Flee, Coffee, Tradition

It is a good tradition to drink lots of coffee before attempting to flee from the bulls in Pamplona.

JL Lahey

*****

Cora’s tradition was to put salt in the coffee.
Not too many in the park liked that. It just wasn’t their thing.

Where it started was from Yuma’s water. Way before everyone decided, except for Cora, that desalted water was the “in” thing.

We all used to joke, “There was a process if you drank Yuma’s best outa the tap: first you go get the snippers, second find an indestructible tumbler, third open the faucet wide, fourth you let about five inches ooze out, more if you really liked the salt, fifth you snipped that off, and last you added distilled water and mixed vigorously.

Well that old joke didn’t go over well, and those who reacted unfavorably had to be ready to flee or face another tradition: a mild form of tar and feathering. Cora had frequently endured such festivities.

Afterward, she always replied to the inevitable question from someone in the mob, “What did you think of that?”

She’d retort, “Well except for the honor of the tar, feathers, and rail, I could have done without the ceremony!”

Cora still puts salt in her coffee, and that’s the way it comes for all guests at her home.

Donavin A. Leckenby