Crisp and Blurry

Most people remember their first kiss, or their first beer. I remember my first cup of tea, which immediately led to my first cup of coffee. I was 16. I can't believe this is legal, I thought! A door had opened and I wanted more. In high school, while my friends were taking drugs and drinking, I was plugging in the coffee pot as my parents drove out of the driveway. My skin tingled and I could focus and concentrate. I could paint three paintings in a day and in between dance wildly to Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin. I loved it! I thought I had found my first God. I started making more paintings and pastel drawings under the influence of my newfound beverage and wondered if I could ever work without it.

Yesterday a kind man with sleepy eyes who I've seen regularly at the jams bought my husband and me each a beer. We had just shared one, which is usually about right for the night, and here we were, each with another. I smiled and thanked him and wondered where I would hide it or pour it when he wasn't looking. Maybe if it takes me three hours to drink that will be about right. But would it stay cold? To me that's the best part about beer, the ice cold temperature and the bubbles. After a few sips my edges start to blur. I guess people want this. I prefer the sensation of crispness most of the time. We had another jam to go to and shortly after arriving I felt really sleepy. I asked the waitress for a cup of black coffee. Ah, yes. The coffee gave me a sensation of crispness, creating a boundary on my skin and a calming sensation in my torso. I sat up straight. No more blurry edges. I spotted a piece of Halloween chocolate in an orange plastic pumpkin head sitting on my table and nibbled it with my sips of hot black coffee.

But it's not just the beverages themselves that are enjoyable but the associations and combinations that can enhance the experience. Even the hours in between can make enjoying these pleasures all the more delightful. That may be what defines a ritual. For me swimming enhances my enjoyment of hot tea and coffee, and playing music and sweating makes drinking an ice cold beer quite refreshing. My husband used to enjoy a late lunch after a day of teaching science at a local high school. He'd walk home, make a sandwich, and enjoy it with a beer while sitting in the bathtub.