Thursday, April 05, 2007

Oh Thank Heaven...for 7/11

I have had a lifelong relationship with 7/11 stores. Several of my uncles were the first to buy into the Southland Corporation’s franchise back in the mid-60’s. And being a San Diego based outfit, there are 7/11’s everywhere you look in SoCal. I worked at 7/11…got fired from 7/11 and rehired at 7/11 as a teenager. As an adult working the streets of SD, 7/11 was an hourly stop. They were family. 7/11 is uniquely Southern California culture.


For 25 years I had a Super Big Gulp within arms reach 24 hours a day. One superbly crafted 64oz plastic cup lasted me 15 years. From the PD to Montana, Oregon, France, Beirut and back to Los Angeles, it traveled as my own personal beverage butler. Due to worries over its life expectancy it remained behind when we made the move to Istanbul.

Imagine our surprise to be cruising along in southwestern Turkey a few weeks ago and run across this vision…this mirage of ice cold beverage beguilements a world away from home. While the sign, logo, and association were valid, nothing inside was familiar. No Slurpee’s, no Big Gulps, no Hot Dogs. There wasn’t even an ATM stuck in the corner next to the magazine rack.
Beguiling Beverage Blowout

It is true when they say you can’t go home. Can you do a favor for this poor guy on the far side of the world? Go to 7/11 today and buy a Super Big Gulp (Dr. Pepper please), sit in the parking lot and sip it while you sing “Oh Thank Heaven for 7/11’s Baseball Trading Cups”. You sip...I'll smile, and life will be good.

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Living, Traveling, and Wandering on the Far Side of the World

Living, Traveling, and Wandering on the Far Side of the World