Posted on 03/14/2005 12:33:42 PM PST by freebilly
SANTA CRUZ — For Santa Cruz resident Midjann Velzy, the combination of drinking coffee and driving a car became "a potential road-rage situation."
Velzy swore off the strong stuff 13 years ago after flipping someone the proverbial bird during her commute home from Silicon Valley.
"There I was, trying to be in my Zen place," she said of that final, bad, caffeine-induced moment.
"Now I drink very little coffee," she said, "and it’s decaf only."
Her personal caffeine awareness campaign was ahead of its time.
A proclamation signed by Santa Cruz Mayor Mike Rotkin has declared this month "Caffeine Awareness Month" for all of Santa Cruz.
"Caffeine consumption can pose a significant hazard to health and longevity," reads the proclamation.
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"This is crazy," said Jim Morgan from a seat outside Caffe Bene on Cedar Street. He sipped a tall cup of black coffee and finished his hand-rolled cigarette.
He agreed that neither of his habits was terribly healthy.
"But a cup of java in the morning is a lot better than the old Turkish enema," he said.
The campaign endorsed by Rotkin is part of a national effort by Marina Kushner, author of the book, "Life Without Caffeine." Kushner is also the founder of a company that makes a soy-based coffee substitute.
Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn recently awarded Kushner’s Caffeine Awareness Alliance with a certificate of appreciation for educating the public on the dangers of caffeine.
"I’m not saying people shouldn’t drink coffee," said Rotkin about his proclamation. "But I think some people should really look at their intake."
Rotkin said the move was meant to target hard-core coffee drinkers only. He would not name names, but he says he has worked among the truly addicted.
"They are way too wired for their own good. They’ve got trigger responses to everything," he said. "It’s unhealthy for themselves and others."
Rotkin’s own coffee intake of zero-to-two cups per day doesn’t qualify as problem drinking, he said.
"But I don’t want to be a hypocrite here. I like coffee and I do drink it," he said.
Among health problems associated with caffeine are heart disease, pancreas and bladder cancer, hypoglycemia, and central nervous system disorders, according to the proclamation.
Velzy, the commuter, says she knows about milder and more common side effects of caffeine consumption.
Her muscles became tense when she drank coffee, "because the lactic acid dehydrates your muscles, and then the caffeine goes to those areas," she said.
UC Santa Cruz student Kerry McGrath said she’s been off regular coffee now for two of her 26 years.
"You know — women and osteoporosis — you can’t do that," she said after placing an order for decaf at Lulu Carpenters.
Heavy caffeine consumption has, in some studies, been linked to osteoporosis in women. Decaffeinated coffee typically contains 5 to 6 milligrams of caffeine per 8-oz. cup, as compared with regular coffee, which can contain more than 200 milligrams per 8-oz cup.
"I’ll still get a buzz from this," McGrath said when her drink was delivered.
"Decaf really doesn’t taste the same, though," she said, looking glumly into her cup.
After deciding that caffeine made her "stressed and impatient" toward her kids, Nora Baer cut down by experimenting with teas and other less-caffeinated drinks.
"I was nervous, my heart was beating too fast, I didn’t want to talk to people," she said of the ill-effects of being a coffee junkie. "I just didn’t function very well."
Baer, who was sipping a chai on her day off, said she thinks the caffeine-awareness campaign is "a very good idea."
She still drinks two cups of regular coffee on workdays, and would like to drink less.
"It’s the one bad thing I still haven’t been able to cut out," she said.
Jim Murukami, imbiber of up to eight tall cups of regular coffee per day, was unfazed by the news that March is caffeine awareness month.
He lives an otherwise healthy life, he said, and extreme coffee drinking is the least offensive bad habit one can have.
"This is the last commonly accepted drug," he said as he started in on his third or fourth cup. "The reality is that people need a vice. ... and you can’t exactly take a heroin break at work."
Then who would they rip off...?
Yep....
Well, arm yourself accordingly and keep the trigger finger out of the line of fire. :)
I'll take his word for it. They look at you funny at Starbuck's when you march up to the counter and announce loudly "I'll have the Turkish enema, please, and leave some room for the soy milk."
Would you like a bran muffin on the side...?
Don't want to know the answer to that.
Maybe it wasn't road rage, but 'rhoid rage! A large coffee,an a bran muffin percolating in her innards, and then getting stuck in traffic. That'll make you crazy!
I think the plan is to get us to do it to ourselves when there is nothing left living for.
Right. One of my coworkers has fantasized about buying a military humvee with a remote-controlled machine gun mounted on the roof. It would be unloaded, of course, but a hoot to aim at some of the Bay Area drivers we have to deal with in our work. Naturally it is only a dream. By the way he doesn't drink coffee at all. ;)
It might make you crazy, but it'll keep you regular....
What's the Word?
Proverbial Bird!
Hey, they can always tow a port a potty!
His union needs to complain....
I really like espresso. REALLY. I like a nice steaming triple shot mocha latte in the morning. The combination of extremely freshly brewed espresso, thick sweet chocolate, and some steamy skim milk is a dream come true.
I like it so much I got an espresso machine with a steamer, so I can make it here at home.
Nothing like it. ;-D
Of course, I've been drinking coffee since I could walk...it was a big help with childhood asthma...
THEREISNOTHINGWRONGWITHCOFFEE!
YEEEEAAAARGH!
THEREISNOTHINGWRONGWITHCOFFEE!
YEEEEAAAARGH!
For me, the stronger, the better. I used to drink Turkish coffee when I worked nights. You could stay awake for three days...
THEREISNOTHINGWRONGWITHCOFFEE!
YEEEEAAAARGH!
The sad part is that some freepers are Health Nazis too.
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