Published: Tuesday, Sep. 08, 2009 / Updated: Friday, Sep. 04, 2009 10:33 AM
My coffee pot quit the daily grind
Every time I visit my parents in Pittsburgh my dad asks, “Do you need a coffee pot?” And every time I answer, “No. I have one.”
Well. Guess what? The other morning, I needed a coffee pot.
This would never happen to anyone else in my family. They stockpile coffee pots. And coffee. It's mostly because they find offers they can't refuse. My parents have four extra coffee pots and 12 cans of coffee. My sister has five coffee pots and six cans of coffee.
And me, I have one extra can of coffee and no extra coffee pots. I had an extra coffee pot, but it went bad. It worked for a few weeks and then quit, without notice. It was my one and only emergency coffee pot.
Why do coffee pots always go on strike first thing in the morning? Are they tired of being taken for granted? Fed up with working seven days a week? Or just sick of the daily grind?
They never exhibit any symptoms. No sluggishness. No conking out in the middle of a brew cycle. You merely wake up one morning, flip the switch and nothing. No gurgling. No wheezing. No drips or drops…nothing but an empty coffee pot wishing you a good morning.
So, what do you do in this crazed, coffeeless, caffeineless situation?
Well, you could dash out B.C. (before coffee) and make a hasty purchase, only to arrive home and open your new blender. Or you could call a neighbor, hope they're awake, and ask if their coffee pot is brewing coffee.
Or, you could hop in your car (with PJs on) drive to the nearest fast food chain and order a few large coffees to go. Then later, sometime after coffee and before the next morning, go out and buy a coffee pot. That's what I did.
Now, I'm in the market for a back up and maybe a back up for my back up. How many reserve coffee pots does one need to have in reserve?
I'm beginning to see why the “wise ones” mentioned above keep a string of emergency coffee pots. They'll never be without one. If only they lived closer, I could've borrowed one of their extra coffee pots. Next time I go to Pittsburgh, you can bet I'm coming back with a coffee pot.
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