Saturday, January 18, 2014

Operator, Give Me Long Distance

While sipping coffee this rainy/sunny morning, I noticed a new sandwich sign outside the church next door to Cafe Manila. The church hosts meetings and services for the different (and transient) evangelical populations here — Finnish, Dutch, British... The sign read, "Call in for Coffee." As in, 'Pray for it?' I wondered.

Is there a patron saint of coffee? (Note: Yes there is! I looked it up. His name is Saint Drogo. And, in addition to coffee, he's patron saint of many other things, including "those whom others find repulsive" ... and hernias... and ruptures... and sheep and cattle. I'm serious.) 

Now where were we?

MY PRAYERS WERE ANSWERED AT CAFÉ MANILA.  TWO CUPS!

Oh, yeah, we were talking about praying for a cup of coffee... Why would anyone go to all that trouble when there's a perfectly decent café right next door? Besides, wouldn't the coffee be cold by the time it got here? Or maybe I've got this all wrong. (It's possible.)

PRAYER IS THE ANSWER.  FAITH IS THE EXCHANGE.  HEAVEN IS THE STREET...
(CLICK TO GLORIFY THE HEAVENS ABOVE LOS BOLICHES.)
NOT NOW DARLING!
THE RESPONSE TYNAN GOT WHEN HE "CALLED IN," WHICH MIGHT BE WHY
HE'S NOT SMILING. (SINCE I KNOW HOW MUCH HE LOVES TO HAVE HIS PICTURE TAKEN).

This of course has me singing...

30 comments:

  1. Wow, Saint Drogo has gotta be busy with being the saint of so many things!

    No wonder he needs the caffeine!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bob:
      Add to the above-mentioned... bodily ills, broken bones, cattle, deaf people, deafness, dumbness, Fleury-sur-Loire, gall stones, illness, insanity, mental illness, mentally ill people, midwives, mute people, muteness, mutes, orphans, sheep, shepherds, sick people, sickness... What's left?

      Delete
  2. I can remember the days when you really did have to ask for a long distance operator.. and I don't believe I ever did get Jesus on the line.... but then, I hated to use the telephone so maybe I didn't call often enough.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sharon:
      Oh, we speak all the time. And I always reverse the charges.

      Delete
  3. Saint Drogo. That sounds like an Irish village. Sure it's really a saint? If they had good coffee, i'd go there.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jenny:
      I'm sure the coffee at Cafe Manila is much better... and it's right next door (and you can sit on the terrace in the sun). No preaching.

      Delete
  4. Manhattan transfer
    NowTHATS A BLAST FROM THE PAST

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. John:
      I love them. Saw them in "The Village" in the '70s (not Trelawnyd... GREENWICH Village).

      Delete
  5. I always find it amusing to learn which saints are responsible for things. I must admit I've never heard of Saint Drogo.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Stephen:
      He may be a good saint to know; he's got a lot of stuff covered.

      Delete
  6. I wonder if He takes calls directly?
    I haven't heard MT in years! Thanks Mitch!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jim:
      I think direct-dialing is a requirement for patron saints.

      Delete
  7. St. Drogo seems like a busy man, having to multitask a myriad of prayers.
    I am staying with St. Bibiana who is specific and much more useful.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Spo:
      St. Bibiana... hangovers and mental illness. I completely understand.

      Delete
  8. At least the church clearly states it is an evangelical church. Many try to hide as being conventional. I don't know about you, but in my wildest dreams I cannot imagine getting good coffee in a church.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Andrew:
      If South Dakota churches are any example, I need 12 cups to get the equivalent of my usual two-cup caffeine rush.

      Delete
  9. Coffee offered anywhere anytime is just fine with me.....as long as no one talks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ron:
      You hit the nail right on the head. I'll stick with Cafe Manila, thanks!

      Delete
  10. I'm confused, did you get a coffee?
    Di
    xoxo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Di:
      We were much happier right where we were. (And I doubt the Evangelists would be thrilled to see us... unless we promised to change our "evil" ways.)

      Delete
  11. Wow, that Manhattan Transfer video takes me back. I first heard that song around 1983, in my first year of music school at U. of T. The prof in my music history class played it on the six-foot-high speakers in the theatre we took the (huge) class in. I thought it was amazing. A few years back, we sang a terrible rendition of it in a local choir I belonged to. Still love the song!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Knatolee:
      I have so many Manhattan Transfer favorites, but I think this one is at the very top (along with "Java Jive" and "The Boy From New York City")... (U of T... Must be the University of Tennessee...)

      Delete
  12. Isn't "call in" British for "stop in?" Did you know that Drogo was Frodo's dad? He got around. ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Walt the Fourth:
      Oh, it is... I was just being a smart ass (again). Otherwise, what would I have to write about?

      I THOUGHT the name Drogo was familiar. Thanks for cluing me in.

      Delete
  13. The video reminds me of a story from my days in the monastery in DC:
    One of the guys answered the phone and a frantic woman asked for help.
    "What's the problem?" he asked.
    "I'm in hell!" she cried.
    "Oh, I don't think so," he said.
    She was silent for a moment. "Why not?"
    "This wasn't a long distance call," he told her.
    Another silence.
    "Well, thank you very much," she said calmly and hung up.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Michael:
      I was going to ask if she was calling from Hell, Michigan, but you already said it wasn't a long distance call. Wherever she really was, I hope she was able to manage without divine intervention.

      Delete
  14. Hey, if a Church has no qualms about putting on a production of that cheeky, adolescent, pants-down & frilly undies, bit of British nonsense, 'Not Now Darling', then they are more 'progressive' than I'd have imagined!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Raybeard:
      Now THAT's a thought! The show has nothing to do with the church. It's a production of a local British theatre group. Slushee had just put the poster up on the wall at Cafe Manila.

      Delete
  15. Mitch, I just KNEW (but only afterwards) that I ought to have put a 'winkie' after my comment!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Raybeard:
      Sorry about that. You'd think I would have realized your were kidding, especially since I was surprised when I thought you didn't realize. Yeah, maybe I need a "winkie" every now and again; I'm obviously not that sharp as I thought I was.

      Delete

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