Eight years ago, I waited ... and waited ... patiently in the lobby of an N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles office to renew my driver's license.
I was several months pregnant at the time - tired and more than a little nauseous. The only thing keeping me in that lobby and out of the bathroom was a steady drip of McDonald's orange drink.
It was the drink of my childhood. The beverage after every bike-a-thon I rode in my grade school years. The only thing that went perfectly with my cheeseburger Happy Meal. And, decades later, the only thing that got me through not one - but two - bouts of morning sickness during both of my pregnancies.
So, when the woman behind the desk at the DMV office ordered me to hand over that drink to my mom, who waited with me - or she wouldn't process my paperwork - it took every ounce of my will to not crawl over the desk and let her see what would happen when I didn't have my orange drink with me.
My mom still remembers my hormone-laden fury. (I'm happy to report that I was able to contain myself, renewed my license without incident and quickly grabbed that orange drink from my mom).
And now ... I can't even with this one ...
Now it's all over.
McDonald's, according to the memo, will replace the beverage with something called Sprite TropicBerry. No, thanks. I don't care how delicious it might be. Nothing can "replace" the orange drink.
To be honest, frankly, I can't remember the last time I had an orange drink. It is, after all, like any sweet beverage, a sugar bomb. A medium-size drink comes with 230 calories and a whopping 61 grams of sugar. I typically stick to water and black coffee. (And maybe that's one of the reasons behind the orange drink's demise).
But, this weekend, you better believe I'll be raising a cup or two. It's been real, McDonald's orange drink.
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