I am not sure if my coffee drinking gets me into trouble or fosters creativity.

And I am even more concerned when you add other coffee drinkers instead of just myself.

More to the point, guy coffee drinkers.

It seems to me that some of the biggest problems I have encountered happened at the coffee pot at work from bragging to deception.

Conversations have been lively.

I was thinking back to a memorable time with a cup of coffee. I was reminded of my first year at the LC-M school district. My little desk was in the social studies workroom, right next to the coffee pot.

I had actually bought it, and all the teachers chipped in and bought coffee.

Now, except for one or two teachers there, the rest were all coaches. The other two was a battle-hardened teacher whose life never seemed to keep her down. She was short and attractive, but her attitude was at least ten feet tall. And you did not want to get on her bad side.

The other was a battle-hardened Marine who then came to teach economics and government. I am still not sure to feel sorry for him or the students.

But like I said, it was a department mostly made of young coaches who were always trying to put themselves at the top of the pecking order.

The Marine hatched a devious plan.

Everyone knows that Marines are famous for their strong coffee. The kind that you sip, march and stay awake till June.

So, I watched with each day that he made a pot, poured himself a cup (always black) and would nod, ‘this is good coffee.’

Of course, none of the coaches could back down from that challenge. So they would grab their cups and do the same.

You could see them turn a little green, but they would drink it right there along with him.

It kept on, with the coffee getting darker and thicker every week until the weight of the coffee broke the pot.

Then we duct taped the handle back on and did it some more until the decanter finally cracked under the weight.

It was good times.

This week when I was at a breakfast event and once again, you have men, around a coffee pot, all talking about honey-do lists and how they hate doing them.

One said he took the list slowly, the other said he marked off the things he felt was “woman’s work.”

All and all it was full-scale bluster.

I chimed in that I had a short honey-do list because early on in our marriage I purposely messed up a load of laundry and broke a few dishes, getting me banned from the kitchen and laundry.

I could see from the nods and the snickers of approval, I was now an initiate of the tribe.

The coffee tasted good. So did the donut my wife said I should avoid.

Well, I am done with this cup, so if you excuse me, I have to start dinner and there is a load in the dryer to fold and put away.

Till later, keep the cups warm and topped off.

 

Michael Cole is a syndicated columnist that when he is not writing, he is plotting global domination. You can follow him at www.storyoveracup.com