I love Coca Cola. It has been my favorite drink since I don’t remember when. I guess it all started with the small little green bottles that you had to use an honest-to-goodness bottle opener to crack open.

Coca Cola as I remember as a kid in Philly

And then you’d get a little taste of heaven. That first crisp bite on the back of the throat was like nothing compared to the commercials I’d see on television 40, 50 or even 60 years later. (O my God! Has it been that long?)

The secret to the taste is guarded somewhere in Georgia where a pharmacist apparently discovered a great way to mix a cola with seltzer water and/or other ingredients. At some point, it might have been tainted (or flavored?) with a little cocaine. Isn’t that where it gets it name? Coca cola?

Original Coke

In any case, one of the most difficult decisions I have ever made is to stop drinking that cool refreshment. It seems that no soda is good for you. That includes the diet sodas that I thought would do less harm for my waist line. It turns out, they might even be worse.

And so, some six months ago, I stopped drinking Coke. It’s been hard whenever I see my son partake in it. It’s usually through a can, a 12-ouncer that he pops open and guzzles a few sips before letting out one of his all-guy-type burps. (Is there a girl-type burp? I guess so . . .)

I’m drinking water nowadays. Water mixed with coffee, water mixed with tea and my new favorite, water that has seltzer fizzing away with each sip.

I still miss the Coke. But, like many things in life that I had to give up — cigarettes, Johnny Walker Red and jumping out of airplanes – I know it is the best choice for me now.

It’s the real thing, my friend. Perhaps I’ll learn to teach the world to sing in a more perfect harmony soon!!