Gwendolyn Smythe January 21, XXXX Interview with educator College Writing 2 Prof.

Stockwell The Best Part of Waking Up Is Folgers In Your Cup

There is no cure for birth and death save to enjoy the interval.
George Santayana

It will only take a minute, my dad said. Ive got to get a cup of coffee. He ran into Johnsons Drive-In in Groton, a place where he and my mom used to stop for coffee or breakfast all the time. Then, Bridget, the waitress came out to the car where my mom was patiently waiting. I cant believe he stopped, she said. They have coffee at the hospital. My mom grinned through a grimace as another contraction gripped her with pain. Its all right, mom said. Im pretty sure Ill make it there. My water broke at one in the morning, but the contractions are still five minutes apart. Git goin Bridget drawled in her southern way. Im not gonna deliver this baby. The year was 1990. In Manhattan, James Woods and Michael J. Fox were rehearsing a scene at the Beacon Theater. Curiously, a real police officer named Lieutenant James Wood coached them. The actors were working on the comedy The Hard Way and in an effort to attain a sense of realism; they even went on a raid with the cops. The lieutenant has permitted Mr. Woods to join in, dressed in a Kevlar vest. They rammed down a door in Hunts Point and let me come right in with them You are acutely aware that a vest does not cover your head of your behind. Lieutenant Wood used vacation time and sick days so as not to take away from his real work day but his dedication and interest in maintaining a true representation of the police force was definitely taken to heart by the films director and producers. For example, the average New

York City police squad room was much more racially diverse than the film suggested. The cast was altered to reflect this observation and additions such as rapper L.L. Cool J were added to the roster. (New York Times) In world news, Nelson Mandela was released from prison in South Africa after serving twenty-seven years for sabotage (news.bbc.co.uk). According to IMDB, 1990 was a popular year for sequels with the premieres of Godfather III and Back to the Future III. Also, theater goers were watching the classic Home Alone for the first time as well as Goodfellas. (imdb.com) but Dances With Wolves took the Oscar for Best Picture (filmsite.org). Sinead OConnor topped the MTV music awards that year (MTV.com) but Bette Midler and her rendition of Wind Beneath My Wings won the Grammy (infoplease.com) for Song of the Year. Grunge styles swept the fashion world inspired by music groups including Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Reality television shows began to make their place in homes across America as MTV launched its series The Real World but also the original Survivor series came out this year. In 1990, a family could buy a new house for $123,000 but their income on average was $28,970. The same family would expect to pay $1.34 for a gallon of gas and a gallon of milk was about the same. Super Nintendos sold for $159 and parents could purchase a brand new Plymouth Voyager, the popular mini-van of the day, for $15,999 and equip it with a new technology cellular car phone for just about $325 (thepeoplehistory.com). In the end, my dad never got a chance to drink the cup of coffee that he bought at Johnsons Drive-In. Once my mom arrived at the hospital, she was already in pretty intense labor. The doctor delivered me at exactly one oclock in the afternoon. I think, maybe, you developed your love for coffee from that morning, my dad told me recently. Nothing like a cup of coffee to start off your day of your life. As the case may be.

http://kclibrary.lonestar.edu/decade90.html http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/11/newsid_2539000/2539947.stm http://www.filmsite.org/oscars90.html http://www.imdb.com/year/1990 http://www.mtv.com/ontv/vma/1990/ http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1990s.html