The Struggle Is Real

 

I was reminiscing the other day remembering when back in the day you could travel. Ahh what fun it was to be sailing on the Grand Princess in January on its almost last voyage before Covid 19 became all the rage. 

Flying home in February.  sitting in a big cushy first-class seat. Drinking an airliner Martini and savoring slices of cheese with fruit. Bowls of select warmed nuts, and grapes that would never know they could have become raisins.  That was the good ol days.

First Class Air Travel

It all changed quickly and by April when good friends had to cut their Hawaiian holiday short, they learned they would have to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival in Anchorage.

They were to hold up clear across town in the remote village of Muldoon, but in spite of the distance I volunteered to do grocery shopping, for them,  and I did. Leaving the bags on the front porch and staying the recommended distance of a turkey buzzards’ wingspan away when exchanging pleasantries. 

Stay This Far Apart

Since I knew they would need koffee I included a freshly purchased, and ground 1-pound bag of Kaladi Trieste.

Ahh Koffee

I was not worried about giving up my last pound of coffee, as I planned on stopping by the coffee shop on the way home.  And I did.  But much to my surprise it was closed. The world headquarters of Kaladi Brothers was shuttered with a sign stating all retail closed for Covid.

Well I thought I would just run over to Safeway and pick up a pound there. So I drove  right over there.

 Toilet paper and hand sanitizer was racing off the shelfs, so I ran right over to the coffee isle and there was a Kaladi employee stocking the freezer with pounds of beans. Staying far enough away I asked him for a pound of Trieste, which he tossed right over to me.

Since I usually have the coffee ground at the coffee shop suddenly holding a bag of beans was a new experience for me but located right there on the coffee isle is a large coffee grinder, that looked easy to use.

The first problem I encountered was that the bag of beans is packaged in a bag that could be shot from a canon at close range into a brick wall and survive the impact with no effect.

I could not get it open. So I asked the fellow stocking the freezer if he could get it open for me, thinking that he is a Kaladi employee and must know the secret to opening the bag, and he is a guy so he must have a knife strong enough to do the job.

He had no knife but did manage after wrestling the bag for quite a while to get the package open.

I figured that I would be home in no time enjoying a fresh cup of koffee because the grinder has to be easier than the bag, and I had seen them used before.

The Supermarket Coffee Grinder

I pored the beans in the gaping input of the machine. Placed the bag where I figured the ground coffee would come out and pressed the on button.

Nothing happened. Not a sound nothing I pushed the button again and still nothing. The fellow from Kaladi gave the grinder a shake or two and still nothing.

Well perhaps the thing is unplugged, so I went to find a uniformed Safeway employee that could check for that. I found a helpful young man who came back and checked all around for a plug. He even went and got a ladder and checked all around the top of the shelves for a plug, and he even pulled the grinder out of its nook. Now this is where it gets scary because you never want to look behind a supermarket coffee grinder, as there are things back there that haven’t seen the light of day for a very long time , and probably never should see the light of day again, and behind supermarkets coffee grinders is most likely where the virus got its start.

After a bit the helpful fellow from the store determined that the coffee grinder was indeed kaput, broken, out of service, and full of one pound of Trieste that I pored in there that  will now go to waste and I will probably get written up by the coffee police for wasting a pound of coffee. Dang.

I vaguely remember that I used to have a coffee grinder. A small one with a retractable cord that should work if it is still there. I made a call and was assured that indeed there was a coffee grinder with a retractable cord in the cupboard where Jimmy Hoffa was still hiding.

Hoffa

When I got home with a bag of beans I searched for the grinder and found it. Jimmy was glad to let it go. And I was excited as I pored some of my beans into it. Plugged its retractable cord in and looked for a way to make it grind.

I looked on the bottom for a switch. I looked on the side for a switch. I twisted the thing thinking that would work. I kept looking at the top of the thing, and something wasn’t quite right, and then I vaguely remembered that a small piece of plastic fit into a slot and you pressed down and presto! Coffee grinder.

The plastic piece was gone. Jimmy had no idea where it was. We looked around the house together but could not find the piece that was part of the switch.

I found a kitchen knife, and pressed what I thought was the switch, and that grinder started to grind

My Grinder

I used this set up for several weeks during quarantine, never once injuring myself or the grinder, but it was a relief to finally replace this grinder.

 Thanks for reading