memories

as i drank the last two sips of pepsi on my way back from my morning class, i was taken aback by a feeling from my past, and suddenly a memory came rushing before my mind, stopping my thought, and challenged me to recall when i had last tasted that same taste; the flat, warm pepsi that triggered something in the memory vault, way in the back room of the files of experiences and times spent. i could almost smell the sand of the lake erie beach and the musty smell that the lake would emit in the hot summer. i could barely hear the seagull cry and just about feel the sand stuck to the outside of my pepsi bottle that had been there from the condensation that had long since evaporated. I was reminded of the special trips that my grandma used to take me and my sisters on, down to lake erie for a picnic on the beach. The smell of suntan lotion and the warm summer breeze filled the air around me and i slipped from that memory to the present, and then back again. I remember reaching into the cooler when the pepsi cans were still cold, surrounded in ice, and yet somehow always covered in sand...how is it that sand had gotten into the cooler before it had been opened? i would wonder these things as a child. But that crisp first sip was so refreshing and hit the spot after sitting on the hot sand and feeling the sun beat down upon us. as the day went on, we splashed in the water and played our games and listened to our grandma tell stories of sailing and travel. coming back from the water thirsty, i leaned my head back while emptying the can of the last few sips of warm pepsi, and smiled into the sun. it was a great day.