Sweet Gummi Mary! How much more can one woman take???
You may recall that I had acquired a taste for Shasta Diet Cola, in cans, purchased at the Hillmomba Save A Lot. There's something so delicious about it. A crispness with no aftertaste. Not sure what special ingredient they put in it. I'm thinking ginger, but it could be crack...
Anyhoo... for a couple months now, I've not been able to find it. No matter when I go to Save A Lot. So it's not just because of a holiday weekend, or going on the day before the supply truck comes in. The shelf is empty at the Shasta Diet Cola area. There is REGULAR Shasta Cola. And Diet Dr. Thunder, which is a store version of Dr. Pepper. But there is no Shasta Diet Cola.
I took my beverage business to Country Mart. They don't carry Shasta. But they have their own store brand, Best Choice. It's not a choice I would make for myself, except when my favorite can't be found. Anyhoo... a couple times, I bought the Best Choice Diet Cola. But then I had a slip-up, and bought the CAFFEINE FREE version, which looks extremely similar, the only difference being a blue check mark thingy very small on the label, and of course the words caffeine free.
Farmer H drank my caffeine free mistake. He also used it in his Wild Turkey drink. Then we ran out of the cola. So I went to Country Mart to see if they had re-stocked, it having been gone over the July 4th holiday. Welp! I was happy to see THREE 12-packs on the shelf.
I peered closely at the boxes. Yes. It was the caffeine free version. But since it was for Farmer H, and he would most likely be using it in his drink, it didn't really matter. A couple of construction workers, still wearing their orange vests, were milling around on that aisle. So I tried to grab my soda and get my cart out of their way. I'm sure they needed beverages more than Farmer H needs a Wild Turkey mixer.
Anyhoo... I couldn't get one of those boxes situated right to punch out the cardboard slot that makes a hole for gripping. So I got the one next to it, which could flip on its side. Well. You're never going to believe this (meaning I'm certain you will), but when I went to pick it up out of T-Hoe's rear in the garage, I saw that I had bought
Best Choice VANILLA COLA!
That won't do! It's not even DIET! Woe is Mrs. Hillbilly Mom! A pack of 12 sodas that nobody here will drink. I thought of asking The Pony. He doesn't drink much soda, but he's been known to enjoy vanilla. But then Farmer H selflessly said HE would take it. Either to give to Old Buddy when they take a break working on the Flip House, or to give to his cronies down at his SUS2 (Storage Unit Store 2).
I don't know WHY the Best Choice people have to make their soda labels look so similar... I was looking at the ends of two boxes labeled Best Choice Diet Cola (with the tiny caffeine free notation), and wrestling with the only box beside them to find that slot. I had no need to read the label on my soda once it was in the cart.
Fool me once, shame on you! Fool me twice... and you're probably going to keep on fooling me, no matter now much attention I think I'm paying to detail.
4 comments:
I was going to ask if the boxes all have the same labelling colours, but yu answered that, so shame on them! I guess you are now going to have to read each label before selecting your boxes. Have you emailed the Shasta diet company to ask why the soda is not available and if it will return? I did that when my favourite olive oil wasn't available and they wrote back saying it would return and it did but only until old stocks were used up so I had to find a substitute in a different store.
River,
Yes! The boxes look exactly the same! I'll try to get a picture of them together later tonight, if Farmer H doesn't carry out the Vanilla Cola before then. I found what I wanted yesterday, but had to pull my hand back because I almost got a Dr Pepper version of the Best Choice!
I might ask the Save A Lot workers first about the lack of Shasta Diet Cola. Maybe the insiders will know if there's a shortage, or if they're not getting it any more.
I rarely have soda since retiring. Whe we had the campground, it was easier to just grab a can from the store stock. I seem to have acquired a genuine love of water. Maybe it is the sweating issue, but water is much better anyway. I was hoping I would drop a few pounds as a result, but it hasn't happened.
Kathy,
I can't believe my Unfortunate HospitVALzation made me lose my 44 oz Diet Coke addiction! I've always liked water. Had a Bubba cup of it beside my 44 oz every day. Now I still drink the water, and a single can of Shasta Diet Cola (when I can get it) or a similar can. 12 oz is enough, and I probably wouldn't miss it if I couldn't have it.
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