“A delicious cup of coffee …”

I had my first cup of coffee at 12 years old.  I use the term “coffee” here loosely because my grandpa made it for me.  It was probably 1/4 coffee and 3/4 cream and sugar.  Coffee was a staple at my grandparents house.  They drank it all the time.  Whenever we went over there for holidays, all the adults were drinking it and eventually, I had asked to try it.  My grandfather obliged and I have been drinking it ever since.

Grandma used to use an old percolator to brew her coffee.  She tried a drip coffee make once, but she said it didn’t taste right.  I tend to agree with her.  There is something about a cup of coffee that has been brewed in a percolator that just tastes better.  Sadly, drip coffee makers seem to be the way most folks brew now.  When I got married, there was only one thing that I really wanted on the registry – a percolator.  I was lucky that my buddy Billy got it for me.  It lasted 13 years, and then finally perked it’s last pot.  I have yet to go get another one – but I plan on it!

Coffee brings back many memories for me.  First of all, I drank it all the time when I worked on the air at my first radio station job.  Working overnights, it was the fuel that kept me going.  Radio in 1989 was a bit different than it is today.  The DJ’s talked more.  We were an all request station, so we would be talking to listeners and taking requests throughout the show.  Coffee helped soothe my throat, at least I felt that it did.  Back then I used to always drink it black – nice and hot.

Speaking of radio, one of the first people I met in Radio, Donnie P., used to drink as much coffee as I did.  We’d spend many hours talking over coffee about radio, religion, family, and politics.  When Don finally got a Facebook page, there would almost always be a weekly status update that said he was “enjoying a delicious cup of coffee”.  Even though he passed away a few years ago, I remember him and our chats fondly as I drink coffee.

Another coffee memory involves, yet again, my grandparents.  I remember going over to their house with Joe, Steve, or Jeff to play pinochle many times.  Often their would be cookies, brownies, or Long John coffee cake, and of course, fresh coffee.  We’d sometimes go through two pots between the four of us.  I miss playing pinochle – especially with them.

When I decided to go back to college, I rarely studied without coffee.  As a matter of fact, I often studied in coffee shops, or in the college cafe (where I knew I could always get a cup).  I know that I would have never been able to stay up and study without it.  When my clinicals started, I was doing 12 hours there, and had classes full time.  How in the world would I have made it with out it?!

Since graduating from college, I have been working the midnight shift.  That’s what a sleep tech does.  I watch people sleep and help diagnose sleep disorders.  Once again, coffee is what keeps me going, especially on nights where I wasn’t able to sleep much prior to coming in (Hey, it’s hard to sleep when the rest of the world is wide awake!). We recently moved into a new building and they neglected to put in the water line for the coffee maker.  We kept the local 7-11 busy on those nights!

I sat down in front of the computer debating what to write about today.  Right next to me was a cup of fresh brewed coffee in my “World’s Best Boss” mug that was given to me by a guy I worked with.   That’s all it took.

My coffee is getting cold, but let me end with a quote that is appropriate for this blog entry:  “Everybody should believe in something.  I believe I’ll have another cup of coffee” – Author unknown