The Unexplainable Disappearance of Quarter Juices

When I was a youngster, I would often visit my mother's family in Indiana for the summer. Often, the highlight of one of those hot summer days was one of those little juices that came in a bottle that resembled a burrow. You know, the ones that had the aluminum cover over the top that felt like steel. Those things were impossible to get open. My older cousins, who were a lot stronger than I, were able to pop those suckers with their thumb. I, often a brittle, yet adventurous child, was unable to pop those foil tops with my thumb. So, my great-uncle, who seemingly had an infinite supply of those things, would often give me a quarter to tear my juice open with. Then, he would let me keep the quarter to buy candy at the corner store. So, there I would be in my uncle's backyard, playing with my cousins with my teeth, tongue, and lips stained with a heavenly mixture of sugar, water, and red.

My uncle died three years ago. As a general rule, I don't do funerals. Never have and I probably never will. Never the sympathetic type. Too much crying earlier in life leads to a dry eye as you get older. I tried to attend my uncle's funeral at the behest of my mother. The funny thing is as I was about to enter the church, someone noticed I had split my pants. I guess it was God's way of confirming that I can't do funerals. Anyway, before leaving Indiana and driving back home, I decided to stop by the corner store where I often spent my uncle's quarter. Walking around in split pants, I found the quarter juice, the burrow of sugar, water, and red. I bought one, it cost me one quarter. I sat in my car, popped my quarter juice with a quarter of my own. I sipped it. Thought about my uncle. Thought about getting older. It was the last quarter juice I ever had.

Things have changed. I am 23, quickly closing in on 24. Most of my cousins and I have either gone off to jail, college, and the like. Most of my cousins have started families and now give their children "juice boxes". They ain't the same. With the arrival of a new generation and a quickly maturing one, it seems quarter juices are no longer around. Now, you have Capri Suns, Kool-Aid sippers, juice boxes, and juices pouches and all that. Since the day of my uncle's funeral, I have yet to find a quarter juice, the harbinger of my childhood. Maybe, I've outgrown them once and for all.