I look forward to making cups of coffee for overnight visitors when reality allows for that again
By Ashlie D. Stevens, Published October 19, 2021 4:30PM (EDT)
Once during an interview, when asked for his definition of paradise, Johnny Cash replied simply: “This morning, with her, having coffee.”
It’s a strikingly beautiful phrase, though one that lost its initial impact on me after repeated exposure during a back-to-back-to-back series of trips to Nashville (home of both The Johnny Cash Museum and the Country Music Hall of Fame), where it was printed on everything from coffee mugs to throw pillows in area boutiques and cafés.
For that reason, I didn’t think much about that phrase again until last year. A little background on the coffee front: I’d been a beat reporter at the local NPR affiliate in Louisville, Ky., for several years.
The station was in a central corridor of the downtown area and less than two blocks from a miniature deli called Nancy’s Bagel Box. Daily coffee from there was non-negotiable because of proximity. I didn’t think about whether it was “good coffee,” I suppose — but it went down easy and powered me through early morning editorial meetings.