movement of c

This morning at approximately 11:38am I was driving home from the munchkin music class that I teach on Fridays. My usual route is familiar, and usually don’t recall the process through which I returned to my selection of parking spots at home.

Snippets of Cambridge hippyuppups, Scrubbin’ Bubbles, Taco Bell KFC and Hess are so ingrained in my brain that I sometimes forget to look. But this morning, something great and monumental caught my eye. Glowing 50 feet in the air reflecting the Cambridge sun on the corner of Prospect and Hampshire was this…

Luckily, I hit the red light immediately and was able to sit and gaze at this for the next 60 seconds. The introduction of this new 7-11 means many things for our neighborhood here.

1. Hess gas station is not a 24 hour facility. 7-11 is, and my late night cravings for cigarettes and/or beef jerky can now be satisfied within 2 minutes or less.

2. 7-11 is taking the bold step to introduce hotdogs to our neighborhood. This can only bring greatness.

3. Slush Puppies are at our fingertips, along with the Big Gulp. This might be the most important change, and let me tell you why.

Two of my housemates, Arthur and Eliot, have a strong and curious attachment to Diet Coke. Just this past week there was no Diet Coke in the house and Eliot was foaming at the mouth. He could barely eat, and I was very worried. I even found him drinking tea at the kitchen table.

Luckily, Art took action. He kept close surveillance on the Hess gas station for 48 hours. His instinct told him that there would be a 2 for $5 on 12-packs within that time frame. As the hour came near, he arrived in our kitchen cradling four 12-packs of Diet Coke. His withdrawal made him very belligerent and this too worried me.

With the Big Gulp in town, both of these fine men will be kept at bay should we run a shortage of Diet Coke again. All I can say is, thank you 7-11, thank you very much.

But despite my glee, I am left with a couple of questions as well.

1. Is the 7-11 coffee as good as the Store 24 coffee? It’s been so long, I don’t remember.

2. Will 7-11 provide free Boston Globe’s with the purchase of any coffee?

3. How long will it take for the workers to memorize my face, so they don’t check my ID?

My guess is 8 - 10 weeks. I’ll let you know how it turns out.