The strength of a coffee…
My son Andrew and I were having coffee at our local Coffee Club the other day. Seated comfortably at the table… me with my cappuccino… he with his chai latte… we were discussing his latest web design projects and [as always] the conversation turned to the blog. Ever the talented young web design guru [okay I am his mother ~grin~]… Andrew is always coming up with fan-dangled ideas for me to make improvements and additions to the website to make it more interactive and interesting. When and if I ever get around to making any of these changes is another thing… but I never miss an opportunity to get together with him to cook up ideas and ponder some dreams. Besides… I enjoy his company!
“Piece of Cake”
cartoon - pen & watercolour 9″ x 12″
artwork & content Copyright Jean Burman 2008
As we talked… my attention was drawn to a nearby table where two women were deep in conversation. One sat contentedly with her legs crossed… her foot curled around from behind… and the other had her two feet planted firmly on the floor.
Foot placement has always fascinated me… it seems to say so much about a person… and speaks volumes about the emotional/political terrain being covered in the conversation! LOL
With emphatic hand gestures and wide eyed amusement underscoring her words… the woman spoke earnestly to her friend. Between them lay two cafe lattes and a rather large slice of baked New York cheescake piled high with fresh cream… and two spoons!
It struck me what a comfortable scene it was. Warm… inviting… friendly. Convivial. And heart warming too!
An incurable people-watcher… my kids have often chatted me for ’staring’. Though it never occurs to me that I’m staring (I wouldn’t be so rude! ~grin~) “interested” probably describes it better! Nevertheless… this time I couldn’t help it… and I gave Andrew the nod.
He craned around to sneak a look… as I mused how wonderful I thought it was that these two people could find such comfort… good will… and warm hearted camaraderie over a simple cup of coffee!
“I mean… can a beverage DO that?” I asked not expecting an answer.
As we had been discussing blog topics and how tough it was to come up with a subject of interest to everyone… he turned to me and said… “well there you go Mum… there’s your next topic!” And so it was…
Coffee. The lifeblood of a nation. The lifeblood of the whole world? It does afterall… speak every language on the planet… in every city… in every country… across the globe. It is as much at home in the trattoria’s of Rome… as it is in the backstreets of Rio… or the casbahs of Morocco… or the cafes of Uzbekistan.
It knows no country.
It has no borders.
It favours no race, creed or colour.
It breeds no contempt…
and it needs no introduction.
It’s delicious wafting aroma can easily pull a crowd from 50 paces! Even those who don’t actually drink the stuff… love the allure of it’s aroma… evoking as it does a sense of the exotic. Far flung places like Africa… Brazil… and the Indian sub continent… the warm countries of the world where the culture is as steeped in mystery… as the air is “fragrant” with the scent of exotic spice.
It occurs to me that coffee has a strange kind of unifying effect on the world. It’s the one thing that we all pretty much have in common. The fact that more than half the world’s population could be indulging in a cup of coffee at any given time… on any given day… seems to me to have strange significance. Then a crazy notion hit me… “could the world’s problems be hashed out over a simple cup of coffee?”
Truth be known… the ritual of coffee drinking has little if anything to do with the actual drinking of COFFEE. It’s just something we do. Having a coffee gives us the excuse we need to sit down and ponder with friends and foe alike… the world and it’s doings. It’s all about communication. Coffee shops, cafes and casbahs across the globe bubble over each and every day with the voices of people sorting stuff out… sharing their problems… catching up on the gossip… hashing out deals… and (hopefully) finding solutions.
What a miracle then if it could be that simple. Imagine for just one moment… the Sunni and the Shia sitting in the dirt of a Baghdad street corner having coffee with the American. Or the Russian and the Chechen hashing things out over a coffee at the back fence. Or the Palestinian and the Israeli settling the dust of a thousand years over the one thing we probably all have in common…a coffee… the international beverage of our times! *wink*
I know it may sound trite… and I am by no means seriously suggesting that something so simple could provide a solution to the problems of “difference” between the peoples of the world!
But don’t you think… if the issues of human conflict were viewed LESS from our differences… and MORE from those human aspects we have in common… the world would be a much kinder, safer and more peaceful place.
“Sit with me awhile… hear my story… and tell me yours… in time I will understand your point of view… see the world as you do… and soon we will be friends”
So “chin chin” everyone… as we do our bit to bring about peace… one cup at a time!
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Addendum: I wrote this before the National Sorry Day… and would just like to add that having listened to (and heard) the Apology and the Reply… (and the subsequent lop-sided fallout in the press)… it appears to me that we Australians still have a very long way to go yet… to reconcile the past and move forward into the future.
What’s missing is tolerance and understanding… on both sides. Perhaps some sitting in the dirt over a coffee is called for! *wink* And the words I penned just the-day-before-yesterday never resounded so loudly!
So… for what it’s worth… here they are again…
“Sit with me awhile… hear my story… and tell me yours… in time I will understand your point of view… see the world as you do… and soon we will be friends”
February 15th, 2008 at 11:57 pm
Has it ocurred to anyone that is only the coffee that they truely share…perhaps these two females loved coffee, but only shared the drinking of the coffee together? Their ideas may have been miles apart, they may only see each other every now and then…but when they do get together..it is only the coffee that they share, yet..that is enough.
February 16th, 2008 at 6:44 am
Gosh, Jean, your “meditations” are always so chock full that by the time I get to the end my mind has already raced in several different directions. (Your painting is, as always, wonderful.) I can’t hope to add anything philosophical to your rich essay, so I’ll merely offer this: one of the things I love in Rome are the ubiquitous stand-up coffee bars. Stopping in for a capuccino or espresso and a tramezzino (sandwich snack) is always one of the day’s joys while there. And I’m always tickled by the fact that you can get an espresso doppio, meaning double, lungo, meaning with hot water added to make it less dense, machiato, or “stained,” which is with a dash of milk, or — and this one’s my favorite — correto, which translates as “corrected,” and means with a shot of brandy.
February 16th, 2008 at 8:08 am
Jools… you could be right!
February 16th, 2008 at 8:19 am
Thanks John!
I love to hear your stories of Italy… you have such an intimate knowledge having spent so much time there. And who better to hear it from than a local? I love the expressive names the Italians have for their different coffees… adds to the mystery somehow… although we are left in no uncertain doubt about correto (the corrected one)! LOL
I have a friend who worked for Kontiki for years and she grew very tired of Aussies on her Italian tours ordering “a Latte” and becoming most indignant when they were served a glass of warm milk! We are a nation of “shorteners”… names places things… if you can name it… we can shorten it (with obvious consequences! LOL)
February 16th, 2008 at 8:54 am
An overnight stop en route to south of France and the breakfast coffee still stays with me ……somehow thick and aromatic with hot croisants ,crispy rolls and apricot jam to spread . Nothing has ever come up alongside that memory .
As for the foot language I go for the swinging tapping motion I always try to find out just what is bothering this person . I dislike it especially when I have the conch.
February 16th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
Elinor I’d forgotten about that one! LOL Mothers often tapped their foot like that back in the day… with the strap or the wooden spoon being waved around at the same time. (Whoever said you can’t pat your head and rub your stomach at the same time! LOL) My experience was it seldom came to much… (lucky me I guess) but it worked wonders on me never doing it again! (chuckles)
Loved the huge cups and saucers in France… perfect size to dunk a croissant in… oh yum… funny how taste (and aroma) always lasts longer than other memories! LOL
February 16th, 2008 at 10:21 pm
great cartoons Jean!
February 17th, 2008 at 11:10 am
Thanks Roger!
February 17th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
Hi Jean!! Cannot offer too much here as I am not a coffee drinker (I seem to be missing out on heaps here!! Lol) BUT…I am an avid fan of tea!!! Same principle - different beverage!
February 17th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
Jools… you’re not missing out on anything! Everyone’s welcome!!!
Like I said… Q: Truth be known… the ritual of coffee drinking has little if anything to do with the actual drinking of COFFEE. It’s just something we do. Having a coffee gives us the excuse we need to sit down and ponder with friends and foe alike… the world and it’s doings.
ps… I love tea as well… but don’t get me started on that! (((chuckles)))
February 17th, 2008 at 1:19 pm
Thinking about it… coffee was just the “vehicle” for this little story… it’s really about getting to know and understand each other better. Finding (and learning to appreciate) the things we have in common… instead of fighting about the things we don’t. Oops…therrre I go again… (((chuckles)))
February 17th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
When ever someone walks through my door (friend or foe..tho mind you my foes do not have the courage to even knock on my door! Lol!!!!) I always, always put the kettle on!!!
February 17th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
Jools… I can’t imagine you’d have many foes! I can hear the kettle whistling from here… how bout a cuppa? LOL It’s a dark and rainy Sunday afternoon here… we’ve had literally buckets of rain overnight and still the rain keeps falling. (Hey isn’t that a song?) Nothing for it but to curl up with a dvd, a hot drink and a chocolate!
February 18th, 2008 at 6:27 am
I save my Frappuchino to drink with you over the net Jean, (and Jools and Elinor, Roger and John). I used to be more of a tea drinker but nowadays can be persuaded either way…as long as there is promise of good company and plenty of cheer! Why, even the cat senses my “coffee vibes” and prepares to launch herself onto my lap to indulge in social time. There is definitely something universal about the sharing of a warm cup…
As always, love the paintings. I think I relate more to the leg-wrapper…a seeker of comfort exposed to an uncertain environment. She longs to be protected from dangers but is inquisitive and curious of the world at the same time. So, leg wrapping gives her security while she pushes herself outside her boundaries and explores the environment through the eyes of her secure, feet-on-the-floor friend. She just can’t help it! (I think I’m really pushing it here! Ha!)
February 18th, 2008 at 6:28 am
I have heard about the “dampness” you are having up there..”row, row, row your boat!” McKay had 24 inches!!! They (the illusive “they”!!! Lol) have predicted 30 days of rain for us down here!!! So where is Noah????
No..I don’t have many foes Jean! But I am always running out of coffee!!! Lol!
I had a totally home made, delicious pasta sauce for dinner last night…hmmm! Followed by a lovely cup of tea…and it was all made for me!!! (big, big smile!)
February 18th, 2008 at 8:28 am
Mary… I think that’s a fair assessment… and a keen observation! I’ve noticed leg wrappers are often tall skinny people too… and curl one foot back around behind for practical purposes to avoid kicking their companion in the shins! (((chuckles)))
I had to google up Frappaccino to remind me what it was… it does sound delicious. I see too that Starbucks are covering their bases by making a Green Tea Frap as well. Another sinful offering my kids introduced me to is the Espresso Affogato… oh yum… now THAT’S niiice!
February 18th, 2008 at 8:52 am
Jools… yes… bailing out as we speak… (no not really)… but there has been plenty of the heaven sent stuff in recent days. We haven’t had as much rain as Mackay… but the night our car went under water at Christmas time the area received 385mm overnight (that’s almost 16 inches in one hit!) Couple that with a high tide… The weather of late swings wildly from the sublime to the ridiculous. People blame global warming… but it’s nothing out of the ordinary for the Southern Oscillation weather pattern in the change over from El nino to La nina.
Your Italian feast sounds yummy… nothing better than home-made… especially when it’s home-made by somebody else! LOL I’m so glad you’re smiling!
February 18th, 2008 at 9:50 am
In Italy and Sicily dinner is an event and takes all evening. The best food I have ever had. The best coffee was in Sicily and I think it was capuccino, but after John’s offering of many coffees I am not sure. It came in a very small cup, was very strong and sweet. My father who was from Sweden worked as an engineer on freighters for about 10 years before he settled here and he used to say that Brazil had the best coffee……He did not like the US coffee.
Jean, Your last blog reminded me of Marie Antoinette, the guillotine and her remark, “Let them eat cake.” You mentioned cake in the cartoon for this one too. Wonder if anyone else caught this?
February 18th, 2008 at 10:25 am
So glad you got that Katherine!
Yes… I was thinking of Marie Antoinette when I did the last cartoon. As for this cartoon… I was just thinking of a food comment to get the message across (but now that you mention it maybe I’m just a closet cake-y? LOL) I wasn’t sure about it at first. I wondered if “piece of cake” being a colloquiallism would have universal meaning. But I think it’s a comment used all over… (it’s certainly used a lot here!) LOL Thanks for stopping by Katherine… it’s always great to hear from you!
February 18th, 2008 at 11:52 am
I kept wondering why someone else did not make the connection, so I had to bring it up. It also made me hungry for cake……LOL….so I had to make one.
I used to drink lots of coffee, but now I have only two cups of capuccino when I get up in the morning and check my email. That coffee in Sicily led me to the nearest thing to it I could find: International Coffee Orange Capuccino. It is an instant powder in a small can……….just add hot water to 2 heaping teaspones and I love it.
February 18th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
Oh good Katherine… so glad I was able to inspire a cake! I love to make cakes. Home made is always so much better than store bought. I have a favourite orange cake that I make in the food processor… takes about 1 minute to mix using real butter… organic eggs and fresh orange juice. It’s so simple to mix… and only takes 30 mins to bake… yet anyone who ever tastes it falls immediately in love with it! It was a lucky find… (chuckles)
Your Coffee Orange Cappuccino sounds heavenly!
February 18th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
I used to make a pretty mean banana bread, quite different texture to the banana cake, but just as yummy with a heavy smear of butter! I am also partial to making our Anzac biscuits..rolled oats, flour, coconut, golden syrup ..hmmmm its been a while, I think that is all the ingredients!! I have to “smack” grubby little fingers that try to pinch them hot off the cooling rack! I used to make a full on Sunday lunch for my mother and my girls (have not done that for quite a while!!) sometimes I would do a roast pork with apple sauce, or a roast lamb with mushroom/garlic gravy or a silverside with a cheese sauce over the cauliflower and broccoli…hmmm now I’m thinking about dinner tonight???? Lol!
February 18th, 2008 at 7:01 pm
Oh… yum… that all sounds soooo good! I loved to cook BC (before kids) but for many years it had to be plain and simple. Banana bread with lashings of butter… mmmm… and Anzacs… now there’s a blast from the past! I used to make them with my mum back in the day!
Ooops… way past time for me to be thinking about dinner! Gotta go now… c u all tomorrow!
February 19th, 2008 at 2:18 am
Ouch Jools! Stop smacking my grubby fingers! I just want a taste!
(There is some queer global vibes going on here for yesterday I was inspired to make BOTH homemade tomato sauce and banana bread!) We should have a recipe exchange!
February 19th, 2008 at 6:10 am
Synchronism Mary!!! That is weird, its wonderful but weird!!! Lol! How many coincidences in the world occur and we take it for granted, or brush it off (i’ll just put the kettle on, here comes another cuppa worthy chat!!) . How many times do we think of someone and then that person rings or we see them in the street? How many times do we feel we have “been somewhere before” or met someone who seems familiar. I have had many “flashes” of what seems to be a memory, yet I have not lived it…and then that memory becomes a reality. It was far more common when I was a child, I think that is because as children we are far more receptive to “vibes”. Since my “hibernation” and I sit in a total meditative state (while I paint!) I have had more of these “flashes” or am I just more aware because I have slowed down??? Who knows? I do know that amazing things can happen within our realm of consciousness, where people can “link up”!!! Cuppa anyone?
February 19th, 2008 at 11:50 am
Has anyone been thinking of grilled cheese sandwiches? That wonderful comfort food!!!!!!!!!!! For the last two weeks I have had the urge for them after I have gone to bed…… then I get up and fix one. I have not ever had such a food craving before in my life! LOLOLOL
February 19th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
Probably missed you by now Jools… but if you’re still floating around… what’ll it be fresh brewed coffee with a wee dash of cream… or maybe a nice cuppa tea? LOL ;-/
Re synchronicity… it’s a powerful phenomenon. Some people are more tuned in than others. But I guess when you consider that everything in the universe has a molecular connection… including we humans… it’s little wonder that we can sense each other’s energy. Like you I always know who’s on the phone before I answer it… and can pretty much predict when it will ring… (but only when it’s someone I have a close connection with… that’s why it doesn’t work for predicting the numbers on Gold Lotto!) LOL Mothers and daughters seem to be especially good at it!
I have also often wondered with synchronicity what comes first… the chook or the egg… did that person ring BECAUSE I was thinking about them… or did I just know it was them when they dialled in the number? Need a pill and a good lie down now just thinking about it! (((LOL)))
Re deja vu… wow… that’s a really funny feeling isn’t it? I used to experience it a lot when I was younger. It seems also to be “place” related. Well for me it is anyway. Some places just seem to bring it on! Past life experience… or ancestral memory even… or maybe it’s just the brain re-formatting itself (!)… who knows? But it’s a fascinating phenomenon… especially when you know EXACTLY what the person standing in front of you is about to say before they’ve even opened their mouth to speak! Freaky indeed!
February 19th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
Katherine… OMG!!! It’s lunchtime here… and I was just about to make a salad… but had thought I might grill some haloumi cheese and slather it with olive oil and lemon juice to add to the salad. The plot thickens! (And I do apologise if it’s me who’s responsible for your late night cravings for grilled cheese sandwiches… let’s blame the time zone difference okay?) (((chuckles)))
February 19th, 2008 at 8:44 pm
Jean, I have enjoyed my late night grilled cheese snack. I use several kinds of cheese. Can’t wait to see what you inspire me to eat tonight……….LOL Last night it was peanut butter and jelly. i decided to try to break the cheese run.
My cake was chocolate with chocolate chips and walnuts added. Coconut icing. Never heard of Anzac biscuits so looked up how to make them. They sound wonderful and easy to make, so they are next on my list to try. Your orange cake sounds yummy……. Since I can’t eat the whole thing by myself, I share with neighbors. One neighbor has lost lots of weight because of cancer treatment so she loves my “goodies.”
February 20th, 2008 at 12:22 am
“Mothers and daughters seem to be especially good at it!”
Jean, you are so right! When my mother was alive we had the most amazing, inexplicable, (scientifically that is) mental connection. Together we once, (to the utter amazement of the giver), described the contents of a packaged gift…without touching a ribbon, (and it was an unusual gift too…bought overseas). My mother and I once had the same dream! I remember telling her about it and she finished the description…to the last detail! Weird, but fun! I miss her, (as you do yours, I know). I’ve seemingly lost my “sixth sense” over the years. I blame it on the sea of testosterone that I swim through daily , (boys all around!) Ha! You are lucky to have your daughter to carry on the tradition…
Jools, “synchronism” used to happen much more frequently when I was younger. I wonder why? I am still pretty clued in to who’s calling on the phone before picking up. But I just don’t seem as receptive as before…maybe I’m more distracted and rattle-brained. I’m too focused on keeping my head above water to calm my mind enough for subliminal energy waves, (ooo, that sounds dangerously “trek-y”!)
Katherine, I LOVE toasted cheese sandwiches. Yours sound quite bit more sophisticated than mine though. I’m going through a “greens” fetish right now. I cooked up some dandelion leaves with onion and garlic and have been topping my turkey sandwiches with them. Mmm….
February 20th, 2008 at 6:23 am
Mary..wow you and I would have been best friends at school I am sure!!! My ESP was much stronger when I was young..we had less to worry about then and our minds were more open. The older we get and the more info we pour in the less chance there is of accepting other stuff we do not understand…I have had many synchronistic (phew thats a long word!) moments durinf this “peroid” of life that I am in now. Such as walking into the Dr or Lawyers office just as a fax comes through or a phone call has happened. I have been in public places thinking about someone I need to see…and they walk in!!! I used to get urges to go “op-shopping” (second hand shopping) would obey those urges and then find exactly what I needed or wanted…I have heaps of stories!! I have never been tested tho! That would be weird!!!
My favourite “snack food” is fruit! Nothing beats cold, cold watermelon or mango straight out the fridge on a hot day. I also adore picking an apple fresh from the tree and ofcourse my all time best is plucking a juicey, plump strawberry from my garden..yummo!!!
February 20th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
Katherine… just as long as I don’t send the message out for a late night vegemite sandwich! Can’t for the life of me figure out what aussies like about the stuff… (looks and tastes like axle grease) but everyone seems to have it in their pantry for one reason or another… (maybe to grease axles duh LOL) I’ll try shooting for something a little more palatable okay? (chuckles)
Mary… here’s a good one for you. My youngest who is away at Uni rang for a chat this morning…
[A bit of background: last Sunday I watched a program on tellie which featured a business on the Coast (where she is) called Choclicious [ they specialise in handmade Belgian chocolates and boast the best hot chocolate on the planet]
Out of the blue I asked her if she’d ever heard of the place… to which she replied… “yeah… I’m standing right outside now… how did you know?” do-do-do-do (((LOL)))
Jools… your recent trials have probably honed your psychic abilities more than you realise. That’s a pretty cool spinoff effect… even if it has been hard won. Nothing is ever for nothing… as you know.
February 20th, 2008 at 2:31 pm
Oh I agree with you there Jean…I certainly do!!!
February 20th, 2008 at 2:37 pm
Probably my freakiest story would be when it was pre mobile days. I was preparing to go on a trip and needed to fuel up. I had told my mother that I needed to get fuel, but did not tell her when or where. I pulled into one of the many servos in town…just as I opened my car door, this very bewildered young attendant came up to me and said “Is your name Julie?…your mother is on the phone!” I looked at him with disbelief and said “what???” she had rung on the off chance that I would be there to give me a message before I left!!!
February 21st, 2008 at 12:32 am
Oooh! Jean and Jools!!! What great stories! Mothers are amazing creatures, aren’t they?! (Fathers too, of course…but they are not endowed with the same sort of sense…wonder why?)
February 21st, 2008 at 8:29 am
Hmmmm….I COULD answer that, but decline on the grounds that I would be “biast”!! Lol!!!!
February 24th, 2008 at 5:57 am
biased????
February 25th, 2008 at 3:49 am
Just last week I mentioned a name …..she walked in.My husband graned “Did you have to do that ?”
February 25th, 2008 at 3:49 am
GROANED
February 25th, 2008 at 6:43 am
((chuckles)) Yes… I’m afraid the gift is sometimes indiscriminate! LOL