Coffee

I love coffee. I have been drinking it for as long as I can remember...almost. Actually I was probably about 12 or 13 when I started drinking it on a regular basis. I grew up in rural central Massachusetts... Worcester County to be exact. During the autumn I would go pheasant hunting in the fields and swamps with my uncle. Usually I would spend the night on the couch at his house, for we would get up early in the morning and go. It was still dark when I would hear him coming down the stairs from his bedroom, the boards creaking under the weight of his heavy step. A dim light would come on in the kitchen and I would suddenly hear the coffee percolating. There was something about the sound...and smell, what it was I cannot say, but it was distant, yet placid and peaceful. My uncle would then pour the coffee in a thermos, screw the cap on, and make a couple of egg sandwiches, wrapping them in wax paper. I guess he thought that I was still sleeping, but I am a light sleeper, I will sleep heavy when I am dead. I wake at the slightest sound. When he was finished preparing the morning snack he would come over to the couch and nudge me on the shoulder..."get your ass up bud...it's time to go". Those autumn New England mornings are very cool, and crisp, one can feel the presence of winter around the corner. The coffee would warm the blood. We would load the shotguns in the back of his Blazer and drive to a hunting spot, usually somewhere near the old Rutland prison camp. It was usually still dark when we arrived, so we would eat our egg sandwiches and pass the thermos with the scalding coffee while we waited for sunrise.

                               18th century London Coffee House     

     Coffee has a long history. The drink, it is said, appears to have originated in Ethiopia sometime in the 12th or 13th century by a goat herder named Kaldi. The legend has it that Kaldi observed some of his goats eating coffee beans from the tree which, he noticed, caused them to be more energetic. The story may be somewhat apocryphal, however, with every myth there is usually a tinge of truth. Coffee spread to the Arabian peninsular where Bedouin travelers traded the commodity with Persians, Turks, and other peoples of the Islamic world. Coffee spread to Europe by the 15th or 16th century. The papacy in Rome was initially hesitant to accept the drink. This was probably due to it's popularity in the east. It was therefore considered by some to be the devil's beverage. However, around the year 1600 Pope Clement VIII while decked out in his papal vestments decided to give the devil's beverage a try. The Pope, being of an inquisitive mind brought the cup to his holy lips and took a first sip. After this he probably told his flock "Take this all of you and drink it, for this is the fluid of life everlasting." No doubt Clement ordered the papal commissary stocked with plenty of "Joe" hereafter. Coffee house began to spring up all over Europe where intellectuals gathered to enjoy the beverage and engage in stimulating conversation. during the early 18th century some of the most popular literature was written in coffee houses.  The Spectator was a series of witty (for the time) essays written by Joseph Addison and Richard Steele popularized the coffee houses in London. No doubt but that these two powdered periwigs were helped along in their thinking by the so-called devil's beverage. Coffee, today, is as popular as ever. Not only does it have a stimulating effect on the human mind, but it is now thought to be beneficial to a persons health if taken in moderation.

                                  Pope Clement VIII (1536-1605)
    
I am drinking a hot cup of "Joe" as I write this. Recently I have graduated to the single cup Keurig coffee makers, however, I cannot part with my old percolator which remains dusty and scarred, a relic from another age now in permanent residence in my attic. I have long since moved away from my home in Massachusetts. My uncle passed away suddenly, while hunting alone near the old prison camp a number of years ago. No doubt a thermos of coffee sat on the seat of his truck. If there is a heaven, perhaps he is there drinking some. Yes, perhaps heaven is one big coffee house. I would be ok with that.