“I'd rather take coffee than compliments just now.” ― Louisa May Alcott, Little Women

Today I am getting ready to get ready for my portrait session. I'm talking about the pictures they have scheduled where they will be featuring my esophagus. No food or drink since last night. That means no Community Coffee until after the photo session is completed. As you can tell, that really doesn't bother me, bother me, bother me, bother me, bother me, bother me, at all. This is what I'm working on today, Wednesday, June 20, 2018. You do know I am exaggerating ever so slightly. Let's be honest, I am always feeling better when I have my Community Coffee. Don't tell me it doesn't matter. Back in January of 2015, Serena Williams, superstar tennis player, found herself down 0-6 after the first set in a match in Australia. Feeling sluggish, she got permission from the umpire and the ball girl fetched Serena an espresso. She drank it and went on to win the match, 0-6, 6-3,6-0. Here's one for you. Before 1908, folks filtered their coffee with a cloth. In fact, in a pinch one could use their sock if they had to. A German homemaker, Melitta Bintz, got tired of that practice and she wasn't satisfied with the taste. She literally took a page out of her son's schoolbook and fashioned a paper filter. This contraption was patented and she went on to become a coffee filter mogul. The company she founded still exists today and sells products under the Melitta Coffee brand. One last little story. In the 1500s, coffee was imported from Arabia to Europe through the canals of Venice, Italy. While people in Christian Europe liked the caffeinated drink, it was greeted with suspicion. Some called it “Satan's drink.” Monks even urged Pope Clement VIII to outlaw the “Muslim” drink. The pope argued that the drink was so good that it would be a “sin” to let only “pagans drink it.” Thanks to Pope Clement, coffee began to spread across Europe. And later came The Community Coffee Company, and now you know, as Paul Harvey used to say, "...the rest of the story!"

Those little tidbits may come in handy someday. They might even save you from using up one of your 'phone a friend' options. Or something like that. I heard yesterday that, in general, IQ's in our nation are falling. According to this report, this new development is occurring across the board, in all family groups without regard to status. Their conclusion? They can only guess that it has something to do with "the environment". I have my own observation. If they want to see some crashing and burning of IQ's, well, they need to get out on the freeways in and around the Houston metroplex. Some said that if we were to begin telling people the brain is an app, maybe some of them will start to use it. I guess we should not be surprised. Some people are proud to finish putting together a puzzle in a few hours, especially when the box clearly says 3-5 years. I have to confess that my brain has misplaced my name and facial recognition modules. Then you have the ultimate put down, "I see that you are street smart, Sesame Street." It does seem like a less than bright future because I'm almost certain that I will die not having any idea what 95% of a scientific calculator is used for. I think I'm pretty much finished with this one. I've run out of time and crayons to explain it any further.

I had to part company with a very close sidekick the other day. I hated to do it, but, the time came when I had to move on. After about 10 years of a very close and enjoyable relationship, I canceled my Sirius XM satellite radio subscription. Those little portable radios they give to you as a part of the service are pieces of junk. I've replaced mine a couple of times. Plus, they keep going up on the price each year. The won't let you cancel online. You have to talk to a real person. That wasn't so great since I could barely understand the person I was talking to. Her message: Let us try to fix this so that you will continue to be a subscriber. Nothing is more aggravating than wanting to listen to the radio versions of Dragnet or Gunsmoke but just as you get ready that cheap excuse for a radio goes out. At any rate, I will miss my NASCAR station and my Old Time Radio station and my Bluegrass station and my Southern Gospel music station and the one that plays clean stand up comedy. However, life moves on. I can listen to as much of any of those offerings sitting at my desk on my computer and I can probably figure out how to get a lot of them on my phone. I don't want to be overly dramatic, but, my separation reminded me of when Richard Nixon lost to JFK. He held that famous press conference in 1962 where he uttered the famous words, "You don't have Nixon to kick around anymore,..." That's my story and I don't know if anybody that matters knows about it, but, I'm still sticking to it anyway. Have a great rest of the day and may God add His blessings. Amen. .....More later.