The Return To Narnia (Short Story Concept) by Nathaniel A Miller A concept story that sequeled loosely the last book of the Narnia Ch... [8,436 words]
The Hawk by Cari Graham We find our strength and healing powers in the strangest of places. [489 words]
She (The Short Story) by Jamie Goetz She is the short story of a girl who sees the apparition of a familiar female figure. She... [2,961 words]
The Clergyman And The Brothel by James Buchannon This is a scene from a book I'm thinking about writing. It's set in the future an... [2,684 words]
Warm Goo by Gregory Allen Oddly enough, this story has generated interest with a publisher (subject to some rewrite) [3,277 words]
The Convict by Gregory Allen In the mind of a serial killer. [723 words]
The Bookcase In The Basement by Francois Fouche A mystery tale developed around the phenomenon of books changing locations in a ca... [5,118 words]
The Sunrise For Lady May by Gregory De Feo - [1 words]
The Virgin Of Chelsea by Francois Fouche The Virgin of Chelsea is the story of Eoin Farrelly, a London oil painter obsessed with t... [2,527 words]
The Slow Man by Gregory Allen Story of unstable retarded man. [1,267 words]
Wicked They Come by Susan Brassfield Cogan What is making that darned noise? [2,930 words]
Why Did You Not Stop Me? by Animesh Kar He thought he knoew about all of them! but he was wrong till that morning ... which wa... [3,028 words]
What Is Love Anyway! by Shmuel Yacobi Gist of the story: Feggy and Phil became good friends through Internet chat. Feggy wanted... [1,975 words]
The Legend Of Yin by Michelle Jones A story of an assassin in ancient China, out for revenge on his father's murderer. [2,940 words]
The Lake (The V. D. P. Levon Version) by V D P Levon Except for exact words, the inclusion of a cell phone and an idea, and th... [757 words]
The First Night by Alvin Gladstone The couple have just got married and the night has began, as they get ready to sleep - the adve... [4,709 words]
The First Alex by Gregory Allen Does anybody review any stories? [3,985 words]
The Color Of Life by Shmuel Yacobi Gist of the story: An actress was kidnapped. She managed to escape into the forest area. She ... [2,073 words]
The Chinese Run Away Bride by Shmuel Yacobi Gist of the story: The wedding celebration started in a village in China. The commun... [1,351 words]
The Absent by Martin De Leon Taking place in a hallway, a young mexican math teacher and his wife--she a maker a videos that she ... [4,500 words]
Star Shining Masterpiece. by Bradley Grimes A man exposes his masterpiece, to an overly critical girlfriend. [3,953 words]
Shooting Birds by M B Barlow A SF story set in the world of Deus. [6,092 words]
Out Of Sync by Gregory Allen Maybe it was just a dream. [722 words]
Nothing But The Truth by Shmuel Yacobi Gist of the story: Willy was on his way to Las Vegas and met with an accident. Willy slo... [2,071 words]
Middle Aged Misadventure by Ryan Michaels A humorous and true story about a 50 something year old and his quest for a kinship wi... [6,156 words]
Man In The Bank by Alvin Gladstone An anxious man in a bank, something is worrying him. [824 words]
Lost In New York by Shmuel Yacobi Gist of the story: The beach cop finds a lost girl. She is mute. Beach cop took her to Dr. Sar... [1,574 words]
Letter To Dad by Cari Graham This is moving letter written to a father that has passed in hopes of bringing closure to the gri... [403 words]
If All Things Are Possible,” Why Can't I Balance My Checkbook? by James Snyder For me, the most terrible time of each month is ... [904 words]
How It Must Feel To Die Alone by Aryka - [484 words]
Girl Downstairs by Alice W-M A girl meets another girl who steals the love of her life. [707 words]
Fenrir Part 1 by George L Shultz Big man meets small girl and kills many bad-guys. [3,310 words]
Engagement Of Love by Bancy Mwihaki A short story about relationships - family, love, friendship - all involving one young woman... [2,755 words]
Enemy Inside by Shmuel Yacobi Gist of the story: The US National Security Adviser Raymond’s Chinese wife Joe had secretly hired ... [3,877 words]
Do You Think I Was Wrong? by Animesh Kar When the thin line between reality and dreams get crossed!!!! [2,991 words]
Dead Or Alive by Shmuel Yacobi Gist of the story: Draco is a hunter and a very big man. He went out into the forest for hunting.... [1,809 words]
Alternative Justice by Shmuel Yacobi Gist of the story: Two young fellows raped a girl and accidentally killed her. The police f... [1,821 words]
After Death by Animesh Kar How he wished to come with him. But they said destiny is much more powerful than one can imagine! [2,052 words]
A Special Day by Cari Graham Remember how it used to feel when you waited for that special someone to arrive. [376 words]
A Cup Of Joe Says A Lot About Us
This Story Will Never End by Elide Bors This is a story of love... It proves that even when the body is old, the spirit can l... [7,467 words]
The Weight Of The Past by Diana Blizzard A young biracial girl explores her past in an attempt to connect with her African Americ... [2,945 words]
The Nephilim by Clint Stutts A man reflects on the demise of the small town he lived in. Where did the giants come from? Can ... [2,369 words]
The Movie Store by Daniel Hurley When I wrote this story I wanted to make it as real as possible. I wanted to capture the every... [3,003 words]
The Lopsided Penguin by Lori Lorien A research scientist in Antartica takes a penguin on board. [1,491 words]
The Escape by Nur Syafiqah A Jaaffar A short tale of a prisoner's escape from jail. [964 words]
The Dream by Daniel Brown A short story with a surprise ending. [1,163 words]
Soap Machine by Alexander Petrov - [2,187 words]
Shadow's Adventure 2 by Maritza Vargas This is just basicly part 2 of the story!! Shadow is having no luck in finding Menchi. Oh ... [668 words]
Pay Dirt by Armand Waksberg To be different is not necessarily bad! [1,811 words]
One Friday Night by Kenneth MacLellan - [3,112 words]
Neuro by Martin De Leon A piece of microfiction that was a top ten finalist in the Austin Chronicle's 2004 Short Story Contest. I... [1 words]
Jai by Casey Lauber Jai is an average guy or so he thinks... [1,549 words]
I-10 Crash by Brittany Tellez On August 13,2004 my brother, me and my mom were driving home and their was a dust storm, and we wer... [800 words]
Hunger Pains by Riot "She was fat..." [495 words]
Her Last Breath by Ryne Hughes This is a story of me witnessing my own mother as she takes her last breath. Title pretty much ... [895 words]
Gardens by Alexander Petrov - [1,296 words]
Final Climb by Constant Ngozi It's all about a climb that was supposed to be the final. [1,894 words]
Falling Free by Sarah-Ashleigh Jones-West When a man numb with life, hopelessly in unrequited love discovers a woman also caught in the mund... [2,157 words]
Estrella's Walk by Skeeze Whitlow Sensual description of Central American Witch's walk to the sea. [629 words]
Drugged On Vengeance by Jack M Brown A son, father and uncle, poisoned by sweet stories of victory, courage and honour, decide ... [1,408 words]
Doctor Trek - Meeting The Grade by Ian Kidd Captain Who and his companions try to stop a band of crazed, time-travelling "D... [8,936 words]
Cheeku And His Jungle Friends. by Srija Bhattacharjee The story is about a intelligent rabbit who trys to solves problems and troubles... [142 words]
Capp Gun by Bryan King A story about a capp gun. [1,089 words]
Capp Gun (Extended And Edited) by Bryan King A story about a capp gun. [1,489 words]
Brothers Of War by Brett M Holden A Union Sergeant marches to war with a regiment of veterans and new recruits. He has no left a... [4,005 words]
A Story Of Warriors Rev1 by Albert Davis This is a revised edition of a short story I submitted several years ago. [3,373 words]
6 Billion Chances To Kill by Bryan King An inspector is comming to the grill. I wonder what he might find. [511 words]
6 And 1 Half Minutes by Bryan King Sheriff Lanson is a crazy man. [1,034 words]
Go to page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 [22] 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
| |
TITLE (EDIT)
A Cup Of Joe Says A Lot About Us |
DESCRIPTION
This week I came face-to-face with a genuine dilemma. I had several meetings across town and for some reason I miscalculated and ended up with a 2-1/2 hour gap between meetings. I hate to waste time, but if I drove back to my office, I would simply have to return to my meeting later and with the cost of gas these days, one cannot be too cautious.
[902 words] |
AUTHOR
James Snyder |
ABOUT
THE AUTHOR
James L. Snyder is an award winning author and popular columnist living with his wife, Martha, in Ocala, Florida and can be contacted at jamessnyder2@att.net.
[October 2009] |
AUTHOR'S E-MAIL ADDRESS
jamessnyder2@att.net |
AUTHOR'S OTHER TITLES (15)
A Page From Betty Crocker’S Cookbook (Essays) Recently, while sitting in my chair drinking the last of my breakfast coffee, a thought staggered into my mind. I must confess most thoughts are quite lonely once they enter my mind, but this one had ... [860 words] [Humor]
A Silent Night — Not At My House (Essays) People say, as they get older their hearing is not what it used to be. I have found this to be true for myself. The older I get, and I plan to get as old as I can, the more I hear noises in the middle... [895 words] [Humor]
Be Happy, Join The Wednesday Worry Club (Essays) Of all the people who know me, no one would say I am afflicted with worryitis. They may say other things about me, which may or may not be true, but that's another story. [918 words] [Humor]
Dead-To-The-World Man Walking (Essays) One morning this week, I woke up with a black eye. How I got it still baffles me. I have my suspicions, of course, but some things are better left to themselves no matter how lonely they may get. [891 words] [Humor]
How To Cash In On Your ‘Ailment Capital' (Essays) Right after the president won his re-election bid for the White House, he made an interesting comment. He said he was going to spend his "political capital" wisely. At first, I did not understand wha... [926 words] [Humor]
If All Things Are Possible,” Why Can't I Balance My Checkbook? (Short Stories) For me, the most terrible time of each month is the day our bank statement comes. We commonly call it BSS (Bank Statement Syndrome). I don't know why it is, but I have trouble getting the parsonage ch... [904 words] [Humor]
In My House, If It's Broken I Bought It (Essays) Often a store has a sign with the warning, "You break it, you bought it." This is to keep people from carelessly handling the merchandise. I'm thinking of another sign, which should be posted all thr... [907 words] [Humor]
Malice In “I Wonder Who I Am” Land (Essays) For many years I maintained confidence in my personal identity. I knew exactly who I was and was quite comfortable in my skin. Although, I must confess my skin used to fit me better than it does these... [885 words]
Now That I'm Older, I'm Still Not Wiser (Essays) Now that summer is over and the children are back in school I found myself indulging in a little bit of retrospective thinking. It took some doing but I was able to think all the back to when I was a ... [883 words] [Humor]
Nurses, Bedpans And X-Rated Hospital Gowns (Essays) Tuesday last I awoke from my nightly slumber with terrific pain in my chest, much like an elephant break-dancing on my chest. It was painful just to breathe, but like the trooper I am, I shrugged it o... [923 words] [Humor]
Old Phil Propagated A Good Old Hoax (Essays) It began as all things begin n a long period of boredom with nothing exciting to do. Whoever said, “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop,” knew something of what they were speaking. [882 words]
The One Great Sermon That Got Away (Essays) Most people don't realize ministers are obligated to prepare and preach one great sermon in their career. In looking over my record of sermons, I noticed many "good" sermons, but an obvious lack in th... [886 words] [Humor]
Who Has The Greatest Job In The World? (Essays) I have, in my opinion, the world's perfect job. Just look at the evidence. I love people and I love God. I love talking to people about God and I love talking to God about people. Therefore, if you p... [963 words] [Humor]
‘And How Do We Feel This Morning?' (Essays) Without question, going to the hospital is teamwork from the time you arrive until you are wheeled out the front door. Everyone is working together for the common good of the patient, or at least a cr... [909 words] [Humor]
‘I'm Not A Christian, But I Play One On Sunday' (Essays) After more than three decades of church ministry, I have come to one unsettling conclusion. Actually, I've come to more than one conclusion, but this one is the most depressing. That conclusion is si... [890 words] [Humor]
|
A Cup Of Joe Says A Lot About Us
James Snyder
This week I came face-to-face with a genuine dilemma. I had several meetings across town and for some reason I miscalculated and ended up with a 2-1/2 hour gap between meetings. I hate to waste time, but if I drove back to my office, I would simply have to return to my meeting later and with the cost of gas these days, one cannot be too cautious.
You know gas is getting high when it costs more to fill up the car than the car is actually worth. The most valuable thing in my car is in my gas tank.
I remedied the situation by stopping in a small coffee shop for cup of Joe. As far as I'm concerned, there is no bad time to have a cup of coffee, in spite of the price. I ordered my coffee and when the waitress brought it to me, I began to think about coffee. Why did God give us coffee?
Then my mind went back to my grandfather, whose great gift to me was a love of coffee. Nobody loved coffee more. I remember one of his favorite quotes, "You can always tell a man by the coffee drinks."
Anathema to my grandfather was the idea of instant coffee. No man, in his opinion, would ever drink anything of the kind. "If a man would drink instant coffee," my grandfather perked, "there's no telling what else he would do. Never trust a man who drinks instant coffee."
Making coffee was an art form to my grandfather. There was a right way and a wrong way to make coffee, and he always insisted on the right way. Of course, the right way was the way he made coffee.
In grandfather's kitchen was an old wood-burning cook stove. My grandmother cooked meals on this ancient apparatus for more than 50 years. Sure, she eventually got an electric stove but it was more for show than anything else.
On this old-fashioned stove, my grandfather brewed his famous mud broth. He never allowed my grandmother to make the brew; it was his job, which he took seriously.
Once for his birthday we all chipped in and bought him an electric coffee pot. I had never seen my grandfather so mad. When he saw what it was he would not even take it out of the box.
He had strong ideas about coffee and how it should be brewed and woe be to the person who contradicted his ideas.
Grandfather always kept a fire in the old wood cook stove and on the back of the stove he kept his coffee pot, a large 2-gallon pot — one of those old-fashioned percolators long since gone out of style. The coffee was always on, and no matter when you stopped in to see him, he always had "fresh" coffee brewing.
When I say "fresh" I need to explain. Actually, the coffee was only fresh on Sunday. On Saturday night, he routinely emptied the coffee pot and prepared fresh coffee for Sunday morning.
He had an old coffee grinder and ground the coffee beans on Saturday night. He put some other things in the coffee, I have never figured out what. One thing I know he put in was a crushed eggshell. What it did to his coffee I have no idea, but grandfather was sure it was an important ingredient.
The freshly-ground coffee beans were put in, the pot filled with fresh water and set on the back of the stove to slowly perk. This coffee would last the entire week. The coffee was so strong on Sunday that if it didn't wake you in the morning, you were dead.
In fact, cousin Ernie died on a Sunday afternoon, so my grandfather tells the story, and one sip of his black coffee roused him and he lived seven more years, which was unfortunate for grandfather, as he had to support him.
Before retiring each evening my grandfather took care of his coffee. He would freshly grind a few coffee beans, sprinkle it on top of the old coffee grounds, and then add a newly crushed eggshell. Then he would refill the coffee pot with water.
His coffee percolated 24/7 and by Saturday it was so strong you needed a half-cup of sugar just to drink one cup. It was thick enough to use as syrup on your pancakes, but so strong, it dissolved your pancakes before you could eat them.
My grandmother once tried washing the coffee pot. When my grandfather saw her, he became furious, "Never wash that coffee pot," he spouted, "you'll ruin its character and a coffee pot needs a lot of character to make good coffee."
When my grandfather died, I looked at his old black coffee pot and discovered two things. One, the original color was blue. And two, although it was originally a 2-gallon pot, it only could take three quarts of water. The "character," so important to my grandfather, had built up so much over the years its capacity was diminished.
In pondering my grandfather, I thought about my Heavenly Father and His gifts. The Bible puts it this way; "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." (James 1:17 KJV.)
I really don't know why God gave us coffee but I do know God's character is of such a nature that it never diminishes His ability to bless me each day.
|
|
Submit Your Review for A Cup Of Joe Says A Lot About Us
Required fields are marked with (*).
Your e-mail address will not be displayed.
|
|
Submit Your Rating for A Cup Of Joe Says A Lot About Us
|
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
© 2005 James Snyder |
STORYMANIA PUBLICATION DATE
September 2005 |
NUMBER OF TIMES TITLE VIEWED
2265
|
|
