"Coffee: the favorite drink of the civilized world." ~ Thomas Jefferson

Whew! She is b-a-a-a-c-c-c-k! The lady of the house may have left the building but she has now returned. That's right. And, this makes things like they should be on this back-to-work Monday, July 2, 2018. But I digress. May we turn to a subject that is near and dear to my heart. COFFEE. I am 100% a supporter of the free market. (As long as it is also a fair market.) This means that some folks like one thing and others like something totally different. I use the strawberry concoction picture today as an illustration. I see this posted on Facebook. I see people fawning over it. My response? May I please be excused to go and throw up? I think it's because people try to associate coffee with that particular establishment. The symbol on that cup and coffee, do not, in my not so humble opinion, have much to do with each other. But, I do recognize that it is in the eye of the beholder, and folks are free to plunk down $6 for a small strawberry drink from a supposed coffee joint if that's what they want to do. The Community Coffee Company has recently come out with the individual serve, (k-cup), option for a Private Reserve line of coffees including several espresso blends. Before, these blends were only offered in ground coffee packaging. Twenty of these little jewels run about $18, however, they offered a huge trial discount and I ordered in some just to check them out. The trial package consists of a variety pack of the different espresso brews, a total of 80 individual serve units, therefore, I should have enough to determine whether I like it or not. I will keep you posted. I know how interested most of my readers are in my coffee taste testing activities.

I've heard for years how that growing old is not for the faint-hearted. Funny how that used to be mostly a joke. It's not a joke anymore. I used to think that older people can be quite funny. I have come to realize that I am exactly that, and maybe even borderline hilarious. I know. At least I can still laugh about it. The other morning as I leaned out of my truck window to open the electronic gate here at the company, a moth or maybe even one of those huge wood roaches flew into the cab and hit me on the neck. Talk about some early morning flailing and kicking. Talk about an old man with some moves. That video would have surely gone viral. It took me a while to calm down. And, just so you know, I haven't found the culprit yet. Hopefully, it flew back out into the trees when I was practicing my escape evacuation plan. You don't have one of those? I didn't either, but, it had come time to implement one. I no longer see that well at night. Some time ago we upgraded the headlamps on my truck to a brighter, higher profile. I remember when I first got them several years ago now, it made a huge difference. I was really proud. That was then. Now I find myself flashing them forth and back trying to keep a better view of the road up ahead. I switch them thinking they must be on dim only to find out they were on bright already but I just can't see that well on the dark stretch of road I travel. After that bug flew in I'm pretty sure I upgraded the standard from faint-hearted to faint, period, end of story. At least, thus far, I've lived to tell about it. One more time. For that, and so much more, I am thankful. Amen.

This week we will be celebrating our nation's 242nd birthday. Back in the late 1980's, I was able to visit Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. This is the location where the American Revolution was greatly challenged as George Washington and his troops suffered through a deadly winter. There is a house on the grounds. It is the one where George and his wife Martha stayed. Their bedroom was upstairs. The story is told how that George refused to sleep in his own bed while his men were suffering so much in their makeshift huts. General Washington lost nearly 2,000 soldiers during that winter of 1777. In addition to the cold and starvation, they succumbed to influenza, dysentery, typhoid, and typhus. I visited the house. I toured the museum. I walked the grounds. Everything about the remembrance of what happened there spoke of sacrifice. I read some of the preserved prayers of our Founding Father. (I believe he deserves that title.) Those prayers indicated that George Washington believed in Father God and His providence and protection. Needless to say, I was moved by being in that place. Including those who lost their lives during the War of Independence, over 1 million of those wearing the uniform of our nation have paid the ultimate price. I think it a good thing for us to remember to remember because the freedoms we hold dear were not free to those who gave their lives up on behalf of us all. May we follow the example of George Washington in seeking the help of Almighty God on behalf of our United States of America. Amen. ....More later.