So just what is a to-drink? All of the girls know, of course, and Grammy Nor. Maybe even a few of the grandkids are old enough to know/remember.
Eons ago people used insulated thermoses to carry their drink of choice in their lunch boxes. But there was no bottled water available, or cup holders in vehicles, nothing to make keeping one's drink conveniently available. So Grampy Vic found something that worked for him. Yes, he still had coffee or tea in his thermos. But for something that could be used in the car, or when he was working outside around the house, he looked around and came up with ...a Karo syrup bottle. They still look sort of the same today, except they are plastic. Back in those days, Karo syrup in the quart size had a wide botton and narrow neck, and was made of glass.
Grampy started putting his coffee or tea in a Karo bottle. (Actually someone else usually prepared it for him, but I'm fairly certain he came up with the idea.) The wide part of the bottle held almost a quart, and the 'neck' was the right size to hold in his hand, and he could drink from the bottle without spilling. The long neck also kept liquid from splashing out while he was driving. It could just be parked between his knees while he was driving, or put nearby if he was working outside.
I don't know how long he'd been using this type of drinking vessel, certainly before I was born. I believe it was Nancy, who gave it the name 'To-drink'. Nancy was about 4 or so, and Grammy Nor was fixing Grampy's bottle of ...whatever it was...and little Nancy asked what it was. Grammy said..."It's Daddy's, to drink." Being as young as she was, Nancy thought that was what the container was called, so from then on, it was Daddy's to-drink. We all grew up with that new word.
Recently I was grocery shopping. I'd either been running errands for awhile or stopped to shop on my way home from working. I had no water bottle in the car, and was feeling really thirsty. So I found the bottled tea section and found a 42 oz. bottle of lemon iced tea. Here's the really exciting part - it's shaped kinda like a Karo bottle! Wide base, narrow neck, holds enough water to keep me hydrated. I have my own to-drink!
Eons ago people used insulated thermoses to carry their drink of choice in their lunch boxes. But there was no bottled water available, or cup holders in vehicles, nothing to make keeping one's drink conveniently available. So Grampy Vic found something that worked for him. Yes, he still had coffee or tea in his thermos. But for something that could be used in the car, or when he was working outside around the house, he looked around and came up with ...a Karo syrup bottle. They still look sort of the same today, except they are plastic. Back in those days, Karo syrup in the quart size had a wide botton and narrow neck, and was made of glass.
Grampy started putting his coffee or tea in a Karo bottle. (Actually someone else usually prepared it for him, but I'm fairly certain he came up with the idea.) The wide part of the bottle held almost a quart, and the 'neck' was the right size to hold in his hand, and he could drink from the bottle without spilling. The long neck also kept liquid from splashing out while he was driving. It could just be parked between his knees while he was driving, or put nearby if he was working outside.
I don't know how long he'd been using this type of drinking vessel, certainly before I was born. I believe it was Nancy, who gave it the name 'To-drink'. Nancy was about 4 or so, and Grammy Nor was fixing Grampy's bottle of ...whatever it was...and little Nancy asked what it was. Grammy said..."It's Daddy's, to drink." Being as young as she was, Nancy thought that was what the container was called, so from then on, it was Daddy's to-drink. We all grew up with that new word.
Recently I was grocery shopping. I'd either been running errands for awhile or stopped to shop on my way home from working. I had no water bottle in the car, and was feeling really thirsty. So I found the bottled tea section and found a 42 oz. bottle of lemon iced tea. Here's the really exciting part - it's shaped kinda like a Karo bottle! Wide base, narrow neck, holds enough water to keep me hydrated. I have my own to-drink!
This is awesome. I had been thinking that it was you who named it the To-drink. Hmm. I also remembered that Daddy didn't want us to wash it out, said it made the tea (or whatever) taste wrong. I used to think that was yicky. Now, I think nothing of making a new pot of coffee and just grabbing my mug from this morning, or yesterday, off my desk. VJM
ReplyDeleteOh, yes, I drove him crazy 'cuz I washed it all the time!! Told him it looked disgusting and it wasn't staying in my kitchen without being washed. Then we had a conversation about it being 'my kitchen'. Told him I cooked and cleaned in there daily, enough for it to be MY kitchen! Every once in awhile I made him laugh. (Most of the time, not so much) T.
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome. Hooray for good old corn syrup, I think I actually have some Karo in my cupboard.
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