Nostalgia
One definition of nostalgia is a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time. That’s probably the simplest way to describe it.
The sound of nostalgia (for me) is when I open a glass bottle of Coca-Cola and hear the bottle cap hit the pile below. It brings me back to the good old days in America. Sure, I open a lot of beer bottles on a daily basis, but it’s not the same. When you come across a little country store and they’ve got a Coca-Cola branded bottle opener hanging on the wall, it’s like being back in the 70’s.
Going to the store with my grandfather and enjoying a cold drink was an experience. We took our time, conversed with folks, and it was memorable.
Then, the Big Gulp came along. Just grab one to go because it’s got a plastic lid and a straw. It rode in a cup holder just perfect. Suddenly, you could suck down a million calories while riding in your car alone, and not spill a drop.
If Coca-Cola was only served in glass bottles, we might not have the obesity problem we have in America today. Ponder that for a minute. Glass bottles don’t balance too well in most cup holders.
No More Plastic Bottles for This Guy
Screw plastic bottles. There is absolutely zero nostalgia triggered when I open a plastic bottle. The whole experience just seems cheap and always has. The Coke from a glass bottle tastes better and the glass feels valuable.
Plastic is clogging up the damn oceans because we got too lazy to take a glass bottle back to the store and turn it in. Remember those days? You had to leave a deposit for the bottle. Something like 5 to 25 cents. And guess what? You always brought the thing back! It had value. It was worth something. These days, just grab a plastic bottle of whatever, drink the thing down in five minutes, and trash the plastic. It will either clog up the landfill or the oceans until the next ice age. What a terrible system.
I’m now on a one-man crusade against unnecessary plastic waste that I’m personally responsible for generating. No more plastic drink bottles for me. Period. It’s either returnable bottles or aluminum. In the Philippines and Thailand, it’s easy to do. I’d say in the U.S., you’ll just have to go with aluminum. I don’t remember any places in the States that still had returnable bottles when I was living there. But, it wasn’t something I really paid attention to 10 years ago.
No more plastic straws, either. Back when I was a kid, we drank straight out of the damn bottle, cup, can, water hose, or glass. No straw was needed. That’s another unnecessary piece of plastic gone from my existence. A bamboo straw will be the new standard when drinking a Margarita. That’s the only exception.
Think about it. How many pieces of plastic waste do you personally generate on a daily basis from drinks alone? Couldn’t you switch over to glass bottles or aluminum cans and get the same product?
Does Quality Still Exist?
Opening that one Coke bottle just triggered too many thoughts about the disposable, cheap-plastic culture we’ve all come to embrace.
Let’s go back to dealing with products that are built to last. Or, is quality, craftsmanship, and longevity a thing of the past?
That’s the reason I like my products from Saddleback Leather. They’re built to last and will be around a lot longer than me. They’re rocking a 100-year warranty. Yes, the products are expensive. The same goes for my gear from Arc’teryx. The same applies for my Apple MacBook Pro and my iPhone. You know why they’re expensive? Because they’re pure quality and will last for years. Sort of like a glass Coke bottle.