced Coke. The commercials I had seen showed people’s eyes popping out over the new flavor.
Not me. The way it tasted was nothing but dull, with seemingly less fizzle (which I love in regular Coke). It wasn’t spicy to me at all, or something I would buy again, especially if I wanted a “pause that refreshes,” as Coke has promised over the years.
Others may sing the praises of Spiced Coke. I see nothing spectacular (or spicy) about it. Makes me wonder if it will eventually go the way of “New Coke,” introduced in 1985. New Coke was finally discontinued in 2002.
Yet Spiced Coke gave me the gift of a random act of kindness. For that, I am thankful.
- Have a comment? Click here to send an email.
Follow Us