The Cool People and the Color Purple M&M...

Today I was watching TV when a very old ad came on for "Monster Ballads" (a compilation CD of 80's hair bands with songs like "Every Rose Has It's Thorn" and "When I See You Smile") which completely sent me back to when I was in sixth grade. Back then, when CD's were just the latest and greatest music invention ever, everyone was hocking their compilation CD on the TV. This particular ad for rock ballads came on a lot after school and on the weekends-- so much so that my sister and I would belt out the pieces of the songs as they scrolled across our TV screen. We didn't even know the songs or the bands that were singing them, we just knew the parts that were advertised.

As soon as the ad came on, I was mentally transported to my parent's comfortable living room, sitting in my daddy's Lazy-Boy recliner (probably with a floppy hat on my head with a sunflower on the front) belting out part of a song from a band called "White Snake" with my sister. During this little trip down memory lane other little memories came flooding back as well.

Back when I was in sixth grade, I thought I knew everything. I knew I was a cool kid with a killer fashion sense (which I know now means I wasn't cool and I dressed like a dork-- after all, I was still in my Blossom stage) and I had a bright future ahead of me in modeling. (This was before I accepted the fact that I was destined to be short like the rest of my family-- add delusional to my list of flaws.)

But in sixth grade something very exciting was going on. America, possibly the World, was asked to give their voice to possibly the biggest decision of our lifetime. Was it the next president? Ending world hunger? Saving the environment?

No... we were asked to vote for the next color to be added to the already colorful assortment that is M&Ms. It was open to everyone and we had choices: Purple, Blue, and Pink. It was our American duty to pick which color we supported and cast our vote over a 1-800 telephone line-- and the beauty of it was we could vote as much as we liked.

Of course, no one in my sixth grade liked Pink, except for some really giggly girlie girls that kept to themselves (it seemed). Most of the boys liked Blue (of course), but the really cool people (like me) were rooting for Purple. Purple was going to be the next big thing in M&M color. I just knew it!

My friends and I would gather at each other's houses (for sleepovers) and cast multiple votes for the Purple M&M. At school, to show our support, we would make purple marks on our notebooks and hands. We would openly debate the beauty and superiority of Purple at lunchtime and while changing classes. Purple ruled-- Blue drooled (or something like that.) Math teachers, looking to make lessons relevant would take simple polls of the classroom to see which color was edging out the other.

For weeks and weeks the race was in full swing. Friends turned against friend. Houses, like mine, became divided on the issues. My sister, the sweet innocent little girl that sang those beautiful rock ballads with me, was supporting the Blue M&M and so was all her bratty little fourth grade friends. We may have shared a love for compilation CD's, but that wasn't enough to bridge the color gap. Yet, I knew I was going to win. Who wouldn't like Purple?

The votes came in, and as we all know, Blue was proven the winner. Blue joined the gang of Red, Yellow, Brown, and Green. Purple and Pink disappeared from the scene almost immediately (probably trying, at first, to score a tell-all book deal about how it was all rigged and when that didn't happen they settled for gigs as seasonal colors--M&Ms gotta work after all).

For weeks after I couldn't look at a bag of M&Ms without feeling defeated, hurt-- let down. I began to lean heavily towards Skittles, a candy that didn't resort to cheap tricks to boost sales and popularity. Good ole' Skittles and his fruity flavored deliciousness, would never try to add another fruit to its traditional bag by making you love something and then taking it away.

I now shy away from any sort of "voting for your favorite flavor/color/shape" promotion. My motto: fool me once, shame on you; full me twice, shame on me. I even stopped voting for my favorites on TV shows because the one's I do vote for end up getting kicked off. But for a few weeks back in sixth grade, Purple Ruled and Blue Drooled and I was going to be a Super Model-- and that was COOL!