My turn: Thankful for my daily dates

I have this coffee making machine. I reach for a miniature container of coffee, with “Sumatra” printed on the foil top, place it in the contraption, push a button, and out comes a fabulous cup of dark liquid. I add a generous helping of heavy cream. It comes from a bright carton in my refrigerator. It was easy to purchase. I didn’t have to milk a cow.

link Sandy Fields

While the gadget is taking care of filling my coffee cup, I open a new bag of dates. Their pretty labeling tells me they’re from Tunisia. It takes me a few seconds to find this place on the world map hanging on the wall behind my desk. I wonder if I’ll ever go there, or to Morocco or Turkey.

I begin to think of this amazing feat ... getting this wonderful morning treat into my kitchen. Beginning with the date palm growers in Africa and the coffee bean farmers in Indonesia, I try to imagine all the links in the chain. Transporters, factory workers, marketers, store owners, cashiers — everyone doing their part to give me a 50-cent cup of coffee and a handful of delicious dates.

It’s astonishing. I’m spoiled. I’m thankful.

Sandy keeps an online journal at her website http://www.field-days.com. E-mail her at

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