I Love Coffee

                                                                                                                                                   

Ready for some unadulterated good news?  Tuesday, in the New York Times, Jane Brody wrote; 

"Wake up to the Good News about Coffee."  

She said, "The latest assessments of the health effects of coffee and caffeine, its main active ingredient, are reassuring indeed. Their consumption has been linked to a reduced risk of all kinds of ailments, including Parkinson’s disease, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, gallstones, depression, suicide, cirrhosis, liver cancer, melanoma and prostate cancer. 

In fact, in numerous studies conducted throughout the world, consuming four or five eight-ounce cups of coffee a day has been associated with reduced death rates. In a study of more than 200,000 participants followed for up to 30 years, those who drank three to five cups of coffee a day were 15 percent less likely to die early from all causes than were people who shunned coffee."

OMG!!! I thought all I got from my morning cup of Joe was a little lift and now this! You know Dayenu, the wonderful Passover song sung at seders?  We sing to God, "If all you had done was to rescue us from bondage in Egypt, that would have been enough but then you led us through the desert and dropped manna from Heaven to feed us." The verses go on forever, each telling of another blessing bestowed upon us. It's a great hymn of gratitude.

So let me sing a song to my morning coffee.   I often wake up feeling a little worried.  I write three pages in my notebook, (Thank you, Julia Cameron of The Artist's Way), I do a few brain sharpening puzzles on my phone and then I'm up and at 'em. 

I give Lucy her required tummy rubs, put on her leash, tuck some money and a compostable bag in my pocket, don my mask and head out. 

On the street I often see the sanitation workers, one crew in particular who have since retired. I miss those guys. If Lucy was in their way as she did her business they'd wait, and one of them would say, "Hey, when you gotta go, you gotta go." And  when I picked up after her he'd say, "Aw, throw it in here--usually I don't take that from anybody but you look like a nice lady."  He liked that line a lot--I heard it several times. 

Here's my tribute to our sanitation workers--what would life be like without them?

I walk to Kava Cafe on Washington Street.  I had been getting my coffee across the street at Three Owls but they shut down in the early days.  Kava's been there for me through the entire pandemic and so now I'm faithful.

At first I ignored the No Dogs sign and took Lucy inside but then I met the owner who asked me politely if she was a service dog and I had to say no.  He was really nice about it and so now she waits outside, keeping her eye on me.

 Arthur bought me this cup. I use it everyday-saving the planet one cup at a time!

To get there I walk by this park, that was once a parking garage. I'm usually too early for the gates to be open but the trees have grown so tall that they arch over the street in a lovely green canopy.

Then I come home and do the crossword puzzle and then I can face the day.

Oh, Coffee, my Friend! It would have been enough if all you did was taste good and wake me up.  Now that I know how good you are for me I'm more than triply grateful.

coffee cup illustration by Gracia Lam