Archive for November 20th, 2008

Nearly every morning, I consume some form of caffeinated diet soda as my replacement for coffee, which, unfortunately, can cause some unpleasant reactions in my digestive system. Depending on the day, I’ll usually stop for this atypical AM fuel at one of two places. If it’s a fountain soda that I crave (and that’s the usual), I’ll stop at the Subway “restaurant” on 50th Street and Broadway. If I don’t mind forgoing my fountain soda addiction that day, I’ll just purchase a bottle at the convenience store in the bottom of our office building.

For some reason, these seemingly mundane pit stops so often lead to strange situations or interesting revelations, to the say the least. At Subway, the Indian woman who I think must be the franchise manager has some very quirky mannerisms – not at all what you’d expect smack in the middle of Manhattan. One morning, I was eating a Ziploc bag-full of my Kellogg’s Smart Start cereal as I entered her Subway. As I paid the steep price of $1.83 for the 32 oz. cup, she stared penetratingly at my bag of cereal. Apparently in awe of my half-empty bag of mangled oats and flakes, she asked if she could try some. A bit thrown off by this request, I confusedly handed over my plastic bag, and she munched on a few pieces of the cereal. “I’m going to buy this for my daughter,” she said. I took the bag and my empty cup, filled it with a the perfect Sharon blend of diet and regular cola…and walked out.

Rarely in my life has a complete stranger ever asked to try my food, certainly never when it looked like unappetizing mounds of birdfeed. Maybe it’s just an American problem, a difference in cultures – since we were children, we’ve always learned “don’t take candy from strangers,” and we grow up this way, minding our own germs and staying away from those of others. While odd, there was something endearing about this person’s innocent request, and I was happy to satisfy her curiosity about Kellogg’s Smart Start.

On the days I don’t stop at Subway, I purchase my diet soda (usually Diet Pepsi or Diet Mountain Dew) and the little convenience store in the office lobby, where a friendly salesman from somewhere in south Asia greets you warmly everyday. Throughout the day, people who work in the building trickle in and out of his store, making casual conversation and buying lottery tickets. Today something struck me in particular – a 60-some-odd blonde woman went up to the register and requested “the winning ticket” because she hasn’t “had any luck so far.” This comment, as nonchalant as it was, made me think of the current economic situation and how see the convenience stores and kiosks are filling up with more and more people who desperately are trying their luck with the lottery. And in the process, they’re losing a dollar or two every time they play. But still they return, and the shop manager in our office building wishes each customer a personal “good luck.”

My ongoing odyssey for all types of diet soda has definitely led me to new understandings and most certainly to interesting people. You know, come to think of it, because I see these people so often, I should probably know their names.