A Slice of Coffee

His name was Bob Thompson. I knew him through church and work in the 80s. He was retired from IBM and now worked in the warehouse where I was a salesman. We also served as deacons together at our church.

Bob had a sense of humor that tickled me. Dry, sarcastic, witty. He also had two habits I thought were odd fits. He worked in a warehouse that was horribly hot in the summer but at break time he would sit out there to drink coffee and smoke a cigarette.

I always thought, "What a strange way to cool off."

I never took up smoking but I am wild about coffee. That's probably due to Bob and due to the next job I had at a radio station.

Bob's coffee was the strongest stuff I've ever tasted. He would come into the office each morning before anyone else and make it so I don't really know the ratio of coffee to water. But Bob would come in to refill his cup several times a day and hold the pot out like a  waitress at Waffle House asking if anybody wanted a slice. It was that thick!

I looked at the calendar today and noticed that March is all but over. The first quarter of 2014 is gone. Where has the time gone. It seems like a lifetime ago that Bob and I would share a slice of coffee.

During those break times with a cigarette in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other, he often said, "You know, the days just drag by but the weeks and months and years just fly."

In my mid-20s I didn't really understand but shook my head in agreement. I now have many more days behind me than before me and I understand.

Paul encouraged his readers to make the most of every opportunity (Ephesians 5:16 and Colossians 4:5). Seize the day. Redeem the time. However you want to put it, this day will be gone before you know it and you'll have no more chances to make the best of it.

So you better get busy while you still have today.