May I Have a Cup of Coffee?

The question sounds innocent and straightforward enough, right? Or maybe not! I went to Starbucks one morning around 8:00 and ordered “a cup of coffee please”.

“Would you like Frappucinno, Expresso, iced or brewed?

“Just a hot cup of regular ole’ coffee please…

“What flavor?”

“Flavor?”

“We have Cinnamon, cherry, dark cherry, peppermint, caramel, chocolate…”

“Do you have ordinary coffee?”

“Yes sir, we have ‘coffee of the day’”

“Good, I’ll take that.” There are now two people behind me in line.

“Pike Roast or Columbian?”

“What’s the difference?”

“I don’t know the taste I guess…”

“Columbian”

“Decaf or Regular?” Finally, a question I understand.

“Regular” I think there are four people behind me, but I’m afraid to look.

“Mild or Bold?”

“Which is better?”

“I don’t know I don’t drink coffee.”

“Bold, I guess.” The line is not up to six and I can hear some rumbling going on.

“Short, Tall, Grande or Venti?”

“What?” Did someone whisper ‘hurry up’?

“What do you mean?”

“What size do you want?”

“What’s Venti?”

“It’s Italian for twenty.”

“Twenty what?”

“Twenty ounces”

“How big is Grande?”

"Sixteen ounces"

“Okay, just give a small”

“Okay, one tall regular Columbian coffee of the day.”

“No I said a small.”

“We don't have a small. A Tall is a small.”

“Then what’s the short?”

“It’s a small tall but it’s not on the menu.”

“Then why did you offer it?”

“Well we have it but you normally have to request it because it’s not on the menu.” The line is now 10.

“That makes no sense?”

“Sir I only work here.” They open another line; at least the pressure is off for a bit.

“Okay, I’ll take the small tall.”

“A short?”

“No a small tall.”

“That is a short.”

“Give me a Grande”

“Cream and sugar?”

“Can I add it myself?”

“Yes, but you need to tell us if you want it.”

“Why? Is it extra?”

“No Sir”

“Then why do you have to know?”

“If you want cream and sugar we don’t give you a full cup?”

“So I get less coffee if I want cream and sugar?” The line is backing up again.

“Well, yes but only to leave room for the cream and sugar.”

“Oh. Cream, please.”

“Low fat, Nonfat, Breve, Soy, Organic or Eggnog?”

“Just black please”

“Here or to go?”

“I’d better get it to go; I’m expected home for supper.”

“Name?”

“You need my name to order coffee.” Two people left, I’m glad they were pretty grumpy folks.

“Yes to put on the cup.”

“You want to write my name on the cup?”

“Yes sir, it’s so we can call you when it’s ready.”

“When it’s ready?! It’s just a cup of coffee.” Both lines now have 10-12 people, I quit counting.

“Yes sir, but there are a lot of orders being filled and we’ll get yours as soon as we can.”

“Okay, put down Bob.” I didn’t give my real name because I was afraid of retribution from the crowd.

“Okay, Bob that will be $1.85.”

Silence.

“Bob that will be $1.85.”

Silence.

“Bob! Sir!”

“Oh, sorry I forgot my name for a second. $1.85!. Does that come with refills.”

“No Sir.”

“That’s $1.85 for a black, bold, Grande, Columbian coffee of the day. Would you like anything else.” Someone behind me said “no thank you.”

“I guess not.”

“Cash?”

“No, someone gave me this $50 gift card, so I guess I’ll be back again.” Something must have happened, the crowd was groaning behind me.

“I’ll have to thank them.”

“You’ve been very helpful. Are you working tomorrow?”

“Why, are you coming back?”

“I plan to come back every morning until my card is used up.”

“No, Bob, I’m on vacation for the next month.”

“Oh! Too bad.” I paid my bill, waited until my name was called, got my coffee and left. There must have been a party because I heard a big applause as I walked out the door.

Life is full of choices and decisions. Often times we become overwhelmed with life and the choices that we have to make. We long for times when we could walk in and say, “a cup of coffee please” and the waitress sets it down in front of us without asking a question at all.

Sometimes we just want someone to help us get things across. You know the Holy Spirit is that way. When we make our requests to God we are told that the Holy Spirit helps us to communicate. “We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.” It’s a simple process, no decisions required on our part.

Tomorrow, I will be thankful that when I turn on my coffee pot, I’ll get coffee with no questions asked. And when I pray, I’ll be thankful that the Spirit of God is talking on my behalf.

Leave 'em Laughing

His name was Jack Thum. His profession was a professional clown. Few people remember him especially those outside the Chicago area. You see, Jack died some thirty years ago of terminal cancer.

When Jack died, Walter Cronkite mentioned it on his broadcast and the church bells of Chicago rang in tribute. All of Chicago mourned.

So what made him so special? Why, on October 31, 1979 did the mayor of Chicago declare the day to be "Jack Thum Day"? Why did Chicago mourn? The answer lies in the fact that Jack was more than just a clown. He was a man who loved children. For years he would perform in the children wards of the Chicago hospitals mostly without any compensation. He did it because he loved to make the sick children laugh.

But even greater than that, he and his wife, Shirlee, cared for 37 orphaned and neglected children throughout their married lives as well as their own. Although a couple of little means they cared for these homeless girls and boys without any government assistance. Again they did it simply because they loved children.

Mickey Rooney portrays Jack in a little known movie entitled "Leave 'em Laughing". In it there's a little song that carries a great thought. The movie has it as Jack's theme song. Its simple lyrics go:

"Wear a smile
On your face
When you're feeling blue
For a smile makes you feel
Like you think you should.
It's part of the clothes you wear
After you comb your hair.
Just put on your shoes and smile."

There's a lesson we can learn from Jack. We have a choice in how we approach life. We can wallow in the negatives and misery or we can put a smile on our face and make life better for ourselves or especially someone else.

Jack Thum's name will soon be forgotten except for an occasional rerun of the movie. There will be no more "Jack Thum Days" and the church bells will remain silent on the anniversary of his death. Soon his life will fade away into the pages of someones ancestral history.

But in the minds of the hundreds of children who saw him in the hospital his love will remain. The lives and futures of 37 boys and girls that spent time in his home will forever have Jack Thum as part of their heritage.

So, what mark will we leave behind? Will someones life be better off because they crossed our path? Will tomorrow be better because we were there for them today? Will someone be uplifted because we taught them to smile?

It should be our goal every day we live to find at least one person whose life will be happier because their path crossed ours. We should make it a point to make every day we live better for someone else and in wearing a smile on our face make their tomorrows better than their yesterdays.

It All Started with Kraft

I believe it all started with Kraft. It was on that day when I opened the bag of caramels and discovered it wasn’t there that I began to realize that things had changed. I thought little of it at the time, but when I opened the second bag and found the same thing was missing, it was then that I knew the end was near. It wasn’t there and chances are it never would be again. I was disheartened at the change; a change in something that had been an American staple for all the years that I grew up. It was something my brother, sister and I fought over with each opened bag, but now it was gone. When did it happen? Was it when Nabisco bought them out? Was it before that, just to cut costs? Why change? Why leave out the single most important part of the bag? Tears come to my eyes as I think of that one lonesome chocolate fudge caramel once hidden in each bag and the loss haunts the memories of my childhood!

Change is something that has slowly slipped into our world and it is disheartening and confusing at times. Remember when a five pound bag of sugar was five pounds? Now it’s only four. For Christmas my mom would always give me a box of chocolate covered cherries; twenty to a box. Suddenly there were only 16 and the last box was only 12. The box was about the same size but the contents had gone down dramatically. Frankfurters are now 8 to a package instead of 10. Of course that one was logical since buns were always eight to a package, but I suspect any day now that will change to 6. This week all of a sudden the bread was shorter and sure enough, it was now one and a fourth pounds instead of one and a half. A sixteen ounce can of green beans is now fourteen and a half ounces, a pound of coffee is thirteen and an half ounces and baking chocolate has dropped two ounces in some brands, while cupcakes and Twinkies are down a third.

Oh, and it’s not only the food industry. A two by four is now a one and three-fourths by three and three fourths, while a three quarter inch sheet of plywood is now only twenty-three thirty seconds. So why, are they still called two by fours and three quarter inch plywood?

And by the way, did you know that the 400 meter dash is only 437.44 yards and the 1600 meter run is 10 yards short of a mile! Now when did that one slip in on us?

Change can quietly slip up on us and as a result can make life very frustrating. We get comfortable and secure in knowing things are dependable, when suddenly, without warning, we get caught off guard when quietly our security is torn out from under us.

In this world of change, however, there is one thing that never changes, Jesus Christ. The Hebrews writer tells us that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.” (13:8) No matter what happens in the world we live in this is the one foundation stone on which we can continually trust. It is the one place we can always, from now and forever, turn to for security.

By the way I’m thinking of petitioning Kraft to bring back the fudge caramel in the regular bag of caramels. Some things just shouldn’t change!