Coke, enduring and endearing

The verdict is in. Marketing folks all know by now that top of the list reigns COKE.

My first wage (selling Vietnamese worthless currency in Subic Bay on my way to the US a few days after the war had ended) was spent on Coke, from a vending machine. I remembered til this day the taste, slightly burning but thirst-satisfying.

A few days before that, when we first landed on the Bay, a priest and a nun, one with a sandwich, the other with a coke, welcomed us to safety.

No wonder the brand sticks.

It was there, welcoming survivors.

(The priest by the way stood not on the beach, but by the water, waiting).

I am aware of controversies surrounding water plants in India to supply for Coca Cola plants.

But as a brand, it has so far stood the test of time.

Heinz pickles and ketchup should have…