This morning I received a fountain Diet in my mailbox.
The significance of this small act would be overlooked by most. Well, overlooked except for the curiosity of finding such a thing in such a place. But to me, it showed me that the Universe does, at times, smile on us all.
I have a peculiar addiction to fountain Diet Coke. Diet soda in general, but specifically the fountain variety. I like the extra boost of carbonation one finds in them. Some people have a favorite wine, I have my favorite fountain (the 7 Eleven on Chicago east of Ridgeland). The Golden Arches does a mean beverage as well, but they are more dear than Sleven, and I usually end up with a meal that has dubious nutritional value if I hit the drive thru.
So everyday, when I run errands, I stop and get a fountain Diet. It is my morning coffee. My daily fix.
This morning my friend called me quite early. She rarely does that, so I answered the phone with some anxiety. She wanted to inform me that the McD’s by my house was now using styrofoam cups. Now we could no longer get our Diets there. I was so pleased. Not that they had reverted to styrofoam, but that my friend who shares my addiction thought to share her discovery and disapproval. She wouldn’t want me to ruin my daily Diet by having it served to me in such a non environmentally friendly manner. She understands. She is a fellow believer.
When she learned that I would be staying home with my barfing child, she did something only a true friend would do. She went and got me a large Diet Coke. She called to inform me she had dropped one off for me. After thanking her profusely I went out on the porch and could not find it. Then I noticed it. She had put it in my mailbox. I suppose she felt that it was something too precious to be left out, unguarded, on the porch. And while I might agree with her, I’m sure it would have been quite safe.
My wonderful friend, without me asking, had lifted my whole day. She had made my day of sick bed drudgery a little less depressing. And sometimes that’s all it takes to get you through the day. The Universe had smiled on me. It had given me the kind of friend that would do something so concurrently thoughtful and trivial.
But the best part of this story is the mailbox. My friend placing the Diet in there constituted a federal crime. My sister was once chastised by her local mail carrier for placing some innocuous fliers in the actual box. When I found the Diet, illegally stashed in my box, my daily mail was wrapped carefully around it. It would appear that my mail carrier is a believer too.
The Blahg 