January 8, 2018 – Bubbler
I
was born and lived in Massachusetts until I was 22 years old. I call a water
fountain or drinking fountain a “bubbler”.
It never fails when I am in a public place [non-restaurant] and I did
not bring a bottle of water with me that I get a little tickle in my throat and
a cough drop or mint won’t do the job and I need to find water. In my haste I ask,
“Where
is the bubbler?” and continue to cough or clear my throat.
“The
what?” is often the reply.
Then
I croak out,
“Water fountain,
drinking fountain?” as my explanation.
When I return from
their water fountain or drinking fountain and I have my voice back, there is
usually a lively discussion about the regional differences between all three
names.
Just in case you want
to know how unusual and limited the regional difference is for the word bubbler,
Joshua Katz has a link that shows 22 examples of most of the disparaging words
with a color coded map of the United States.
He indicates bubbler is reserved more for the Wisconsin folks and Rhode
Island. I think the word, bubbler, must
have spilled out to the north to include Massachusetts where I used to live. It is a fun website with 22 maps. The link is
below.
But, that is not why
I chose this topic today. It is January,
and everyone is in the “diet mode”. Just
about every “self-help” channel is touting the need for everyone to drink more
water. Yes, that is all well and
good. When you forget to bring your
bottle of water, how much water can you actually drink in from a bubbler or a
water fountain or drinking fountain? It
is messy; I gulp in more air than water and usually end up with hiccups. And, then everyone talks about how “unsanitary”
bubblers can be or are. Me, I don’t want
to know the real answer to the last sentence because I still drink out of them when
I’ve a tickle in my throat.
And, as I usually do
in January, I straighten or clean drawers and closets. My yearly round of getting clutter out of my
life turned up a misplaced item that is an especially sweet and useful gift
from my Mom.
During my busy
career, Mom always listened to my subtle health complaints in my letters to her. Mom always wrote back suggestions from her
own personal experience in dealing with the situation or ailment. You could equate my Mom’s suggestions to
those given by what is now called “a physician’s assistant or a nurse practitioner.” My Mom’s advice was on point the majority of
time because she was informed and widely read.
The gift was a one of
a kind that only a loving Mom would send.
A stainless steel collapsible cup that when closed is housed in its own
durable stainless steel case. You can
pop it in your pocket book or brief case or lunch box. I’ve taken it on picnics and most vacations. It is a wonderful little treasure. You can
easily keep in your desk drawer, or the console of your automobile. It is a handy little item. A little note came with it – “Drink more
water, your dull headache might be because you are dehydrated.” And, she was right. As soon as I drank more
water, the headaches disappeared. The
phrase, “Mother’s always know,” fits my Mom perfectly.
“Yes, Mom,” I said
out loud this morning as I moved it to a more convenient place so I can take it with me when I am go to classes or meetings and don’t want to lug a bottle of
water with me. I can pop open my stainless steel cup at a bubbler and take care
of my throat tickle.
If you don’t happen
to own one, you might want to add it to your “shopping list” as it is wonderful
thing to own or makes a perfect gift.
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