Java Junkie

     I was a small child the first time I drank coffee.  Don't really remember the actual taste of the coffee because it was full of sugar and milk and only used to dunk toasted bread.  Today an adult would probably be arrested for giving a small child a cup of coffee but in the 1950s  I dunked my toast anytime I wanted.  Even after all these years I can still remember the taste of that toast.
     Over the years I came to  enjoy the taste and stimulating effects that came with every cup.  The digestive help and mild appetite suppression was also a welcomed effect.  Seems like I forgot about coffee between the ages of 15 and 25 but form age 25 on I started each day with a cup of the black java.  In the end I was drinking a pot a day, sometimes more.  Once Starbucks began popping up on every corner I was in Java Heaven but it was a heaven with less and less sleep.   I was willing to put up with sleepless heaven rather than skip the morning caffeine jolt provided by the daily coffee intake.  As much coffee as I consumed I never considered myself addicted to the stuff but I now know I was a Java Junkie
     A few years ago I gave up coffee.  That pleasant smell, familiar taste, energy and digestive help were surly missed but giving up coffee was not as bad as I had feared.  Some mornings I really need a jump start but I've found a cup of black teas works almost  just as well as cup of java.  A cup of  black  tea has about one third the caffeine of a cup of brewed coffee and a cup of green tea has less than a fourth the caffeine   I still love the taste of coffee and have a few cups of instant coffee every month but it's been a very long time since I've walked into a Starbucks.
    Slowly but surly I am giving up the things I always thought I could not do without.  First it was dope  then nicotine, then alcohol and now I'm working on sugar.  Le'ts face it I have the  addictive gene hiding somewhere in my body and it will still be there the day I day.  I just hope there will be coffee , sweets and even a few reefers  for the few that attend my funeral