Remember the Drinking Fountain?

Do you have fond thoughts of a drinking fountain like I do?  There are very few mental pictures that one can conceive of that can immediately make one feel quenched and refreshed.  There are all sorts of fond memories that flood the mind and provide welcome thoughts.  There are many different scenarios that we have all experienced that illustrate the concept I am describing here.

Your first thoughts of a drinking fountain probably take you back to your childhood days.  Walking or running up and down the school halls, you would take a quick breather to gulp down a few swallows of water as you moved between classes.  Or, perhaps you played really hard at recess and you came back into school and needed a drink.  Maybe it was just a really hot day and you just stopped by to get some extra fluids to get through the day.  Perhaps you were taking a test and you took a break just to collect your thoughts while catching a drink.  Whatever your specific thoughts are, there is a good chance school is involved.

Another place where most of us remember the drinking fountain is when we were looking for that particular job.  You are waiting outside an office door and nervously running through your final preparations in your mind.  You are sweaty and tingly and you take a drink just to calm your nerves and to lower your stress level and body temperature.  Maybe it is just a nervous habit but it doesn’t matter–whatever the reason, the drinking fountain serves us well in this situation also.

You could think of a time when you were playing sports and giving it all you had and you really needed to quench your thirst and you either find or remember a spot where a drinking fountain is at.  There isn’t many better “finds” in this situation either.  You can lap up as much water as you want and reward yourself for a solid effort at whatever you are participating in.

The point is–there are a lot of places where we can fondly remember how we felt about a drinking fountain.  They became an integral part of our lives at an early age and still remain that to this day.