Midway through last night's Super Bowl, I reached out for Coffee. In years past, the Super Bowl was like a typical holiday, just another gorge fest. I wasn't tempted by carbs—that dropped from me long ago. But, I needed something to follow the pork ribs. Though I just swore off Coffee for age 42, nevertheless...

I met my old lover
On the street last night
She seemed so glad to see me
I just smiled
And we talked about some old times

Paul Simon, Still Crazy After All These Years

Never did a warm cup of insecticide taste so good! But at the end of the night, I felt worse for it as my body cried out for the rejuvenating wash of water. Can I put the mug down? Is there a place for Coffee in my life?

It's Super Bowl Sunday—WAIT, I better reconsider before hanging the exclamation mark at the end of this sentence. Once upon a time, it was a day that was special. I don't know if I grew out of it or the NFL has changed; it's likely a little of both. As far as football goes, I still love my Memphis Tigers, but it's because of the TEAM; in the past, I liked the NFL because of the individuals. There's remains a player left in the game whom I admire; he's playing at QB later today. How can I not root for a guy who is a year older than me? And it's the same when I was cheering for that same, while much younger, underdog against the vaulted St. Louis Rams in 2002, back when I was less than a year out of college.

There was a time I was an avid NFL consumer. Through having a guy's night out with a Krystal's run and Monday Night Football combo when I was 16-17, visiting the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton while in college in 2000, hanging out on Sundays to watching games at another's house in my 20s or even during the 2013-2014 season, watching EVERY game that season via the NFL Gamepass, I was once drenched with the stuff. And don't get me started with Madden or Tecmo Super Bowl on the NES!

But today, I just don't follow the stuff. The people I cheered for have retired and the teams I once held allegiances toward, the Minnesota Vikings and the Pittsburgh Steelers, are now irrelevant in my life.

Anymore, the Superbowl is a holiday remining me of all the marks on a map I've visited and all of the cherished travelers that shared these sections of the track before the next train station parted our travels.

At 42, I'm on my last cup with Coffee at this age. You'll recall my relationship with Coffee in an earlier post. This departing embrace is a Starbucks French Roast from a french press. In the upcoming days, will I miss that warm cup of insecticide to jump-start my mornings?

The 18th Expedition has been a bit of weird for me as I don't think I'm doing what I need to do. Or, should I say, what I want to do? My training is on hold, I suppose—I mean, the smart play would be to lay off for the rest of the month and see if I heal up. HOWEVER, I want to go after it! Yesterday, in Part II of Turning My Yard Into an Open Air Barn, my time with spreading hay around the place contributed heavily to the 14,457 step total for the day. So much for trying to simmer things down!

A picture of me from yesterday:

My diet has been all over the place, but not in bad way. In The 17th Expedition, you'd set your clock to what I ate. This time around, there's been a lot of variability. I'm on-off with salt—the same with Coffee, and have been open to 3 lb beef days. I even had a 6-egg omelet this morning using the leftovers from last night's beef roast!

While I don't mind the added nutrition as my body heals, I bristle a bit with the time Coffee and me spend together. See, the point of taking plants out of our rotation is to dodge their toxins, right, their innate ability for self-defense. Yet, we get jollies from coffee BECAUSE of its defenses!

And I honestly, I don't know we're still a good fit. I mean, at first the time I spend with Coffee is awesome, but as the time flies together, I have my misgivings. And Coffee does give me acne...

...after this last cup, we're going to take a break from each other. Maybe in July we'll see each other again, as my old summer playlist, Sun Soaking 🍹 plays on.