I like a strong cup of black coffee in the morning. Most of the time it is two or three. Who am I kidding, I am usually good for four cups.
Have you ever heard the song “One More Cup of Coffee” by Bob Dylan? Often, that song is in my head while I pour a cup of coffee. Sometimes I ask Alexa to play it. But then I feel guilty and awkward that I am talking to a machine. And even more uncomfortable when I think that the machine is learning about me and gathering info.
Maybe I will just keep singing the Bob Dylan song in my head.
Do I like that buzz I get from the coffee? You bet I do. I love my mornings when I get that first blast of caffeine and it makes me smile.
Occasionally I worry if I am addicted to coffee. It is a substance that has addictive properties. Am I addicted? When was the last time I went without a cup? I can’t remember.
Am I using the coffee as a shield against the day that I am about to face? Am I unable to function in the world without the help of this substance that is farmed in the warmer countries and brought to my cold morning in a bean? What if I don’t have my black coffee in the morning? What happens if I face the world without my shield? Will I be like the Spartan going into battle without his shield and feeling the arrows rain down? Can I make it?
I think of other people who have a cup of coffee to start their day. The truck driver who turns the eighteen-wheeler onto the freeway as the sun is coming up. The electrician who walks onto the jobsite with a toolkit in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. The horse trainer ducking under the webbing of a stall to rub the legs of thoroughbred.
Are they also using the coffee as a shield? Or am I overthinking this? Should I just enjoy this liquid that brings something extra to my day?
I am no longer going to worry about these questions. I am going to grab the handle of my coffee pot and pour another cup of coffee into my favorite Chilmark Pottery mug.
“One more cup of coffee for the road One more cup of coffee before I go To the valley below”
-Bob Dylan
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