What A Beautiful Day

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     Stan woke up late and stumbled into the kitchen. Absentmindedly, he assembled his coffee pot and turned on the burner below it. He walked into the living room, located the remote for the television and turned it on. After surfing for a moment, he settled on CNN. Setting the remote on the arm of the couch, he returned to the kitchen to watch the coffee pot.

     He didn't need to watch the coffee pot. He just felt the need to. It wasn't just any coffee pot; this one had belonged to his grandparents. A vacuum coffee pot, he had his eyes on this contraption since the first day he saw it sitting on their stovetop. Forget the farm and all of the other stuff his grandparents owned, all he wanted when they left this earth was their coffee pot.

     Put water in the bottom, coffee ground in the top, and watch the magic. First the water boils from the bottom up into the top container, and when you remove the heat it gets sucked right back down into the bottom, sans the grounds. Amazing.

     While waiting for the first act of the coffee pot ritual, Stan glanced up at the television. On the screen was a newscast about a tsunami that had hit everywhere along the coastline of the Indian Ocean. The scene was horrible; everywhere the camera turned was utter destruction.

     Just as the narrator came back onto the screen, the coffee pot had started boiling the water to the top container and Stan tore his eyes away to watch the magic of the coffee pot in action. The water level slowly rose and Stan already had his hand on the knob to catch the action at just the right time - to make the perfect pot of coffee. Just at the water had nearly reached the crease in the upper container, the one that indicated water level of a full pot, he turned the heat off.

     Perfect, he thought to himself. Now he just had to wait for the sucking sound that indicated the coffee was ready. He looked back at the television screen. The screen showed people running away from the waves as they came crashing in on their holidays. It showed people milling around the beaches and towns looking for loved ones.

     Children were walking around in a daze, lost in the confusion, looking for their families. Parents were walking through the debris, looking for some trace of their children. Homes were destroyed, businesses were destroyed, lives were destroyed.

     Behind him the coffee pot made a sucking sound and Stan immediately turned his attention back to the coffee pot. He walked over and lifted the pot off of the burner and loosened the top portion. Placing the top in the sink, he returned to the stove and poured some coffee into his coffee cup.

     Setting the pot back on the stove with the heat down low to keep it warm, he picked up his coffee cup and walked out onto the back porch. He sat down on his favorite patio chair and listened to the birds sing as he sipped his perfect cup of coffee.

     "Wow. What a beautiful day..."

Comments (3)

Posted by R.E.Potter 03-16-2008 05:19,   ,,, Whats really important in someone's life always seams to amaze me. But even I (and even you who reads this..don't lie) don't really blink when we see starvation in other countries, just turn channels from the infomercial to the more pleasant viewing. But as I have grown older in years, I honestly have more compassion for my fellow mates here on Earth, But one can only wonder if the money you donate really goes where you hope...and not lining someones pocket. Good story(wake up call)   » Report this comment to administrator » Reply to this comment...   Posted by lorislittlesecret 03-16-2008 09:06,   ... This is a great commentary about how other's depair is nothing more than a TV program in our minds. Our own pain makes us feel that the world is ending, but the destruction of a whole civilization (You know what I mean) means nothing more to us than a headline or a news story.   » Report this comment to administrator » Reply to this comment...   Posted by Bomber 03-16-2008 10:41,   ... An insightful tale. Global media makes the world a very small place, we must not become complacent to the suffering of others.   » Report this comment to administrator » Reply to this comment...

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