I posted several weeks back about some advice my therapist gave me to help me be comfortable drinking coffee at work. Basically, if some of the TBM's are uncomfortable, that's their problem. Not mine.

I have since been enjoying my daily coffee(s) and don't care what they think. The other day, I had a breakfast meeting with one of my TBM colleagues. I ordered coffee, because that is perfectly normal. He looked at me and said "you know, I am still trying to get used to the coffee thing." I asked him why it was a problem, he said it wasn't, I was just obviously making a statement by ordering coffee. I told him that the only statement I was making was that I like coffee. Period. But, I explained some of my reasons for disagreeing with the church and made sure he knew this was a journey I have been on for two plus years. I respected him and only asked for the same in return.

All in all, it went well. Better than the evolution argument I had with another TBM colleague a couple of weeks ago.

"I told him that the only statement I was making was that I like coffee." +1

Tasted coffee for the first time when I was 16, in Trolley Square mall. I was having my lunch break with a super hot Catholic girl. I thought I might get in trouble because I thought you had to be 18 to drink coffee. I ordered it black... Like cain.

I didn't drink coffee until I was 25. I'm a nevermo. It was my Mormon girlfriend who turned me on to it. Years later we split because I wouldn't convert. Something good came of it.

The first time I had coffee was at the bus station in Ontario Oregon.

I was coming back from Rupert, going to portland. I didn't have a dime to my name. We had a bus stop break in Ontario, so I got out and sat at a table. A waitress asked me what I wanted, I told her I didn't have any money. She was visibly upset. It was about a 12 hour ride with all the stops. She couldn't believe someone would put me on that bus with no food or money. She brought me out a peanut butter sandwich and a cup of coffee. Nobody had ever done anything that nice for me. I was embarrassed, but so grateful. I was 16. I've drank coffee ever since. I'll always be grateful to that waitress for her compassion. Give your waitress a good tip.

I forgot to add, I still drink it black. I thought the sugar and cream would cost me money so I drank it black. It was awful.

Now I drink the good stuff. It's good black.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/07/2012 01:30AM by Mia.

That's a nice story, and touching, too.

I still remember a coffee moment that involves Greyhound buses. In early 1965 my mother was dying in the hospital, and my father was in jail or some half-way house. My sister was at home from Davis, CA, for some kind of break and needed a ride back to Mojave to catch the bus for Davis. We had a few dollars and some gas in the car, and even though I was only 15 and had no license, I drove her all the way to Mojave to catch the bus at a diner. We sat at the counter and had coffee while we waited. It was cold and we were sad because we knew that the next time she came home it would be because my mother had passed away. We sat there glumly, but for some reason I was really close to her at that moment and the coffee was hot and tasted good and the moment was right. I still like to drink coffee in diners (even though it's invariably bad). (Now, oddly enough, she is the TBM and curses her coffee drinking days.)

Wow, what a poignant memory. Thanks for sharing. I've been through Mojave a few times in my life (I live in Kern County) and it's exactly the kind of place I could see a memory like this taking place. I haven't been through there since the route of Highway 14 was changed to bypass the town but I imagine it is even more of a forgotten backwater than it was the last time I was there.

Wait... What? A bypass? The hell you say. I wonder if it will dry up like Boron did. Boron used to thrive. It had a couple of supermarkets, motels, restaurants, even clothing stores. They may not even have a gas station now. But Hwy 58 used to pass right through it. It has bypassed the town for years now. Can I ask where you live in Kern?

Hwy 14 still goes right through Mojave. The town is as busy as ever.

thanks for that. What a great example of a true "Christian."


Mia Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The first time I had coffee was at the bus station
> in Ontario Oregon.
>
> I was coming back from Rupert, going to portland.
> I didn't have a dime to my name. We had a bus stop
> break in Ontario, so I got out and sat at a table.
> A waitress asked me what I wanted, I told her I
> didn't have any money. She was visibly upset. It
> was about a 12 hour ride with all the stops. She
> couldn't believe someone would put me on that bus
> with no food or money. She brought me out a peanut
> butter sandwich and a cup of coffee. Nobody had
> ever done anything that nice for me. I was
> embarrassed, but so grateful. I was 16. I've drank
> coffee ever since. I'll always be grateful to that
> waitress for her compassion. Give your waitress a
> good tip.
>
> I forgot to add, I still drink it black. I thought
> the sugar and cream would cost me money so I drank
> it black. It was awful.
>
> Now I drink the good stuff. It's good black.

My parents were converts in the 1950s. They never quit smoking and never quit drinking coffee. Bad news is that my mother later died of lung cancer, and my father died about a year later from a stroke at only 60. But they were Southern Indiana stock, and coffee was a way of life. My mom wanted me to be active in church, but still fed me coffee when I was as young as 10 or so, and I always loved it.

When my parents passed away I was put in an LDS foster home, and they didn't even allow me to drink Coke. They also taught me that the earth was 6,000 years old and that dinosaur bones were a trick by Satan, but that's another story. I craved coffee, and even after I went on a mission and got married in the temple, was a member of the EQ presidency, became a high priest and served on the high council, etc. etc., I still had to occasionally grab a cup for the flavor. It was like the Mormon Coffee blog: "It's forbidden, but it's good!" It was my nasty secret. And after I became a non-believer, I always made and drank coffee at work if not at home.

Years later I quite the church, ran to the store within hours and got me a Bialetti cafetiera and began drinking coffee. Then I started making coffee at home and at work. All my Mormon friends wonder how a former high priest would lower himself to drink coffee, as if I'm chasing women and falling drunken into the gutter. But God, I love coffee. My wife doesn't understand and blames it on my bad upbringing.

At my work in Northern CA, we have about 60 employees. In our office, we have 3 regular coffee makers and 2 huge espresso machines (like they use at Starbucks). We also have 10 gallons of milk delivered weekly, bags of both whole bean coffee and ground. Having no coffee at work is down right weird and probably exclusive to Utah.

I want to go to there.

cludgie Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I want to go to there.


LOL +1 times infinity!

I always loved coffee! When I was a little girl, my mom used to drink it once in a while. She was not always a good mo-mo, lol. She would let me have a taste and I thought it was the yummiest thing ever.

As a teenager I became friends with a Lutheran girl at school. For fun, we decided one time to go to each other's church services. I went to hers and after the meeting I smelled - GASP - coffee! My first thought was who brought coffee into the church! Then my second thought was, wow, they are lucky!!

Fast forward a few years when we were living in Pleasant Grove with kids of our own. No one there knew we were non-believers and I used to hide my coffee in the cart under the groceries at the store. One time my kids had friends over to play and they went looking through the pantry for a snack, one of the friends wrinkled her nose and asked "Ew, what's that smell?" My daughter shrugged her shoulders and said "The only thing I smell is coffee." That little girl was never allowed to play with my daughter again.

Another funny coffee story: I happen to know of a guy who was getting out of prison and needed a place to rent. He was offered to live with another former inmate who was sharing a place with a BYU student. The student was aware that they were both former prisoners, sex offenders, no less. So the latter of the inmates was moving his stuff in when the BYU student spotted a coffee maker. He said "I will not allow any of that in my apartment." The inmate said, "I'm not giving up my coffee." So the deal was off. Living with inmates and sex offenders is ok, but coffee is just too evil to have in the house, lol.

Ah, you gotta love Mormon logic!

On a side note, I just read that coffee is helpful in alleviating depression. Maybe this could account for some of Utah's depression problem?

nw gal Wrote:
One time my kids had friends over to play
> and they went looking through the pantry for a
> snack, one of the friends wrinkled her nose and
> asked "Ew, what's that smell?" My daughter
> shrugged her shoulders and said "The only thing I
> smell is coffee." That little girl was never
> allowed to play with my daughter again.
>

Honestly, the coffee stories on this board never cease to amaze me. Now if your daughter's friend had found a loaded firearm in your pantry, or some child pornography, or even drugs, okay, I could understand her parents' reaction...but COFFEE?! Do any Mormons outside of Utah care that much about it? If they do, I can't imagine their children have many friends.

the financial implications of mormons being allowed to switch from anti-depressants to coffee would be huge! At least to the average family I'm guessing. I'm sensing a new commandment!

I started drinking it at 16. My friends and I would go to 7-Eleven and get a cup and put all the different types of creamer in it. Sounds gross now but we thought it was delightsome.

I enjoy the occassional coffee with my lovely never-mo girlfriend (a wonderful middle age romance) but what I absolutely love is good English tea. It saddens me that LD$ Inc forbids such a wonderful, healthy soothing drink.

I love coffee, and to be honest, it was the hardest thing for me to give up when I joined. As a result, when I quit, I basically picked up where I left off when it came to coffee, plus I also really got into enjoying tea as well. After leaving, I added an espresso machine and a french press to my Mr Coffee machine, and all coffee things are displayed on my kitchen counter. I've been lucky in that the TBM's I know don't get offended by seeing a coffee machine in a non-member's house, as they realize nobody is going to offer them a cup.

I think i had my first cup at the Provo Denny's. It's possible I tasted my friend's coffees in HS and I definitely had some Buzz Beans with are so f-ing good you want to die.

My dad teases me that I'm just like his mom- Can't give up coffee and cigs and would die without them.(Sadly, his mom DID shortly die after the nursing home took away her coffee and cigarettes). At least I was able to quit smoking, heehee.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/07/2012 06:36PM by Itzpapalotl.

Even though my grandparents on both sides were active LDS they still enjoyed their coffee for breakfast. As a young kid I would beg and beg them for a sip until they would relent. Aaah. I learned to love coffee at an early, early age.

But after they died, I never got a chance to steal a sip, and the years when I believed in the cult I abstained like all good mormons.

Now that I'm free, I can enjoy coffee, and it reminds me of my sweet grandparents.

Never drank much coffee until I joined the Navy. It was everywhere. At the schools almost everyone smoked and drank coffee on breaks. Never smoked but drank a lot of "joe". Still do. At some of the places I worked some of the TBMs wanted to ban the coffee machine.

My kids outted me about drinking coffee when they pointed out the coffee shop I frequent to my parents. I'm sure my parents convinced themselves that I probably just get smoothies there.

OP...good job!

The fact that this thread even exists is evidence of how crazy and controlling TSCC is...

I tried coffee a few months ago which was a few months after my initial huge realization I couldn't be part of tssc anymore. I thought it was bitter and disgusting, tried a different kind another few times but determined it just isn't for me. After almost 30 years of life without it my taste buds just don't approve.

My mother got an early flight home from vacationing at my house when she realized I had a cup of coffee while she was in the shower. She said she felt sick and won't ever visit my hone again. I finally vented all the way the airport since she was stuck in my car and told her a bunch of reasons I don't believe in TSSC. I even told her about everyone getting the same names at endowment each day! Our relationship has never been the same. It's a damn shame over a cup of joe. Lost my mom.

Coffee and comfort go together for a lot of people. Sip it on a cold day to warm their hands and warm their tummies, sip it with a friend to enjoy intimate conversations, the smell of coffee in a welcoming home as you walk through their door, sip it in hospitals with family and friends as you wait for a child to be born or worry together of bad news. Many people find it a wonderful part of existence. Sitting on a stool in a little diner and chatting with the stranger next to you then go your way in different directions. Nostalgia. It represents good things.

I was never a coffee drinker. But I was sorry to give up tea when I joined the church. I can drink tea without sugar. Too many mormons drink noncaffeinated sodas and fruit juices loaded with sugar which is probably worse than tea or coffee.

the word of wisdom is nothing but vonerable mind control,
zombish in need of mormon stimulation.
Without the legal substance, the church has less affect on control. I would rather be a slave to tea and coffie than a slave to mormon control..

Larry....

my mormon boss said she doesn't want us to drink coffee at our desk anymore. it is not "professional" i agree and stopped drinking coffee at my desk but now i see that everyone else is still drinking sprite and root beer at their desks. is that more "professional"?

Many workplaces have a no drinks on the desk rule. But it should be fair for everyone. Allowing soda but not coffee is discriminatory.

I have gout and have been advised to drink four cups of coffee a day. It's good for my health. I'm also supposed to drink tea daily. How's that for a word of wisdom?

I've never taken the WoW as more than a general guideline. I drink coffee at work to help get through night shifts. I have perfect health at 62 even drink a beer once in a while. Coffee may be good for you in reasonable amounts. Same with tea and beer. I just don't overdo these things. Tobacco is a different subject, I think we can all agree that it's not good for you. So the WoW is revered because it got one hit right out of several, I guess. I think you'd do much better relying on medical science for what you eat and drink.

Religions are all alike. "You will do these things because we say so, and you don't need to think it out, because faith and obedience are more important than reason, even the collective reason of modern science."

only here will you find a conversation about everyone's first coffee drink!
mine was at mcdonald's, 2006. also black. i never went back. always included cream and sugar after that. now all my friends think i make the best coffee.
oh, how the tides turn!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/09/2012 09:43PM by mrcoffee84.