Ambrosia of my Youth

When I was little, on the rare occasions we got to watch a few stolen moments of TV at a friend's house, we would see this one particular jingle....... "Hey, you guu--yyss!" and an enormous glass pitcher would burst through the screen and parade down the street followed by a dancing mass of children.  The Pied Piper of our day, I guess.  We would beg my Mom for Kool Aid.  We didn't get real Kool Aid.  We got Flavor Aid.  It was cheaper.  And in keeping with my Mom's war on sugar, she would only put 1/2 a cup of sugar in.  We never had ice, just our green water from the well.  While we secretly doubted the veracity of a commercial which portrayed this drink as a kid ambrosia, we felt lucky. 
 Have you looked for Kool Aid in the greater Maple Valley area?  I have.  I have yet to find any flavors beyond the regular one flavor varieties.  So, one of my goals in coming to Idaho this week, was to stock up on those elusive blends:  Blastin' Berry Cherry, Slammin' Strawberry Kiwi, Ice Blue Raspberry Lemonade, and Watermelon Cherry to name a few.  They stopped making my favorite, Kickin' Kiwi Lime.  I suspect it was pulled from the market because  of it's uncanny resemblance to antifreeze.  After spending some $12 on Kool Aid packets, I think we are stocked up for the coming year.  Food storage is SO essential to peace of mind, I always say.
I think there are a couple of reasons that Kool Aid variety is so scarce around us.  It's become the poor kid's drink.  In WA, where we pride ourselves on paying more for everything (the "we" is very loose here.  I hate spending more), the thought of 2 quarts worth of drink available for $0.22 plus the cost of a cup of sugar is abominable.  Then there's that naughty word sugar.  Shudder!  Only the unwashed bourgeoisie eats sugar.  The rest of us fine dine on our freshly squeezed organic juices flavored with agave nectar. 
A couple of years ago, I was out in the culdesac talking to a group of moms.  I said something about Kool Aid.  One of the moms said, "I never let my kids have Kool Aid!  Do you know how much sugar is in that?"  This as she opened up a fresh can of Coke for her three year old and her then pre-teen slouched nearby sipping his Monster drink.  "Yes," I thought to myself.  "There is exactly one cup of sugar in 2 quarts."