Phone call (2 of 2): coffee

"They're checking my blood sugar levels all the damn time now. If it goes above 200, they come in and give me a shot, and if it drops below 100, they bring me food and make me eat."

He stopped for a second or two. I heard indeterminate noises; I think he was eating.

"Those shots hurt, you know. Had four of them in one day a couple of days ago. I don't particularly want that again."

He laughed."I've about figured it out, though. Mom found where they're keeping the coffee pot. It's just a couple of doors down from my room. I can pretty well avoid the insulin shots if I don't put sugar in my coffee. So I get your mother to get all the Sweet&Low packets she can, and I put those in my coffee."

"Is the coffee pretty decent? If it's not, you could get Mom to bring up that little travel-sized coffeemaker I got for you a couple of Christmases ago."

"Nawwwwwwww. The coffee's pretty good, actually. They've got plenty of creamer and stuff like that. As long as your mom brings me the Sweet&Low packets, I'm all right. Gotta have my coffee, you know."

I just keep having these visions of Dad with two IVs; the morphine drip in one arm and the coffee drip in the other. Somehow, I don't think he'd mind that needle quite so much.

Comments

Gotta have the coffee. Tell him that Splenda tastes much better than the evil Sweet&Low. :) Coffee drinkers of the world, caffeinate!

If he's laughing, cutting up, and otherwise being your dad, I'd say that he remains unbroken ... and that'll make us all smile just a bit brighter.

Splenda good ... but caffiene can screw with your blood sugar levels. The things you learn reading about the Atkins' diet.

That's like my dad. He lives off diet coke tho, but if he has his coffee out comes the sweetener. I don't know if he has a preference.

I so wish I could appreciate coffee like the rest of the world seems to. But to me it tastes incredibly bitter, although it smells wonderful. If only it tasted like it smelled.

You can get coffee that tastes like it smells. And it will only cost you 2,500 dollars. Get a round trip ticket to Nairobi Kenya. Hire a matatu to take you to the Nairobi Java House. Order a cup of coffee. Drink it and get on the plane and come back home. Seriously. I think I can honestly say that the only cup of coffee I have ever *enjoyed* was in Nairobi. But the funny thing is, I bought a half kilo of fresh beans, and brought them back to the US. I gave them to my sister, who owns a coffee shop. She ground them and made a pot -- bitter as hell. She thought it tasted excellent. There was a faint hint of the original smoothness, but it was nothing like it was in Kenya. The only thing that I can think of is that the coffee makers are somehow different.

Ahhhh...coffee... french pressed freshly ground is the best and without it i am one very mean teacher! Your dad...and all of us should take whatever small pleasures we can! So glad to hear he is in good spirits.

John, Most likely because as coffee ages it gets more bitter. That's the reason coffee has a shelf life. If it wasn't ground, though, it should have lasted longer. Amy, All I have to say is Kona. If it's fresh and pure Kona, smooth as anything. I'll even drink that stuff black and I normally have to have sweetener.

gotta add my two cents for the splenda. i use it all the time now and actually prefer it in coffee to sugar. in fact, i never drank coffee with sweetner until recently. it comes in little packets as well as a box. kona is very good. i had some when at a workshop in hawaii a few years ago. it's very good. the water has a lot to do with coffee flavor. i use reverse-osmosis treatment here to get a decent cup. (same for tea, btw.) hang in there amy!

great entry amy :) i am with you re coffee tasting yuck smelling nice...