The first time I drank coffee came when I was twelve years old. My parents were bothered by the comments made on my report card indicating that I had a problem paying attention inside the classroom. It was frustrating for both, particularly my mother. One morning after I had just finished eating breakfast and was about to head off to school, my mother handed me a cup of black coffee and told me to take a sip. The taste was horrible. I told her as much. She then took the cup and added cream and sugar then told me to try it again, which I did. That time the taste was much better, more like coco which I really enjoy. To this day my coffee has to have cream and sugar or one of the many flavored creams added before I will drink it.
Much later in life, I realized that I my short attention span is due to ADHD, a disorder that was not diagnosed back in the 50’s and 60’s. There are two types of ADHD; Difficulty paying attention, and difficulty sitting still. I had both. Although I was never medically diagnosed with either, I stand by my analysis. In addition to ADHD, I was also still struggling with the trauma of being hospitalized for a month with pneumonia at the age five. My condition was nearly fatal, and had me walking in my sleep for years after. Nature has its way of pushing us toward our intended purpose in life. And as fate would have it, the restless affects those conditions had on me was the very same factors that brought me into the world of music. More on this can be found in the prologue section of my book, The Unknown Musician.
Normally, I have my coffee in the morning before heading out the door. On this particular day, I got together with my friends, Richard and Bill, to ride out to Sattahip, Thailand and have our morning joe at Coffee War, an unusual name to match an unusual place. Starbucks and Amazon are fine, but Coffee War is much more than just a place to have coffee; It is a place where you can go and observe different military paraphernalia left over from the Vietnam war. They have a large variety of military antique items such as clothes and souvenirs that can be purchased. The parking lot is decorated with three commercial planes, not models but actual planes that at one time were fully functional and in use. One of the planes is a 747. There were also various military vehicles, including a helicopter, positioned around and in between the planes. We walked around observing all that it had to offer. Richard, who is a retired navy man, seemed to know a great deal about the history of many of the items we were looking at. Coincidentally, my father’s name is also Richard, and he too served in the navy during WWII.
After our walk around the exterior, we finally boarded the plane. Located in the center of the plane was the refreshment stand. Despite its name, coffee was not the only beverage on the menu. Smoothies and a wide variety of soft drinks were also available. An assortment of cakes could also be had. The staff was friendly, and politely put-up with me recording them. The three of us had a good conversation and left there with a positive opinion about the entire experience. Definitely a must see in Thailand.
