"What do you drink
What do you eat at breakfast
And I know who you are"
“Every morning at breakfast, Papa drinks a coffee and reads
the newspaper. Several newspapers in
fact: Le Monde, Le Figaro, Liberation
and, once a week, L’Express, Les Echoes, Time and Courrier
International. But I can tell that the most satisfying thing for him is his first cup
of coffee with Le Monde. He is absorbed by his reading fro at least
half an hour. In order to enjoy this half-hour, he has to get up very early,
because his days are full. But every
morning, even if there’s been an overnight session and he has only slept two
hours, he gets up at six and reads his newspaper while he drinks a strong cup
of coffee. In this way Papa constructs himself, everyday. I say ‘constructs himself’ because I think
that each time, it’s a new construction, as if everything has been reduced to
ashes during the night, and he has to start from scratch. In our world, that’s the way you live your
grown-up life: you must constantly rebuild your identity as an adult, the way
it’s been put together it is wobbly and ephemeral, so fragile, cloaking despair
and, when you’re in front of the mirror, it tells you the lies you need to
believe. For Papa, the newspaper and the
coffee are magic wands that transform him into an important man. Like a pumpkin
into a carriage. Of course he finds this very satisfying: I never see him as
calm and relaxed as when he’s sitting drinking his six o’clock coffee.” Pg 88, The Elegance of the Hedgehog, Muriel Barbery
A child's perspective. Coffee absolutely 'constructs' me at the beginning of everyday. Is there anything better than a coffee and paper on the weekend with the sunshine on my back. A day like today. BTW - Mr and I's latest obsession is banana with honey and cinnamon on toast. Try it!
