The sun was shining and I was basking in it’s life giving warmth. I raised my hand to my forehead in a military salute and peered to my left and then to my right and the beach was filled with hundreds of people reveling in the same warmth as I. Bikini clad super models bounced by in pairs smiling at me as they went prancing down the beach from one end to the other. A scene straight out of the movie “10″ starring Bo Derek, but pleasantly multiplied buy hundreds, and in all sorts of genres.
The blaring, screeching, utterly offensive, high pitched wail of the alarm clock ripped through my eardrums. Reality came crashing through my other-world like a bull in a china shop. I groaned, sighed, slowly turned and sat up in my bed. The clock read 2:43 am and I was cursing wild profanities under my breath like a trucker lost in a snow storm hundreds of miles from home and family on Christmas Eve.
Another day another nickel. With one eye barely open I stood and my body began a series of snaps and pops like that of a bowl of Rice Krispies that had just received a healthy dose of cold, crisp milk in a bowl, accompanied by a rusted, old, jagged spoon.
I stumbled to the kitchen and turned on the light after bouncing off the corner wall and barely catching my balance like a tight rope walker without a net, between two high rise buildings. The source of illumination was not nearly as welcome as the sun had been only moments ago.
The artificial light source reminded me that this is the reality of a working man. My job gets me up early and to bed late at night due to other family obligations. My sleep schedule is chaos at best. I take it when I can get it. Jobs are a necessity when you’re not independently wealthy. As luck would have it, I do love my job.
Sliding my dry, cracked winter paws across the tanned from age, once cream colored linoleum floor, I reached the sink in a matter of moments and my half sleep, half awake state kicked into auto pilot.
I grabbed the carafe from the Cuisinart Coffee Maker and in one swift, smooth motion I settled the glass vessel under the running water before a drop could reach the bottom of the basin. Like thousands of times before, I could count in a methodical matter the exact amount of time needed to fill the wonderful receptacle to the four cup line, put there so imbeciles like myself could enjoy the end result without having to have an engineering degree to do so.
