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Jewish World Review March 28, 2005 / 17 Adar II, 5765 Forget new PR for this sweet old elixir of life By Lenore Skenazy
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Rarely do you hear a product plug at a funeral. But as we laid my aunt to rest last week, there was my cousin eulogizing his mom and her favorite drink: root beer mixed with ice cream and a can of chocolate Ensure.
"An octogenarian black cow," he called it, and the dearly beloveds chuckled. But in fact, my cousin got it exactly right. If mother's milk is nectar to babies and champagne is what you pop at weddings, Ensure has taken on an equally iconic role in the life cycle. It's the drink you drink till you can drink no more.
I guess I hadn't given a whole lot of thought to adult nutritional beverages — probably not something you've given a lot of thought, either — but as I did, I came to realize: I am deeply indebted to these drinks.
As my dad grew frail and too exhausted to eat, he would still wheel into the kitchen for his glass of Ensure.
How he detested the taste! But how he loved life. So he drank.
When I picture Mrs. Danenberg, a family friend I used to visit in the nursing home, there she is, gripping a can of the stuff. She went out gulping and griping, just like my aunt.
I'm sorry they didn't like the taste, but for me that viscous liquid was sweet: It gave me a little more time with the people I loved. That being said, I can't say I am anxious to start drinking the stuff myself. And yet the people at Ross Products — Ensure's parent company — are hoping my age group will do exactly that.
"It's a great meal substitute when you don't have time to eat other foods," insists Mike Ferry, the general manager for healthy living at Ross. His job is to start convincing boomers that this is the perfect drink for a fun-filled, hectic life.
Which is sort of like trying to convince folks, "Stomach tubes — when you don't have time for dinner!"
Ensure's upbeat TV spots started running a few months ago, and already, says Ferry, half the people who drink his product are "consumers looking for complete nutrition to stay healthy, active and energetic."
I bought a six-pack of the stuff on Monday, and it took a few days before I could convince myself to take a swig.
Suffice to say, I have five bottles left for anyone who wants 'em.
Some day, though, I will probably be very grateful for a cup of this brew. Especially when I meet my boomer buddies at Starbucks for an Ensurachino Grande.
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