Saul Bellow's Instructions for a Good Cup of Coffee

(P.S. As I typed the last few words of that title, the newscast on TV said, simultaneously, "blah blah blah, a good cup of coffee." I love that.)

"'I still do the cooking if Alexandra (his wife) is busy and I prepare (tea and) coffee,' he continued. 'I'm very particularabout both. I never use tap water for either because it's so awful here in Chicago. I use bottled water…' The coffee blend Mr. Bellow prefers is a combination of Colombian and Armenian beans that he buys at a local supermarket and grinds just before brewing them in a filter-lined drip coffee pot. 'Sometimes I make cowboy coffee,' he said. 'I put the grounds in a saucepan full of water and just let them come to first boil -the first bubble. Then I let the whole thing settle.'"

I write this as I sip a hot cup of grocery store brand coffee made with "awful" Chicago tap water. Yeah, it's not superyummy, but it's warm and it's going to give me a decent buzz. And if I didn't drink it, I'd never get out of bed and stop reading. (Hey, can I get a job where I just stay in bed, reading all day? Lessee those want ads...)