Sequim Gazette Editorial and Letters to the Editor

Have you ever stuck your finger in a light socket? Now that will definitely wake you up. The good news is that it won't kill you. The bad news is ... well, it doesn't feel very good.

How do I know? It happened on a moonless night while we were still finishing an outdoor supper. I switched on the patio light and the bulb blew. When I came back from inside the house and tried to screw in a new bulb, I couldn't see well enough to position it. Did I stick my finger in the fixture to locate the receptacle? Except for the straight hair and curled toes, it wasn't all that bad. The worst part was the laughter from my dinner guests. However, I have a good excuse for that mistake. I was just a kid at the time; I was only 42.

That is far from the only wake-up call I've had in my life. Did you ever break your wrist showing off for a girl at an ice rink when you couldn't ice skate? That was the last time she would go out with me. Then there was the time I was thrown across the room after the installation of what our landlord called a new, used refrigerator. During a fishing trip on Puget Sound in the winter, I fell into the icy water, saved, I suspect, by the buoyancy of my beer can. If anyone tells you I did anything else so stupid, tell them I told you to call them a liar.

Conversely, some wake ups we give to ourselves. Although there are those of us who turn them off in our sleep, alarm clocks are not only useful, but sometimes necessary. When just out of bed, a splash of cold water in the face can shock us into consciousness. Feel sleepy while driving on a long trip? Try driving barefoot; it works. Then there are stimulants like NoDoz, and of course that old standby, coffee. Me, I had no idea what coffee could really do until I moved to Miami.

Miami is a city of stark contrasts. There are hurricanes and warm gentle breezes. I learned that "Miami" is a euphemism for "sauna bath." And yet in the winter, lower humidity provides balmy days and nights. Palm-bordered white beaches lead to warm ocean waters that often are frequented by stinging jelly fish. Surrounded by flowering foliage, Art Deco residences from the 1930s still make up much of a city that also now has towering high-rises, both commercial and residential. Populated with brave, independent immigrants, Miami's "Little Havana" is famous for friendly people, good food and a shock wake-up called "Café Cubano," Cuban coffee.

Cuban coffee is so thick you can drink it with a fork. It is served in a cup that appears to be a china demitasse, but upon close inspection you find to be sanded concrete. It is instant shock. You rarely see real Café Cubano outside Miami. Espresso, yes, but espresso is David to Cuban coffee's Goliath. Now comes its competition - to Sequim.

It is rare when a product that is brand new reaches Sequim so quickly but last week I found two different brands of "Energy Shooter" or "Dietary Supplement" on the check-out counter at Agnew Market. One, 3 ounces of dynamite and the other only 2, both promise instant elevation of energy.

Surprisingly, I had heard of one of them. There is a TV commercial now running that features a National Football League jock drinking the 3-ounce stuff. In football circles, the player is known as "Hitman" for his hard play. Hitman recently has been released from league suspension for ... well, I hope not for ingesting the stuff he is advertising.

Each of the brands has virtually the same 25 ingredients, so pick 2 or 3 ounces I guess. I tried them both.

I couldn't detect much difference; they both gave me a wake-up call. It was like a trip back to Little Havana. However, neither was as effective as that light socket.



Louis Howard lives in Agnew. He has written columns for The Reporter in the Sacramento Valley and the Sequim Gazette.