Opinion

Big Gulps

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Summer is at its end and, hopefully, sales of jumbo sodas will slow down, but I wonder. Is there a trend here? Has the size of our waist line increased proportionately to the growing size of jumbo drinks?

I remember in 1980 when 7/11 stores first introduced the 32 ounce Big Gulp. My waist size was 32; now it's about four gulps bigger. I recall looking at that gigantic cup when it first came out. I thought, "How can anyone drink that much soda?" I wasn't sure I could even hold it with one hand. Of course, things change and in a couple of years on a hot August day, the Big Gulp didn't seem so big.

It wasn't long before it gave way to the 44 ounce Super Gulp, which was later followed with the whopping 68 ounce Double Gulp; two hands required for that one. But 7/11 didn't stop there; today there is a Team Gulp that is 128 ounces. I guess four hands are required to handle that monster.

Last week, as my daughter and I prepared for a road trip, we pulled into a gas station to fill-up and get an ice cold beverage. As I stood there looking at the 32 ounce cup, I wondered if it was big enough. Of course this wasn't a 7/11, and perhaps the shape of the cup was misleading. It wasn't wide like the old Big Gulp; it was taller and thinner at the base.

I was tempted to go a size larger, but in the end chose to stick with the 32 ounce. I filled it up to the brim and realized that it was too full. If I attempted to put on the lid, it would make a mess. So I took a few sips.

Then as I looked at it, I realized I had drunk too much. It was now not close to being full, so I added some more, again filling it to the top; then took another sip just to be on the safe side.

As I put on the lid, I asked my daughter if she thought I should pay more because I drank an extra ounce. She gave me that look that says, "Come on dad; be serious."

When we walked up to the register, I mentioned to the clerk that he might want to charge me for 33 ounces instead of 32 because I took a drink and re-topped the soda at the fountain.

He looked at me with a puzzled smile and then glanced at my daughter who was doing her best to act like she didn't know me.

"No, its okay," he said.

"Yes, but I really am getting 33 ounces," I replied.

"That's alright," he said.

"But what if I stood back there and kept filling and drinking and filling and drinking?" I asked.

"Well, if you camped out back there, we might say something," he replied.

It amazes me how generous people can be. I don't know if the boys at corporate are so kind. I'm sure there have been a few memos passed around upstairs on how to cut down on soda loss; perhaps a few well placed signs like, "Please do not over fill," or "Sipping is discouraged in the fountain area." But then they aren't standing behind the cash register, are they?

Working folks seem to realize, if you are going to let people self serve, some leeway is acceptable. It's kind of like the ox in the Old Testament. God understands our plight. Of course, we probably don't need more soda, do we?

Deuteronomy 25:4 says, "Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn."