Takes age to hear a who, Horton
It's my birthday today. 35. More than twice 17. I'm two 17 year old lives ... And that's pretty much true. Life before 17 life after. Everything before 17 was pretty dismal. Like an old car in a PEI February I took a while to start. 17 was tough actually. That year I remember things just being hard. From October of 94 to October of 95 I went from high school to university ...had first girlfriend... First car.... Things that should have been awesome but everything felt arduous. Laborious. Not-glorious. Pretty much the only consistent in my life ....was coffee.
I love coffee.
It all started when I was 6. My dad was building a flat bed trailer, he didn't need, in the backyard as all normal fathers do. I was his helper. Held boards. Fetched nails. Handed him his hammer. Having a 6 year old now I understand the importance of this helper and I see in Jacob the eager helper I was. Yes I will go measure this board with the measuring tape for no explainable reason and I will love it.
What does this have to do about coffee!? Well....as I also know now ...when doing a job (or anything really) it's good to have coffee breaks. My dad didn't drink beer ( after I was 4 ) so he had coffee breaks. And so did I. I also know now as I always joke to Jacob saying "want a coffee?" how funny it is seeing a 6 year old refusing coffee with a grin because 6 year olds know they shouldn't have coffee ( it's just built in knowledge ). Well.... My dad met his match. One day I must have said "sure" and knowing my dad he called my bluff and offered a cup. I took it. Double double like my dad. He watched me. I lifted the mug to my mouth. I sipped.
the first of thousands ...and thousands ...and thousands ..of sips of coffee.
For the record, I still have that mug.
No I didn't become hooked instantly but over the years, especially in late junior high I was a regular coffee drinker. With my parents. I inherited a love of coffee and coffee makers - they had a +Tim Hortons coffee maker in our home. It made coffee so close to Tims and I haven't been able to duplicate since.
My dad was obsessed with Tims coffee. To the point where as many people know he would help people fix their cars, electronics, etc or help someone move, or whatever and when asked what his payment was always said "just bring me a Large Double Double". To the point where when he died we agreed to put LDD on this grave. That's right. We went there.
So yes...this obsession. lingers in me. the best thing I ingest in a day. Coffee. The best part of having a desk job. Sitting and drinking coffee. The place I love taking the kids for a treat. Tim Hortons. The worst thing Tim Hortons ever did. Start accepting Interac. But that's another story.
A good friend. The best of friends - gave me a Tim Hortons gift card for my birthday today. Asked me to write a blog about why there is no apostrophe in Tim Hortons. It made me smile. I never thought of that before. The store is of course named after the first owner - his name is Tim Horton. He was a hockey player. If I was telling you a story about Sidney Crosby's skates or Patrick Roy's last game in Montreal or Wayne Gretzky's infamous fight or Tim Horton's original idea to open a burger and chicken fast food chain ...well...as I just did I properly used apostrophes.
But ...Tim Hortons it is. "I drink Tim Hortons coffee the most."....or even .... "Going to Hortons to grab a coffee" ...."hey why don't we just meet at Tims"...."Want anything at Timmys??" It's all lexiconically correct when speaking in the idiom of said coffee chain.
It's wrong. It's incorrect. It's plain and simple bad grammatical use. It should stick out as bad as someone saying "I took there car to a place I seen that gots a good price for a warsh"
But....it doesn't. And that's ok. Google Tim Horton's Apostrophe an there's a clear explanation why. But that doesn't matter to me. What matters is my good friend knew a Tims card's meaning would not be lost on me. And his always encouraging words about my blogging are always appreciated and he inspired me to write tonight. And it all made me think about my dad: Deryl Sr - who was turning 35 when he finally stopped drinking beer and took up coffee instead - and probably saved his and my life in doing so.
So happy incredibly smiling 35th birthday to me. Life....is good.
I love coffee.
It all started when I was 6. My dad was building a flat bed trailer, he didn't need, in the backyard as all normal fathers do. I was his helper. Held boards. Fetched nails. Handed him his hammer. Having a 6 year old now I understand the importance of this helper and I see in Jacob the eager helper I was. Yes I will go measure this board with the measuring tape for no explainable reason and I will love it.
What does this have to do about coffee!? Well....as I also know now ...when doing a job (or anything really) it's good to have coffee breaks. My dad didn't drink beer ( after I was 4 ) so he had coffee breaks. And so did I. I also know now as I always joke to Jacob saying "want a coffee?" how funny it is seeing a 6 year old refusing coffee with a grin because 6 year olds know they shouldn't have coffee ( it's just built in knowledge ). Well.... My dad met his match. One day I must have said "sure" and knowing my dad he called my bluff and offered a cup. I took it. Double double like my dad. He watched me. I lifted the mug to my mouth. I sipped.
the first of thousands ...and thousands ...and thousands ..of sips of coffee.
For the record, I still have that mug.
No I didn't become hooked instantly but over the years, especially in late junior high I was a regular coffee drinker. With my parents. I inherited a love of coffee and coffee makers - they had a +Tim Hortons coffee maker in our home. It made coffee so close to Tims and I haven't been able to duplicate since.
My dad was obsessed with Tims coffee. To the point where as many people know he would help people fix their cars, electronics, etc or help someone move, or whatever and when asked what his payment was always said "just bring me a Large Double Double". To the point where when he died we agreed to put LDD on this grave. That's right. We went there.
So yes...this obsession. lingers in me. the best thing I ingest in a day. Coffee. The best part of having a desk job. Sitting and drinking coffee. The place I love taking the kids for a treat. Tim Hortons. The worst thing Tim Hortons ever did. Start accepting Interac. But that's another story.
A good friend. The best of friends - gave me a Tim Hortons gift card for my birthday today. Asked me to write a blog about why there is no apostrophe in Tim Hortons. It made me smile. I never thought of that before. The store is of course named after the first owner - his name is Tim Horton. He was a hockey player. If I was telling you a story about Sidney Crosby's skates or Patrick Roy's last game in Montreal or Wayne Gretzky's infamous fight or Tim Horton's original idea to open a burger and chicken fast food chain ...well...as I just did I properly used apostrophes.
But ...Tim Hortons it is. "I drink Tim Hortons coffee the most."....or even .... "Going to Hortons to grab a coffee" ...."hey why don't we just meet at Tims"...."Want anything at Timmys??" It's all lexiconically correct when speaking in the idiom of said coffee chain.
It's wrong. It's incorrect. It's plain and simple bad grammatical use. It should stick out as bad as someone saying "I took there car to a place I seen that gots a good price for a warsh"
But....it doesn't. And that's ok. Google Tim Horton's Apostrophe an there's a clear explanation why. But that doesn't matter to me. What matters is my good friend knew a Tims card's meaning would not be lost on me. And his always encouraging words about my blogging are always appreciated and he inspired me to write tonight. And it all made me think about my dad: Deryl Sr - who was turning 35 when he finally stopped drinking beer and took up coffee instead - and probably saved his and my life in doing so.
So happy incredibly smiling 35th birthday to me. Life....is good.
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