INGLES TRAVEL

December

Dec. 3-13

The trendy beverage has claimed one writer's
son and husband,
but it will never convert her.

Cruise for Jewish singles in their "mid-
dle years." Sponsored by the St. Louis
Jewish Community Centers
Association. Cost: $1,959. (800)
628-3941.

Dec. 7-14

Singles Caribbean cruise, ages 20-
40. Sponsored by the Jewish
Community Center of Pittsburgh.
Cost: $1,548. (412) 521-8011, Ext.
371.

Dec. 13-20

Southern Caribbean cruise for Jewish
young adults. Cost: $475, $599.
(213) 655-0800.

Dec. 18-Jan. 4, 1998

Israel Encounter's Young Professionals
Tour. Cost: $3,449. (800) 223 YJLC.

-

Dec. 22-Jan. 2

New Year's celebration in Thailand
with Premier Jewish Singles. Cost:
$2,350. (314) 994-9600.

JILL DAVIDSON SKLAR
Special to the Jewish News

,

en I was in college, I
worked in a bar. After
work when the patrons
were gone, the bar
tender would try out -new drinks. o
us to see if we liked them He :141e
up pretty, curvy glasses and intro-
duced us to exotic concoctions with
names like Rusty Nail, Greyhound,
Paddy Wagon, Purple Hooter,
Orgasm and.even one called Bend
Me Over have a feeling x.ad . -
nothing to
either).
I gladly vo
after serving
4atorners. Who
not to menti

one

ier. Sediment, resembling the bed of
the highly-polluted Vistula River,
caked the bottom of the cup and
rose up to coat the sides like some
kind of freak monster from a 1950s
horror flick. I gave it up after the
second day.
After hearing me explain that I
don't like the .taste of America's
favorite pick-me-up, people look at
me as if to say, "Don't like coffee?
What kind of a loser are you any-
way?"
For this reason, now I try to stay
away from coffie shops. )(es, I know
th ey
and
hot rn*
buc

Dec. 24-Jan. 4

decorated with burmies, I poured in
about two ounces of coffee and filled
the rest with cold milk and a dab of
sugar.
"Here." I said placing the cup in
front of him, certain he would take a
sip and hand it back. "This is Jonah's
coffee."
With absolute joy, he lifted the
beverage to his lips and took a big
swallow of the cafe au fait.
Exchanging a conspiratorial glance
with his dad, he looked up at me
and said, "Mnimm. Good coffee."
With that, he drained the cup.
I stood in the kitchen, stunned by
my son's new-found love. My
husband chuckled and
poured refills.
"C'mon son," he said as he
handed Jonah his cup.
"'We have
work to

New Year's Eve celebration in Spain
with Premier Jewish Singles. Cost:
1,945. (314) 994-9600.

January

Jan. 10-17

Skiing, Big Sky, Montana. Cost:
$1,349. A portion of the fees will be
donated to the New Israel Fund. Call
(800) 666-4857 or email: njs@ski-

Jan. 21-25

Scuba diving in Cozumel, Mexico
with Steppin' Out. For novice and
advanced divers. (773) 509-8595.

February

- b. 22-March 1
--/
14th annual Jewish singles supercruise,
sponsored by the St. Louis Jewish
Community Center. Cost: $1,559.
(800) 628-3941 or (314) 432-6780,
Ext. 213.

eriment
pretended to
smoky java joints, bu t
were out of the questiol
knew it and, because of it, consi
erect, me strange.
I just don't like coffee and never
have. The acrid taste, as it glides over
my tongue, sometimes makes me
gag. In order to drink even the
slightest amount, I have to mask the
taste with loads of sugar and gobs of
cream. Although the aroma is pleas-
ant, the aftertaste sucks, and I almost
always develop a stomach ache after
even half-a-cup. But there are times I
force myself to drink it, like when
there is no Diet Coke or hot tea
available.
When I traveled to Poland this
spring, I made myself down a cup
each morning in an effort to pry my
eyes open. As I got closer to the bot-
tom of the cup, the drink got heav-

,

ee;
at is until the other day when
my son, all of 23 months old, begged
for his own cuppa Joe.
Sharing the breakfast table with
my husband, he had been curious
about Daddy's coffee but had been
told that it was for big people. On
that cold morning, he became
adamant about trying it.
"My coffee," he said insistently as
he slammed down his empty sippee
cup. "I want coffee."
Afraid he would reach across the
small table and spill the real hot stuff
onto his little hands, I offered to get
him coffee of his own. Taking the
purple top off of his clear plastic cup

m.
a
moment et to find
Joel on the roile>reading
sports section and Jonah
on his potty chair reading about the
adventures of Thomas the Tank
Engine. "Mornma, shut the door,"
he said as he looked up from his
book, his size 2T sweat pants around
his ankles.
As I write this column, a cup of
cold coffee sits in front of me, the
cream separating from the murky
brew as its temperature returns to
normal. It was my latest unsuccessful
attempt to understand the draw of
the drink, why my young son has
become a daily follower.
I can't. I never will. Sure; coffee
has claimed my son. But it will never
claim me. El

•

11/21
1997

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