When I was a kid….

When I was a kid, living in Rochester, Minnesota we were always told that the 13th floor in the Mayo Clinic didn’t really exist. When your Dad’s a doctor there and your brothers and sisters seem like they are always sick -it was like it was a second home-to us. So we knew more about the building then most. We were told that no one in their right mind would visit a doctors office on the 13th floor …so they created a mechanical floor. When we were on the elevator only “certain” people got off on that floor. So since the No. 13 has made me nostalgic  I thought I’d tie it in with – coffee …When I was a kid, we only watched a black and white television and the only coffee in our real house was “Instant coffee.” It never appealed to me. When fancy dinners or important meetings took place -my mom would bring out the white china. We were told to bring out  the Percolator box and set it up . I always liked the smell and the bubbling sound it made. It was invented by an American born physicist called Count Rumford. Later on in his life, in 1784 he was knighted by King George lll.  I think every inventor should be  required to study up on Sir Benjamin Thompson. (aka.Count Rumford) He Invented all kinds of things. His brain must of been percolating with ideas all the time. Luckily for the coffee drinkers of the world …he didn’t like both alcohol or tea and he thought coffee was good for you.When I was a teenager I swam on the John Marshall High School swimming team. Luckily for me, I wasn’t afraid of the number “13” . That was my number on the team…I think because everyone else was superstitious.  I survived and to this day love drinking coffee…go figure.