Arabian Coffee

For years the phrase "Arabian Coffee" was a dance segment in the Nutcracker ballet in which my daughter participated in for many, many years.  I think I hold the world's record on seeing every version of the Nutcracker imaginable.  Dancers are catty.  We spent a lot of time going to different productions of the Nutcracker and then compare notes on their dancers and their interpretation of the music.  We would comment on their "Clara" whether she was en pointe or not.  We would also comment on performances of the Snow Queen and the Sugar Plum Fairy as those two are usually competing roles.  Meow.

The Nutcracker Prince????  Any guy who does ballet has incredible strength, coordination, flexibility and stamina.  I want to smack people who put down male dancers thinking it's only something flaming gay guys do.  Let me rephrase that.  Being a flaming gay guy these days is actually hip, cool and trendy so that's not even a put down.  But it is a put down in the eyes of the those with limited understanding on how demanding dance really is and how "in" it is to be gay.   Sigh. 

I'm getting off track again.  I was talking about Arabian coffee.  For a long, long time I had the reference of the ballet segment.  Thanks to my son, it now has a totally different reference.

I love hanging out with my son when I get the chance, which is not very frequently:(  He is very adventurous and is willing to try just about anything.  He brings me out of my shy, little limited shell of an existence and introduces me to new places, foods, and cultures.  This last week it was Arabian coffee.  My son recommended a restaurant that I would have never gone into on my own.  The decor was like something out of an old movie set with lots of reds and golds with the heavy draperies, tasseled pillows and "I dream of Jeanie" bottles and such.  Everything was very ornate.  The food menu was incomprehensible to me, but my son gave me his infamous 'look' ordered for me and said, "Trust me."

Lo and behold I ended up trying something way out of the ordinary and loved it.  Don't ask me what it was as I could not pronounce it, anyway.  We finished the meal with Arabian coffee which was unlike anything I've ever had before.  Now I have a completely different reference and experience.