National Coffee Day

       Retirement has a lot of advantages. Did you know that there are three notable days in the month of September? No? Labor Day is not a surprise and most of us know that September welcomes the first day of Autumn…but hold on…September 29th is National Coffee Day! With mugs raised we will hail the hot liquid on its day of honor. Allow me to share an employment experience that fits with National Coffee Day.

       My first and only ‘office’ job was an adventure. For reasons I will not disclose, I was Office Administrator and not CEO. Office Administrator is fancy for receptionist. Receptionist is derived from the word receive, and I received about three people a day. I soon learned that office work was not a good fit. I was expected to handle fax problems that were outside my comfort zone. My comfort zone was the area immediately surrounding my desk. I liked sitting at a desk and I had a good window view. As for responsibility? My foremost responsibility was to see that the coffee pot was full.

       Coffee. Coffee. Coffee. The Coffee Pot, the Coffee Maker, the Coffee Machine. Office life is good as long as the precious liquid is supplied on time and without flaw. Computers, copiers, fax machines, none match the importance of this revered office shrine. Although I was very good at being ‘receptionist friendly ’my cheery disposition disappeared the day I had to tape the word BROKEN on The Coffee Shrine. Unable to resist giving it that personal touch, and not wanting my preschool teacher training to go to waste, I drew a sad face with tears dripping into an empty cup. I did have the business savvy to schedule a visit from the coffee service for the next day, but sorry folks, if you want coffee tomorrow you will need to bring it with you in the morning.

       The next day, when I arrived at 8:00 a.m. the sign was down, and the coffee pot was half full. “Oh. It's working.” What could be the meaning of this surprising change of events? Why did one early bird individual ignore my sign and be so bold as to press the Start button? Does that person have anything to do with the coffee pot not working the day before? All necessary plugs were plugged into all necessary sockets, of course I checked that. I could ask the risk- taking individual who dared to defy my BROKEN sign and push the START button, why they considered that there was a small chance it would work, when I, the keeper of the coffee pot had declared that The Coffee Maker was broken. Why would they push that START button?

      We will close this with what can only be called a 'cliff hanger.' Does the coffee pot continue to work through-out the day or does it blank out mid-afternoon? Does Office Administrator Air Head discover why the machine stopped and then returned to functioning order without or perhaps with human intervention? Did supernatural forces attack and then repair human machinery? You will never know.