What about our unnatural resources?
Meet Charles (“Corny”) Cornweather. We were lucky enough to be granted an Exclusive Interview with the Maynard Park man who has dedicated his life to restoring soda streams.
MPNB: First of all, thank you for taking the time to share your story with us.
CC: I appreciate your interest, and your giving me a soap-box to stand on.
MPNB: How did you come to be involved in what you’re calling soda stream restoration?
CC: Well, first off…something you should know about me is that I love Sprite. Sprite is my drink. I don’t care for 7-Up. If there’s not a Sprite available, then I can make do with 7-Up. But, Sierra Mist? No way. I don’t even understand Sierra Mist. So, anyway…I generally, practically always drink Sprite. Over the years, I think I became a bit of a Sprite aficionado. I knew how it should taste. At least I thought I knew how it should taste, until about 4 years ago when they remodeled this particular Maynard Park fast-food establishment. They practically brought the place down to the studs. It was an extensive and extreme remodel, replacing everything, like the grills, the fry machines, all the fixtures and tiles, and even the drive-thru window…everything. It took months.
MPNB: And when they reopened?
CC: When the place opened back up for business, it was all shiny new…no grime, everything polished and clean and sparkly. Without thinking, I went up and ordered some things, and of course I ordered a Sprite. I carried it back to my table, sat down, had a couple fries, and then I took a sip of the Sprite. Oh my god, it was like drinking from pristine waters from a glacier. Pure, absolutely pure. For a moment, just a moment, I cried to myself.
MPNB: So you tasted the purest Sprite you’ve ever had?
CC: From a fountain. A can is different in its own way, but not as natural as one that comes from the free flow of water. Sprite in a plastic bottle is better…it doesn’t have that can taste. But, the best Sprite by far is from a Corny Cornweather certified fountain-drink purveyor, like that place that started it all, with their fresh soda tubes and pipes, and I suspect too that they had upgraded some of the soda fountain technology, because you weren’t getting that orange soda backwash…you know, like when the previous customer orders orange soda, and then you order a Sprite, and then it has this essence of Fanta or whatever that orange drink is.
MPNB: How did this go from a simple observation to a mission?
CC: That day made a big impact on me. It was life changing. Days later, I went to another neighborhood place that had Sprite on tap, and I ordered it and sipped it, and could barely swallow it. It wasn’t bad Sprite. It just wasn’t pure like a sugary mountain stream. So, I talked about it with the manager of that place, and at first he didn’t seem to care, but I think some others overheard me because someone else also said their Sprite tasted a little off, so the manager agreed to replace the equipment. Then I thought…hey, I’m onto something.
MPNB: And you carried your mission to the rest of Maynard Park?
CC: To Maynard Park, and all points nearby… First to the Queen Anne Hill neighborhood, because they love Sprite up there too…and they have the more sophisticated palates that can appreciate the various notes of a well-made beverage. Not everyone has been receptive though. In some other places, I get “the look” and I know I can’t change anything there, and I put those places on my Lifetime Moratorium list, but I also revisit the list every year just in case they have new management. My goal is to change the taste and essence of Sprite for the entire city of Seattle, one place at a time, but that’s still a lot of hoses.
MPNB: It sounds like this has evolved into quite an extensive program you’re running. Why has no one heard of you or acknowledged what you’re doing for the city of Seattle before now?
CC: I’m not looking for recognition. I don’t mind being unsung. All I would ask is that when people are out there, enjoying a snack or a meal, and ordering a Sprite…to just take a moment, and if the Sprite beverage is oh so pure, crystal clean, sweet and thirst-quenchingly delicious…just think to themselves, I bet Corny’s been here.
