Coffee Is My Happy Place, Let Me Be!
“There’s these abrasive beatings to be avoided everywhere you look…”
I won’t call her a friend, although Facebook suggests she is one. I’d say she’s more like a professional acquaintance. Were it not for our tenuous connection to a shared client, I’d probably never know her.
Yet here she is on my Facebook Friends Feed, declaring:
“People who hold their coffee in both hands, slurp it, and let out an audible “Aaaahh!” are just the worst. I want to kick them! Who’s with me?”
Okay, friend, I don’t know who peed in your Cheerios, but is it necessary to rain on someone else’s simple pleasures?
One of my all-time favorite movies is 1981’s My Dinner With Andre. There are many things to take away from the film. Andre is out of touch with the importance of creature comforts — probably because he’s never really experienced hardship, knowing he always had wealth to fall back on. Wally, by contrast, is a struggling playwright who doesn’t always know where his next meal will come from. As the film nears its end, Andre berates his friend for clinging to the earthly, fleeting pleasure of an electric blanket.
Wally’s response is why I love this film:
“Yeah, but I mean, I would never give up my electric blanket, Andre. I mean, because New York is cold in the winter. I mean, our apartment is cold! It’s a difficult environment. I mean, our life is tough enough as it is. I’m not looking for ways to get rid of a few things that provide relief and comfort. I mean, on the contrary, I’m looking for more comfort because the world is very abrasive. I mean, I’m trying to protect myself because, really, there’s these abrasive beatings to be avoided everywhere you look!”
With all of Andre’s stories and philosophical meanderings, he is still presented as the epitome of privilege.
Wally just wants to enjoy his electric blanket in peace.
That Facebook friend of mine hating on people who enjoy their coffee is much like Andre, but less interesting.
Now I’ll be fair. She’s probably had some hardship. That may be why she was so crabby at someone visibly and audibly enjoying their hot beverage.
But we’re all in this together. We can only do our best to get along, but we also need to cut each other some slack.
If cradling my hot cup of coffee to stave off the winter chill annoys you, do me the grace of letting me enjoy it.
If relishing that glorious brew and feeling waves of warmth wash through my wracked and tired body annoys you, do me the grace of letting me enjoy it.
Let us compromise. One slurp is freely allowed. Two should be tolerated. More than that may deserve an annoyed look. Any more than that and, well… would it kill you just to let me enjoy my hot beverage?
The world is full of people looking for small comforts to get through the day. There’s these abrasive beatings to be avoided everywhere you look.
The least we can do is enjoy our coffee in peace.
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