New coke was the drink that changed my life. In college, I was trying to stay away from alcohol, because I was thinking I might be crazy if I had too many. And that’s what coke was to me. It filled that gap. I realized that coke was what I really needed. One of a kind coke that would last me through the day, every day. I could really only buy one brand, and it was Coke.
I tried new coke when it first came out, and I was shocked. It was like that scene in movies where you see an army of demons attacking. At first, I didn’t like it, but after my second I had a panic attack. It made my head spin, and for a week I slept for 2 or 3 nights every night. I remember asking myself in my mind, Is it worth switching? And my mind kept answering yes, but I didn’t want to use it.
The sickly sweet flavor, the smooth finish. It was too much for me. I kept going back over and over. Finally, Coke fixed the problem for me. It discontinued the whole program, and only classic was available. My mind was ravaged for months trying to remember what I had lost, and what the world had lost. But it was no use. New Coke was gone forever.
I had just left work and had a conversation with an old couple about their daughter. My daughter was talking about her mother who was dying from cancer. That old man’s wife was talking about her little brother who died from a viral infection. It seemed like people were talking about the people around them rather than their personal problems. Over the radio I heard they were bringing back New Coke one last time, as a stranger things tie-in.
It took so long for me to realize the whole pain and suffering that I was causing my family was not worth it. When they announced new coke was coming back, I ignored it, like an itch in the back of my brain. It kept scratching and scratching. But this time I was older, and no amount of memories will bring me to the edge of that abyss. I will never again try it.