I am utterly exhausted from the last few days of football-related biking excitement, so I decided to take a day without too much pedaling–just to work and back, skip tonight’s parade. I stopped on my commute home to take a picture of these folks unloading a giant truck of Coke Zero. Now, it was only three in the afternoon, and the parade wasn’t rolling until 6:30, and that was from the old Uptown route. It wouldn’t make it here till almost 7:30. How was all that ice going to stay frozen? Where were they going to put all those refreshing carbonated beverages? I thought about trying to grab one, since I wasn’t going to the parade tonight, but I figured they’d still be warm–no thanks. I rode around my neighborhood, running errands, looking forward to a lazy night. But how do you sit at home when you know a parade is mere minutes away by bike? So I headed out the door and took up a position on St. Charles and enjoyed another parade, happy that D. made it Uptown for the show too. As we were heading home I heard someone behind me ask if I’d like to try Coke Zero. Why yes, yes I would. And you know what? Totally delicious and refreshing. Mardi Gras advertising strategy a success!
What I Saw Riding My Bike Around Today 
With 10 billion zeros,
From the cavemen till the heroes,
Who invented you,
They counted on their fingers and toes
And maybe some sticks and stones, or rocks and bones
And their neighbors’ toes.
You’re here,
And nobody really knows
How wonderful you are.
Why we could never reach the star,
Without you, Zero, my hero,
Zero, how wonderful you are.
-My Hero, Zero. Schoolhouse Rock
-JR
Those advertising gurus at Coke are geniuses. The black can is a bit of a turn-off though, if you ask me. It makes me think of crude oil or goth teens or death, none of which strike me as particularly refreshing.
I’ll take your word for it though!
If you have “a Coke and a smile”, does it follow that you would have “a Coke Zero and a blank stare”?