Monday, February 18, 2013

Fun in the mid 90's

I have no idea where last week went! I checked under the couch, my bed, and even in some cute animal videos on youtube, but all I found were a few stale popcorn  bits, some lone socks, and the utter bliss a cat loaded up on catnip and then taunted by a laser pointer can bring. If any of you happen to find last week, please let me know as I'd like to know what I did last Tuesday...if I can't remember then it must have been good!

After last week's reminiscing about reading with my mom (or as I call her "Ma" in a grating New York accent for reasons I have no idea why) my dad reminded me about one of our special memories. My dad was a Pepsi nut. He used to keep a can next to his bed so he could crack one open when he woke up in the morning. So when Pepsi came out with Pepsi Points back in the mid 90's, dad was excited. We collected Pepsi points like a single woman in her 70s collected cats and those creepy snow baby figurines. There were lots of different things you could buy with your points, and we got at least 2 of everything...including the Fila bike (which was 1700 points).

So how on earth did we manage to get so many points you ask? Dad's Pepsi 'addiction' helped a bit, but dad and I would also go 'hunting' for points. On the weekends we would drive around in his truck, scouring the ditches for Pepsi bottles. Since I was on the passenger side, the side of the ditch, I would usually spot them, yell, "Pepsi Point!", and then wait for dad to slow down enough for me not to break my legs when I jumped out. I'd throw the bottle in the bed of the pickup and we'd carry on down the road! Sometimes the bottles were filled with 'mysterious' yellow liquid so I had to grab carefully, but we had loads of fun driving all over, listening to Classic Rock on the radio, and searching for those coveted points.

Ok, so that may not have been the only way we collected points. I did grow up in a very small town after all, so road scouring couldn't have produced all the points we needed to get all the stuff we did. Dad made friends with the guys at the dump! With the dump's permission, they let us sift through the plastic bottle bin and cardboard bin. Dad put a long hook-like thing on the end of a long pole so we could fish out the Pepsi bottles and then we used a pocket knife to cut the label off and get the points. For the cardboard bin, Dad hoisted me inside and I sorted through the flattened boxes, cutting off any points I found. As a kid, it was a blast! Ok, I'd probably still have fun...but I'd just wear latex gloves.

Dad and I had a lot of fun. I was his hunting and fishing partner anyway, so this was just a way for us to go hunting on the off season! When I was back in the States and driving with my dad, whenever we'd see someone pulled onto the side of the road, we both say, "Pepsi Point!" and laugh.  Dad may not have a Pepsi 'addiction' anymore, but we have great memories from our Pepsi days.

Now for something completely different. A friend posted this video on his facebook page and it was too amazing not to share! These kids are incredible and beyond talented! I love this song anyway but this just made it even better. I hope you all enjoy it as much as Branden and I did.

19 comments:

  1. My husband has a Pepsi addiction, too bad they don't give out oins anymore...

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    1. It would be awesome if they did points again. I heard that they tried to bring it back in 2008 but I don't think it went well. :(

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  2. A great video and what a lovely memory of collecting with your dad.

    Love,
    Janie

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    1. Glad you liked the video Janie :) I've told lots of people in person about collecting with dad but for some reason I hadn't thought about blogging it until now!

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  3. My dad never had a thing about collecting. Sadly, I married someone who does. He collects anything and everything. I always love stories of dads and daughters.

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    1. I married a nomad so we can't collect anything! It will be interesting to see if Branden starts hoarding like mad once we are settled in our own house...hope not! ;)

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  4. You keep doing that to the cat and they will build a device to do the same to you. You just wait, I bet when that cat was coming down it was flicking out the claws one by one thinking about you.

    Lovely tale about your dad.

    I used to be a Pepsi drinker but they did something to the recipe and you couldn't tell anymore between it an coke.

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    1. Hahaha, I can't wait to have a cat again so when I finally do I will spoil that cute fluff ball!
      I hardly drink soda anymore but I find Pepsi too sweet now and yes, it's too similar to Coke.

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  5. Any time spent with Dad is gonna be a good time! Even if it involves dumpsters.

    And those kids. Seriously, WOW!

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    1. Dad and I did have a lot of fun together. I loved going fishing as we'd stock up on sunflower seeds, candy, and raspberry cream soda!

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  6. I totally remember collecting Pepsi Points! :) That brought back so many memories.

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    1. You did it too?? YAY! Finally someone else who understands! ;)

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  7. I used to send Coke codes to an internet friend, but they've stopped doing that now.

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    1. I hadn't heard of Coke codes, but then again Coke was a 4 letter word in our house (despite dad's best friend being a Coke truck driver!).

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  8. I keep forgetting I can play any video I like with the new computer.
    I thought at first it was a school choir but it seems to be semi professional. Thay are good though. And it's odd to see a girls choir over this side. We normally thing Vienna Boys or Kings College, even the Palestrina in Dublin

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  9. Very true. Thats a real good one. The kids have done a good job. I like the chorus and their sincerity.

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  10. Your dad's teeth must have rotted out of his head.

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  11. OK, holy crap, your dad was truly a Pepsi fanatic! When I was a kid my dad would load us up in the crummiest car we owned, along with our BB guns, and drive down a road that lead to a government military base. He'd go about 5 mph while my brother and I jumped in and out of the car throwing every bottle and can we could find into the car. When we got to the end of the road, where the gate with the armed guard was, we'd stop and get all the bottles and cans out. There was a bridge and a stream there and we'd throw the bottles and cans one at a time into the water and shoot the crap out of them. We didn't get any points for it, but it sure was fun.

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  12. I vaguely remember Pepsi points. I don't think I was drinking enough of it at the time for it to really sink in...

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Does this straitjacket make my butt look big?