Mt. Spokane: Life is like a Popsicle stick

In 1905, an 11-year-old boy named Frank Epperson accidentally left his fruit-flavored soda outside on the porch with a stir stick in it. The drink froze to the stick and tasted good. This “Eppsicle ice pop” is now what we call the modern day Popsicle.

Recently, as I was taking advantage of this invention, I spotted some writing on the stick. When I looked closer, a joke was etched into the side.

As I sat there gnawing on my Popsicle, I thought about all the wonderful times spent around the lunch table licking Popsicles, or munching them down as quickly as possible to read the joke out loud to my friends. I remembered a time when we were mere freshmen, maybe eating Popsicles, it doesn’t really matter, when some beans spattered the wall behind me, and a food fight ensued. I remembered watching as seniors threw chicken at each other, and a girl ran screaming to the bathroom after getting peanut butter smeared in her hair. I remember being dazed, as a half-eaten piece of pizza flew by my face, a confused, doe-eyed freshman, wondering if I should throw a portion of my lunch just to fit in.

Then I thought about all the fistfights I’d seen during high school … They were all in the lunchroom. Now I’m not saying fights are good, but they sure are interesting to watch. It’s like when you’re driving down the road and you see a car crash. They tell you in Drivers Ed. not to slow down or pay any attention, but you can’t help but stare at it … then you find yourself swerving to avoid getting in a wreck yourself.

And that’s when my teeth hit stick. I think high school’s sort of like the experience of eating a Popsicle. We unwrap it as freshmen, nibble at it as sophomores, get into the really meaty part of it as juniors, and chomp it all down as seniors. All we have left now is the stick.

When I look upon this class, I see good people … I see doctors and teachers and mechanics and engineers. I see a group who will do things. Perhaps it will be an accident, like Frank Epperson. It took him 18 years to apply for a patent for a “frozen ice on a stick.” … maybe it will take a long time. But what really matters is that we won’t be bored.

This is why I urge you, Class of 2007, to eat as many Popsicles as you wish. Some of them will taste bad, some of them will be extremely yummy. But eat them! Relish them! Remember them. Remember all the food fights and the fistfights; remember what you’ve accomplished. But also, look ahead and know there’s much more in store, many, many more flavors to taste.