Slurpin' Slurpee Safari

I mentioned on my show this past Saturday that I had just finished slurpin' a Slurpee. One astute listener emailed me to ask if I was actually drinking a "real" Slurpee (rather than some poser frozen drink like an Icee).

Good question. Since my show airs in Houston, how could I be drinking a legit Slurpee found only at 7-11 convenience stores which are not located in H-Town? Answer: Ssshh. I actually broadcasted my show from a studio in Dallas that day while visiting family.

And indeed I stopped by 7-11, the world's greatest 24 hour/anything-you-want store. I grew up in Big D and have had more cases of brainfreeze than any human should. I remember collecting Slurpee plastic cups with images of baseball players (I think my Texas Rangers' Jim Sundberg cup is still somewhere in my parents' garage).

Fave flav? No doubt I always had to get a mix of Coke and Cherry flavors. Nowadays Slurpee cups have plastic domed lids that let you fill the cup with another few inches above the rim. And how cool are those straw spoons? You get every last drop.

I spent a week in SoCal earlier this summer and drank my way through dozens of Slurpees. 7-11 stores seem to be more prevalent out there than plastic surgeons. And thanks to a 40th birthday promotion for the Slurpee (wow, we are the same age), I got an iTune download with every cup.

Think I drank enough to download 8 full albums this summer.

There's only one original Slurpee and that's found only at 7-11. I try to avoid getting my kids Icees when we see the machines at Target and Wal-Mart. I want to make sure they are brought up on only the finer things.

I love Houston yet one thing ticks me off. Why doesn't Dallas-based Southland Corp. (7-11 owners) have stores in the biggest Texas city? The hottest and most humid place in the south? I'd love to take my kids there every time the temp hits 95, pretty much 8 months of the year.

Maybe it's a Dallas-Houston thing? Maybe they are afraid so many people would have to be treated for their trademarked brainfreeze?

No worries here. Houston's Medical Center is the largest in the world.