Have a Coke and a Smile

Four friends gather together for a group project. Seniors and Freshmen working together on a presentation. Who would have ever imagined that 13 years later it would still be a memorable event? We may not see each other regularly, or at all, we may not communicate, keep in touch, or anything of the sort, but when it comes to the date February 23, 2002, we will never be out of touch.

We get together in the basement, play some pool, watch some veggie tales, and talk a little bit about our project. We jump in the Fangmobile and take a drive to Taco Bell, but we end up getting Little Caesar's Pizza. We trade drivers for the drive back, but that doesn't exactly work out in anybody's favor and it goes into the "we don't talk about that" folder. We have coke with our pizza and discuss the advertisements for coca cola and it appears as though we have been "drugged" by the caffeine.

There were bonds formed that day that I will never forget. And I can't go a February 23rd without drinking at least one coke. I haven't got a Little Caesar's around that I can find, but I generally try to find a Taco Bell. It didn't happen this year, but I did think about it.

I think about this day more than annually, and it's definitely an abridged version of a day that was DEFINITELY one of the highlights of my senior year in high school. I know that I made at least one strong friendship, and the two of us had a pretty interesting week to follow the 23rd. Our group celebrated March 23 at Big Boy with a band trip and created a tradition where we gifted somebody with the taco salad box and mementos relating to our time together. Funny story about that...it involves a tapioca pudding filled water balloon, a car, and some really mad zoo animals. I'll have to save that one for another time.

I really expected this to be a little longer, but the fact is that I did more reminiscing than writing. More thinking about things I don't regret regardless of how life happened. We're all stronger, smarter, and happier.

But all in all, even though the 23rd has technically passed, it's still the 23rd cause I haven't gone to bed yet. There's no pumpkins on this ride. And no fairy godmother. Just one memory of four friends who had no idea what was going to happen on that snowy Saturday. But with every great day, we always have to be prepared for the horse fallin' in the trailer at McDonald's...cause that always seems to sneak up on ya.

But you still get a happy meal, a coke, and a smile.