The Best Pepsi I Ever Had

My son and I recently went on a mission trip to Guatemala. Among other things we shared were some stories of when I was growing up. He said I should I should blog the one I call "The best Pepsi I ever had." It was the summer of 1972, and I was working for my Dad at the Bamberg Public Works Dept. in rural South Carolina. He hired me as a laborer, at the lowest salary allowed (I think $2.35/hr), so no one could accuse him of favoritism. Most of the time we were digging ditches, and laying sewer lines or water pipes. But the toughest two days were when the railroad car full of rock salt arrived. It came in twice a year and was filled with millions of dusty crystals of salt. Our job was to move it from the railroad car to the water softening room (about 150 foot distance) by wheelbarrow. First, we loaded the barrows using snow shovels; then we rolled them out of the car on 2"x12" boards to the loading dock about 10 feet away. (We only lost a few over the edge) We actually considered this the time to rest because we could get out of the dusty car. Well, I was trying to get in shape for The Citadel football season, so I thought this was a great job; plus my normal OC approach to any job like this caused me to want to get in as many loads as possible in an hour, and then try to beat that record the next hour. I have to say the old hand workers were not impressed with my enthusiasm. They usually took four days to unload the salt. I was thinking we could do it in two. I believe it was a Wednesday morning in late July or August when we started. It was probably 88 degrees and the humidity matched, when we started at 8:00. I am sure it was near 100 before the day was through. The railroad car had no ventilation and it was at least 15-20 degrees hotter inside. The shoveling would stir up the dust and the deeper into the car we got, the hotter it was. You felt like you were a slab of ribs with a dry rub that was stuffed into the oven for a final braising. Oh, it was good to wheel that load outside the car and feel the slight breeze that would sometimes blow between the car and the building. Then it was back inside the building, around a few corners, through a door to where we would dump the barrow, and then return for more. Well, about that Pepsi. We worked about four hours; my shirt was drenched, my pants were soaked as well, and I am not sure I could have handled another load, as every muscle in my arms was beginning to cramp. (These were the days when we really did not understand how important hydrating was; it was some sort of manhood test to make it through practice or work without drinking, resting, or eating until the last whistle blew) Thankfully, Bamberg was one of those small towns with a noon whistle, which signalled our much needed one hour lunch break. I wandered over to the small 10x10 office where my dad worked. In the garage they had one of those old fashioned drink machines that lined all the bottles up behind a thin vertical glass door. You couldn't get the bottle out until you put your money in, but you could touch it. I would normally have chugged two or three grape or orange sodas, but that day I just felt I needed that extra carbonation of a Pepsi. I put my quarter in, (which I borrowed from my Dad's desk drawer) and pulled one of the bottles out. I think I ran it across my forehead and it felt soooo good. When I peeled the cap off using the machine's opener, I could almost hear the bubbles popping out of the top of the bottle. I took a good long swig, and held the bottle up to look at it, as if it might say something to me like "Tastes Good All the Time." As I looked at the carbonation foam that had been stirred up at the top of the bottle, it released just enough heat to freeze the top 1/2" of the soda. It turned into a slushy, icy, incredibly delicious concoction that made me forget about the railroad car full of salt, the 98 degree sun, my aching back. All I wanted was another swig of that Pepsi. It was the best I ever tasted, and I am sure, the best I ever will.
PS: We emptied the car in a PW Dept record of 2 days.