Tika & Grandma Kay

Tika was delighted and barked excitedly as we pulled into the driveway. She was going to visit Grandma Kay! Kay is our dog sitter and bless her heart she is a jewel and a gem and we know Tika will be further spoiled when we retrieve her.

So what genealogy is here? Easy and obvious. Don't most families have a "Grandma Kay" or "Uncle Bud" or some person that is not really blood-family but who is so much a part of your family and they are always included? And how do you deal with such person-connections in compiling your family history?

If I know of such a dear and good family friend, I always include information about them in the stories that I write up about the family. I would hope that you do too. Sometimes the "Grandma Kays" of this world are just as dear as Grandmother Kay.

Tika & Coke

Tika and I have an afternoon ritual. When I indulge and have my one can of Diet Pepsi per day, it's at the mid-afternoon time. Tika doesn't care much about Coke or Pepsi  but she does beg for the crackers, or chips or popcorn that I might have with my drink. I explain to Tika that taking a Pepsi or Coke break helps us thing! She doesn't comment one way or the other on that but just begs another tidbit.

John Stith Pemberton, 1831-1888, was a druggist, a doctor and a man having one great obsession. He wanted to invent the ultimate medicine and the perfect drink rolled into one. Coca leaves had been known and used for 2000 years in South America and were considered to be a stimulant, an aid to digestion, an aphrodisiac and a life-extender. So of course Pemberton decided to base his new drink around this plant. He tinkered with dozens of formulas before coming up with the one we now enjoy... and it's recipe is a closely guarded secret at the company's Atlanta headquarters.

Now I could tell you all about his research steps, his first companies, etc., but you can use Google and find more than you likely have time to read. In the reading, I learned that Pemberton's new drink really took off in popularity in 1886 when the city of Atlanta introduced prohibition; Coca-Cola became the ideal temperance drink! And you know how ubiquitous (my favorite word since 4th grade; means seemingly everywhere present) Coke is now. I prefer Pepsi; Tika perfers milk and preferably in a glass, please.

Which do you prefer Coke or Pepsi? Quoting from a Coke vs. Pepsi Wiki:    Taste:  Although when compared in double blind taste tests, the majority of people could not tell the difference in taste, people will swear they love one or the other. 

I prefer Pepsi; Tika perfers milk and preferably in a glass, please.