Three types of people live in this world.
I'll tell you what they are in a second, but first let me set up the situation. This is the end of the first week of school after a long summer of work, play and -- for some -- complete indolence. Chances are you need some ways to start a conversation with the unfamiliar people around you. Here's an easy question to ask that will help you meet a potential new best friend: "What do you call carbonated beverages?"
It's a simple question. Straightforward. To the point. But this question leads to the three types of people:
"Poppers" -- Most Hoosiers fall into this category. You call carbonated drinks "pop." After all, the can makes that sound when you open it, and "pop" is what you feel like you need to do before the after-chug belch.
"Soda-ers" -- A good amount of the population thinks pop is called "soda." True soda is indeed just carbonated water.
"Copyright infringers" -- We call all these drinks "Coke." It's a "Coke" machine, not a pop machine, and "Coke" is easier to say than "Pepsi."
You see, there is more than one English language, and this fizzy debate lies at the epicenter of them all. But there are even more discrepancies. Maybe you just got a new couch for your room this year ... or maybe you got a sofa ... or maybe -- if you are my grandma -- you got a Davenport. We make grilled cheese here in Muncie. Don't let someone from Fort Wayne or Huntington County tell you that you are eating "Cheese Toasties." And just so you out-of-staters know, Indiana water comes out of a faucet at a quarter till five. It does not come out of the tap at quarter of five as many easterners would have you believe. And, it certainly does not come out of the spigot when the long hand is on the nine and the short hand is almost at the five (my apologies to Kentuckians).
So what is the point of this column? Well, the point is -- and I know I took the longest route to get here -- is that everyone at Ball State is unique, from the way they talk, to the way they dress, to the way they act. Every person has a story. Some are thrilling and action-packed, others may be tear-jerking dramas and some may be knee-slapping comedies.
The Ball State Daily News is published 30 weeks this year. I plan to use this column to tell one person's story per week, but I can't do this alone. I am asking all of you readers out there to send me your story. If this is a story that should be heard, I will use this space to tell it to the best of my ability. If you are modest and don't want to talk about yourself, send a friend's story. I might not be able to get to everybody, but I will tell the tale of as many faces in the crowd as possible.
So send me those e-mails. My address is at the bottom of the column.
I'll see you next week. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go have a Coke.
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