Soda Fountain of Youth

I’m 35. I live in White Bear and work in downtown Minneapolis. One of the highlights of my day is going out of the office to grab some lunch. My wife has had trouble grasping the importance of “eating out” for lunch. And I’ll confess that a few of the brown bags she’s packed me may still be sitting in our office refrigerator waiting for the quarterly purge from the cleaning crew. Eating lunch out of the office is almost like “recess” for grown ups. It’s amazing how a brisk walk around the skyways or sidewalks (especially when the Thursday Farmers’ Market is in season) can reset your day out of the doldrums.
When I do treat myself to grown up recess, one Minneapolis lunch place I love is Ginelli’s for some good old fashioned styrofoam plate and plastic utensils pizza. On a recent trip to Ginelli’s I was surprised to find a little wisdom at of all places, the soda fountain. Before you suggest the aspartame has gone to my head, consider that it’s possible to accurately describe the stage of life you’re in based on your approach at the soda fountain.
Take me for example. That’s right the same 35 year old who has to rationalize eating lunch out or risk the risk the adult detention consequence of the brown bag. What phase of life am I in? That’s easy. I’m in the fill the cup mostly full with Diet Coke before splashing a little regular Coke or Cherry Coke on top years. This mix allows me to feel like I’m drinking pop without actually drinking pop. What does that say about me? Well clearly I’m in the “it’s not about me” phase of life. OK sure, I’ll allow myself a little splash of the real thing on top, but mostly I’m focused on holding it all together. That’s what happens when you have an eight year old and a twelve year old both in sports. We’re the parents who actually buy those oversized calendars where each day has its own square big enough to fit a regular sized calendar in it. And once we fill in all of the kids activities the only blank squares left each year are December 24 and 25 – unless God forbid someone at the new rink in Vadnais comes up with a Santa’s Slapshot Tournament. And we are not alone. In general it’s safe to call age 30 to about age 50 the 7/8ths Diet cola with 1/8th splash of the real thing so you feel like you’re living years. The 1/8th splash might come in the form on an annual guys trip, date night, or letting loose at your summer party. Any way it comes enjoy it, it’s all you’re getting.
Compare that to ages 0 to 29 when the approach at the soda fountain is to take a cup and fill it with a little bit of everything. The kids call this drink a “suicide,” but I think it’s far more optimistic time of your life. There was a great headline in a recent airline advertisement which asked a simple but haunting question, “When was the last time you did something for the first time?” That question is a beautiful reminder of our formative years growing up when the oversized calendar squares are all about you, and every experience is a new experience. Your job is to drink up life and keep pressing levers. Sample, mix, burp and repeat. If adults are set in their ways and see the world in black and white – anyone under 30 is growing up way to fast if they don’t see the world through Technicolor glasses.
While the suicide days of my youth have passed, don’t feel sorry for me. I still have one soda fountain stage to look forward to. Look in anyone’s refridgerator over the age of 50 (or certainly 60) and you’ll likely find whole milk and not a drop of diet soda. That’s because when we become empty nesters and our kids go to college it’s time to get a bit selfish again and rediscover ourselves at the soda fountain. Our later years are about replacing experimentation with experience. After 50 years you should have been paying enough attention to know what you like. And you reach a point in your life where it makes more sense to count blessings than calories. It’s time to once again fill the glass with Coke Classic and crushed ice, not compromise.
I read a great quote from Jack Nicholson that captured the honesty of the golden years, “With my sunglasses on I'm Jack Nicholson. Without them, I'm fat and 60.” I love that. From age 50 on it’s no longer about cutting corners or holding your breath. You know what you like, you know the trade offs and you make decisions accordingly. And there’s something cool in the confidence that can only come from age and experience. I remember asking my grandmother once why she drank whole milk when the whole world was switching to 2% or skim. She didn’t stutter, “Whole milk is better, and it’s what I like” she said.
So the next time you find yourself searching in vein for the fountain of youth, remember you can learn more from the soda fountain. Namely sometimes it’s about you, and sometimes it’s not. But either way life is all about pushing new levers and filling your cup. And if we’re lucky, free refills.