There was a time when I was in the Coast Guard that I was required to serve the mid-watch every other night. I had fallen afoul of the Bo’s’n, for some reason that escapes me, and was given the mid-watch as punishment duty.

Now on our vessel it was the duty of the mid-watch to prepare the first pot, well actually it wasn’t a pot but rather a large urn, of coffee for the day. Being the person of extremes that I am I always made the coffee very strong, just to my liking.

The cook kept telling me that I was wasting his coffee and the crew, having much softer pallets, complained profusely about the strong, bitter taste. Because our ship was small all hands drank and ate the same things, officers included. It was for that reason that I was saved from drinking the dishwater that the others preferred.

You see the Skipper, who was an old Italian, drank espresso when ashore. He loved how I made the morning coffee.

One morning several months into my punishment, as I was going to my workstation after breakfast, the Bo’s’n blocked my path. He stood in front of me scowling for several moments then, without a word tried to stand his spoon in the middle of his coffee.

After making the attempt at least five times he said, “What’s the matter, Sailor, you run out of coffee?”

“Exactly!” I responded with a smile.

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