Beyond Black and White

Over visiting a neighbor the other day?

"Would you like a cup of coffee?" he asks. "I just roasted the latest batch."

&qu ot;Yes. Coffee sounds great."

&qu ot;How do you take it?" he asks as he grinds the beans.

"Bla ck; no sugar, no milk."

&quo t;Well, we have no milk anyway, only cream."

&qu ot;In that case, I'll have it with no cream."

&qu ot;We could water the cream down to make milk, I suppose, if you'd prefer."

&q uot;That's ok," I say, "No cream is better than no milk anyway."

&q uot;Well, actually, I prefer cream also," he says, "but like you, I don't put it in my coffee."

&q uot;What about milk?" I ask.

"Never ."

"Un less it's a café au lait?" I venture.

"O f course," says he, "or a cappuccino."

"Just so."

" Sartre sans sucre?" I ask.

"No. Nein. Niet-zsche, pas de lait." He gets in the last word. Almost.

I sip my coffee (black) in silence (white).

"Ever wonder where coffee originated?" he queries after a spell.

"Brazil?" I guess, "or somewhere in the Americas?"

"Not so," he replies, "Some say it was in Yemen, the Port of Mocha. Others say it was Ethiopia, in the district of Kaffa. In any case, it is Arabian."

"Aha, I say, "hence The Thousand and One Sleepless Nights."

"Just so," he says and silence returns

© Leslie Fieger. All rights reserved worldwide.

Lesli e is the author of The DELFIN Knowledge System Trilogy: The Initiation, The Journey and The Quest plus many more success publications. He also the co-author of The End of the World with Hugh Jeffries and Alexandra's DragonFire with his daughter Ashley. Subscribe to his free and ad-free eZine at htt p://www.ProsperityPara digm.com or http://ww w.LeslieFieger.com

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