Coca-Cola, Kokob-Kolob, and The Real Thing

Saturday was our final day of vacation and we had planned a down day to just chill out before flying back early Sunday morning.  In the morning, we decided to go over to Disney Springs, which is a collection of shops and restaurants owned by Mickey Mouse.

They had a fairly massive Coca-Cola store that we ventured into (3 levels - all for Coke... I wouldn't have imagined it).

Anyway, I knew I was in for it when within a few seconds of entering the premises a red shirt caught my eye - it basically yelled at me, from what I could tell.  I did take a picture, but fortunately this time the shirt was sitting folded up on a shelf, and not on a real person, and thus my creepster index was reduced somewhat (I think).

The shirt had the lyrics to what is a pretty well-known Coca-Cola song.  I haven't thought about this song in ages, though, for all intents basically having completely forgotten about it.  In looking it up later, I also didn't know that it was an advertising jingle specifically created for Coca-Cola.

Anyway, here is the Red Shirt that called over to me when I entered the store:

So, we are dealing with Red, which caught my attention, and the basic fact that Coca-Cola's brand image and color is all about Red.  Further, we are dealing with a beverage here - recall that "Juice" or some kind of drink has come up in my words, and beverages is what Coca-Cola is all about. 

This was already on my mind, I think, as I then read the lyrics of the song on the shirt.  In case you can't make it out in the picture, here is the first verse of the song and chorus that was visible on the shirt, and following that I will include the original commercial that featured the song from 1971 (which, as part of strange trivia, was the same year Disney World opened):

I'd like to buy the world a home
And furnish it with love
Grow apple trees and honey bees
And snow white turtle doves

I'd like to teach the world to sing
In perfect harmony
I'd like to buy the world a Coke
And keep it company
That's the real thing

And here is the commercial:

Back to the shirt, this is something that we might envision Alvin wearing, right?  We have the predominantly Red color with Gold and White mixed in - of all the Chip Monks, this is clearly Alvin's color scheme (and Sammy Hagar's, we unfortunately can't forget).

And that is what I saw there in the store in two very distinct ways.  Let's start with the actual lyrics of the first verse as the first of those two ways.

The first mentions Apple Trees, Honeybees, and Turtle Doves.  All three of these elements have been linked very directly with Gim Guru Faramir on this blog in various posts.  When I first introduced the Chipmunks in this whole crazy story, it was through a few scenes from "A Chipmunk Adventure", one of which involved Alvin and Brittany fighting over an apple.  At the time, I called out that this also points to their symbolic story as Adam and Eve, in at least one level of that story.  The traditional forbidden fruit is usually shown as an apple.

And just as recently as this past week I brought in Honey Nut Cheerios yet again to connect Buzz the Bee as a symbol of Faramir, showing his likeness or portrayal as Hermes, flying around with a staff of Honey.  

And although the specific mention was as a Red Bird (not Snow White), Turtle Doves were also used as a symbol for this character, given their identification with the Holy Ghost.

So, that all jumped out at my first as three very distinct and clear references to Alvin-Faramir, on this bright red, very Alvin-looking shirt.

But in typing this now, I also am noticing a very specific link in the very first line of the verse.  The singer is saying that they want to "buy the world a home, and furnish it with love".  The story I have been painting here centers on the creation or restoration of a Home to which a Family will return, and Faramir will play a role in this.  Further, "Redemption" is part of this whole Family Reunion in Holy Places.  Per Etymonline, "Buy" (the thing the singer wants to do for the world with respect to the Home), can include such meanings as "Redeem" and "Ransom".

Essentially, that whole first verse can, it seems to me, be linked to the story and previous symbols regarding Faramir and his role and story.

The link, however, gets even stronger in looking at the title of the song:  Perfect Harmony.

Another symbol associated with Alvin was the Golden Echo Harmonica, the one he gave to Tommy, and then received its Twin later as a Christmas present (and miracle) from Mrs. Claus.  The basis or root for the word Harmonica is Harmony.

And this is a "Perfect" Harmony.   Perfect can mean something like "without blemish", but it can also mean something more like, per Etymonline, "complete, full, finished, lacking in no way".

In other words, the title can mean "The Complete Harmony".  This is relevant for a couple reasons.  First, the Rose Stone is the one piece that is missing from Eowyn's Book of the Lamb, and is also the Stick that is missing from joining with that other Stick from 2 Nephi 3 - the two sticks that will be joined together.  Without the story or song that is on the Rose Stone, the overall story or song remains incomplete.  Once joined, however, that changes and we have a complete and 'perfect' record.

But harmony also refers to when Being or things go well together, or there is no discord.  In Joseph's prophecy from 2 Nephi 3 (as summarized by Lehi), "Harmony" is exactly what the Two Sticks joined together will accomplish:

Wherefore, the fruit of thy loins shall write; and the fruit of the loins of Judah shall write; and that which shall be written by the fruit of thy loins, and also that which shall be written by the fruit of the loins of Judah, shall grow together, unto the confounding of false doctrines and laying down of contentions, and establishing peace among the fruit of thy loins, and bringing them to the knowledge of their fathers in the latter days, and also to the knowledge of my covenants, saith the Lord.

Harmony is created where contention, discord, and false doctrine used to exist.  And all of that is brought about by the joining of the Stones and records found upon the Ithil and Rose Stones (as the Two Sticks), along with the additional records and witnesses that verify their Story.

Or something like that.  It is at least what goes through my mind in a general way when I think about this, and seems to line up with the message of the T-Shirt and Coca-Cola advertisement.

Coca-Cola = Kokob-Kolob

OK, so this is kind of a fun and weird one, but it did occur to me just this morning so I thought I would log it.

The logo of Coca-Cola is a Red Circle, and one can (if that one is like me) imagine it to be representative of the Rose Stone, which I believe to be Red.

But we have the Brand name in there - shouldn't that need to have that mean something if we want to link this Red Circle to the Stone?  I am not sure we have to, but it turns out we can in fact do so if we use a little word magic!

The brand name  originated from the use of coca beans and kola nuts - thus, Coca-Cola.  But let's see if we kind find something else here.  I was sure I could, to be honest, but my first efforts looking in the Elvish languages didn't really get me anywhere.  Nor did just looking at definitions of coca beans and kola nuts.  I had to twist things too much, or be just a bit too creative to have something make sense.  Undeterred, however, I pressed on.

By some twist of my mind, my thoughts ended up on the Book of Abraham (and to some extent the Grammar and Alphabet of the Egyptian Language).   Specifically, I realized that Cola sounded like Kolob, just without the "B" ending.  Why did my mind go to Kolob?  That star is also linked to Gim Guru Faramir, and we first explored this in a post on the movie Twister titled "Twister, 'The Extreme', and Shine On", where I made some pretty specific links between Faramir-Eonwe and the star Kolob.  Enough where I still feel pretty good about the connection.

Later, in my post "A Welding Link", I brought in Kolob again, using it in the context of God teaching Abraham about the order of Beings, Stars, and Planets.  In the quote I used, another word appears that is going to help round out this word game for us:  Kokaubeam.  Here is the first part of that original quote, and I am going to bold both Kolob and Kokaubeam:

If two things exist, and there be one above the other, there shall be greater things above them; therefore Kolob is the greatest of all the Kokaubeam that thou hast seen, because it is nearest unto me.

Kokaubeam is actually interpreted for us in the Book of Abraham (found in 3:13).  It means "stars,  or all the great lights, which were in the firmament of heaven".  So, stars as in plural.  I found, however, what I was looking for earlier in that same verse.  We get the singular for star, which is Kokob.  One star.

OK, so I am working with two words here:  Kokob (meaning one Star) and Kolob (which I have referring both to a specific Star but also a Being).  Now, Mormons might be familiar with the traditional pronunciation of Kolob, but non-Mormons might not be.  It is simply pronounced like Cola (maybe slightly more emphasis or accent on the "A"), but you just drop that last "B" sound.

If we apply that same phonetic discipline to Kokob, you basically have the same thing between that word and Coca, as well.  Again, you just drop the B at the end of Kokob and you have the same word phonetically.

What does that word magic get us?  Well, if we just drop that last B sound from both words, we literally end up with a word combination that sounds exactly like Coca-Cola.  Koka Kola (I've replaced the Os with As just for pronunciation clarification).

Too tortured a route, even by my potentially shaky standards?  Maybe, but it worked out really nicely, and I like it.  I mean, just drop the B's and it is a direct hit.  So for me it's a keeper.   In that word combination you have the simple phrase "Star Kolob", sitting in the middle of the Rose Stone.  A reference to the Red Rocker and his Rose Stone.

And this, of course. also makes complete sense because we all know that Coke is far superior to Pepsi (And no, I haven't looked into the meaning of Pepsi, but I am sure we could find a way to link it to Satan or something like that).  I am not sure I would want to live in a universe in which Pepsi would have been used here.  We've already had to embrace Sammy Hagar as a symbol, and I have to draw the line somewhere.

In closing out whatever this post turned out to be, let's go back to the lyrics of the jingle.  What isn't included on the shirt or my lyric summary, but you would have heard in the commercial, is the line "What the world wants today is the Real Thing".

This concept of "Real" has come up before, specifically in context with another beverage if you remember:  Milk (as opposed to Malk or Melk).

And as part of that earlier analogy and mention of Real, that is what I feel is represented by the records or stories on these Stones, and specifically the Rose Stone.  The Real Thing.