Sierra Mist
{{first_name}}, have you heard of Sierra Mist?
Sierra Mist is a lemon-lime soda made by Pepsi that was intended to compete with Sprite and 7 Up. It's gone through various iterations and formulas over the past three decades and even a dreaded rebrand - I don't even remember when it was called Mist Twist - but now it's back to Sierra Mist. And regardless of what ingredients Pepsi chooses to include in its beverage, it still remains a distant runner-up to both Sprite and 7 Up.
7 Up has a distinct taste known for mixing well with alcoholic beverages. The best-known example is the Seven and Seven, which mixes 7 Up and Seagram's 7 whiskey. Sprite is best in class in its subgenre of sodas and dominates the marketplace. If I'm ever at a restaurant and I order a Sprite and they respond "We don't have that but we have Sierra Mist" I change my order and order something else. Sierra Mist doesn't come close to the other two beverages which perfectly describes my Independence Day weekend.
For starters, my fiancée tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday. She traveled to Florida for her bachelorette party and brought back an unexpected guest to our home. After taking care of her for a few days and doing my best to mask up and keep my distance, I eventually succumbed to the Coronavirus as well and was down for the count for a few days myself. I wasn't able to attend any social gatherings or cookouts for obvious reasons. I had all of the symptoms: fever, cold sweats, chills, congestion, trouble sleeping, etc. The fact that people think they can get Covid-19 and make it through without being vaccinated is wild to me because I felt like I was dying, but I digress.
It also felt strange to be celebrating something called Independence Day when there seems to be a literal attack on the independence of people and the autonomy of their own bodies. In addition to not being able to attend any fun social gatherings, I also could not attend any protests either. There was no shortage of people letting their voices be heard about how unhappy they are with our legislative, judicial, and executive branches of government. The highlight (lowlight?) revolves around a 10-year-old rape victim who was forced to travel from Indiana to Ohio in order to obtain an abortion. That really puts an interesting perspective on the idea of celebrating freedom and independence in the United States of America.
I feel like even though this past weekend had all the signs of being a tasty lemon-lime soda, it was pretty easy to choose which one it was. It definitely had more of a Sierra Mist feel to it, and I would swap it out with any other lemon-lime soda in a heartbeat. It didn't have the benefit of being good in a mixed drink like 7 Up and it didn't have the taste benefit of Sprite. Instead, it felt like a knockoff weekend and that's resembling a larger issue of a knockoff country that we find ourselves in. Where we settle for less than what we deserve because it's supposedly the best option available.
{{first_name}}, I'm here to tell you that you deserve better than Sierra Mist.
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