Sunlight

    I worked for the BC Ministry of Forests for 23 years.  They had a Forest Service office in McBride, and I have a lot of good memories about my co-workers who worked with me there.  One of the perks of working in that office was all the food that was continually brought in by and for the staff to enjoy.  People were always making cakes, cookies and pies, then bringing them to share.

    There must have been a special potluck lunch one day, because someone brought in a tub of ice cream and a bottle of butterscotch syrup to put on it.  Since it was not all eaten during the luncheon, the ice cream and syrup was brought out again during the afternoon coffee break.

    I love ice cream and really love butterscotch syrup, so I had myself a generous portion of the combo during the coffee break.  It tasted great and in no time I had scraped my bowl clean.  When the coffee break was over, everyone lined up by the sink, awaiting their turn to wash out their bowls and clean their silverware before returning to their desks.  

    Everyone was responsible for cleaning their own things, and instead of filling the sink with detergent and water, everyone would just put a squirt of Sunlight  (the dishwashing detergent that we were using) into their bowl and then run some water over it and swish the cookware clean with their hands.

  Like I said, there was a lineup waiting for the sink.  As I stood in line waiting, I noticed that the bottle of Sunlight was not being used at the moment, so in order to be efficient and save time, I grabbed the detergent and squirted some of the golden colored soap into my bowl.  I waited and waited as the line gradually got shorter.
    I was lost in thought, then I happened to look down in my bowl and discovered there lying in the bottom was still a small quantity of golden syrupy liquid. 
    “Wow,” I thought, “I still have some butterscotch syrup left in my bowl,”  I couldn’t believe my luck, I took my spoon, reamed out the bowl, filling my spoon with the golden syrup, and lifted it to my mouth, savoring the moment when all that sweet butterscotch taste exploded onto my taste buds.
    My taste buds did explode, but it wasn’t with the sweet butterscotch sensation I was expected--they exploded to the gagging chemical taste of Sunlight dishwashing detergent.  Even the detergent’s advertised “lemon scent” did nothing to mitigate the horrific taste engulfing my mouth.  I pushed my co-workers aside, so I could spit into the sink, and get some water to wash out my mouth, but it did little good.  
    For an hour after the episode, my tastebuds were still misfiring and my mouth was filled with the taste of all those noxious chemicals.  Even today when I think about it, I have to suppress my gag instinct.
    It was a terrible but memorable experience, but it gave me an interesting story to tell which always seems to please those that hear it.

See my paintings at:  www.davidmarchant.ca