Horse Manure Park

I read that today is National Coffee Day. Who comes up with this stuff? Not that I have anything against coffee. Oh heavens, no! Every damn day is national coffee day in my life. Coffee is my elixir; my cure for all things dark and dreary. In fact, on this overcast and chilly autumn afternoon, guess what I'm drinking? You guessed it. I'm kidding. Coffee it is. Specifically, Caribou Daybreak, even though it is nowhere near daybreak at the moment. Hell, I will probably be swilling this stuff well into the evening hours. And by 10:00 PM, I will be deeply regretting my decision. I will cross that bridge when I come to it. But what can I say? I love coffee. Good, strong coffee. And best of all, the Surgeon General has decided that it won't kill me now.   This is still the Surgeon General, right? He's the only one I'm familiar with, so I'm guessing there's been no change in the past 35 years. I remember my introduction to coffee. I was a fresh...

I'm enjoying the first day of spring doing a couple of my favorite things... Catching up on some reading with a cup of extra strong Peaberry coffee from Costa Rica (thanks Scott and Ann!) and savoring a fine cigar from the Dominican Republic, while chilling (literally) in the crisp Minnesota sunshine. My dad used to tell me I was named after Sammy Kaye. I never really knew if he was kidding me but it is interesting to learn more about the big band leader whose namesake I may (or may not) be. I found this little treasure while browsing my favorite used book store (if you're in the Brainerd Lakes Area, check out Emily's Used Books right next to BIR. You won't be disappointed). It was published in 1967 and it is simply oozing with information. The author (George T. Simon) wrote for Metronome   magazine; he had an encyclopedic knowledge of the big band era. Simon passed away in 2001, but what a gift he left us. A wonderful read!

It all started a couple of days ago when I read an article speculating coffee prices were going to skyrocket in the coming months (there are a number of reasons for this price hike, but for the sake of humanity, I won't go there). While the article did not predict how high the prices would soar, the author used the word "significant." Since then, I've been thinking about something and I suppose I'm little morbid for even broaching this squeamish thought. Like everyone else, I'm a creature of habit. And one of the worst the worst habit I have is drinking coffee. Actually, let's call it what it is: an addiction. I've said to the Speaker of the House more than once that if I was forced to make a choice, I would stop imbibing in my favorite barley and hops beverage  for life before I would cease my coffee intake. It is something I simply can't live without. But how much am I willing to pay for this bean of the gods? And how much money woul...