Love Potion #?

In the comic opera L'Elisir d'amore ( The Elixir Of Love) much of the humor is derived from the supposed existence of a powerful love potion. Of course the mixture is phony and only as effective as the faith of the believer. Yet this is a popular theme in stories, second only to perhaps the fountain of youth, and many even today persist in relying on a so-called "love potion."

The slow food crowd would probably lean toward some variety of tea as their beverage of choice. There's something to be said for drinks such as hot cocoa during certain seasons of the year. Those of the health persuasion might select a vitamin water. Of course there are always advocates of something in the alcohol line.

But for Shellie and I, our magic potion would have to be coffee. Woven into the fabric of our day are steaming mugs of java. In fact our day usually begins when I wake Shellie with her first cup. Then we sit together with more coffee over breakfast and still another cup if time permits. As she goes out the door for work, Shellie has her to-go mug.

We've had many deep discussions and solved myriad problems around the table set with cups of coffee. Because good coffee is always hot, it makes it necessary to sip, pause, and perhaps think before speaking. I believe this has often kept us from haste that might later be regrettable. For us, coffee slows us down, makes us concentrate on the time at hand, and ultimately draws us together. Our long standing "place" continues to be the Mudhouse. There, even in the buzz of commotion, we can find time for each other. In such a crowded, hurried world, only a true magic potion could do that.