It is not enough to take steps which may some day lead to a goal; each step must be itself a goal and a step likewise. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

I succeeded in not drinking coffee yesterday. It wasn’t too difficult, as long as I had ibuprofen on-hand (I get real bad caffeine headaches). Today, the goal repeats itself.

Goal: Don’t drink any coffee today.

Confession

In 2004, I was road racing pretty seriously. The collegiate series in the Northwest is pretty competitive, and I was doing well in the Men’s A, Division I group (the toughest).

On the drive home from the omnium in Seattle, I saw a Krispy Kreme donut on the side of the freeway. “I’ve never had one of those,” I exclaimed, ominously, to Stacey. “Well then. We’re just going to have to get you one.” My fate was sealed.

If you know me well, you know that I have a ridiculous sweet tooth. And, a bottomless pit of a stomach, especially when I am in training.

“Kid in a candy store” doesn’t even begin to describe it. More like heroin addict on a poppy farm.

I saw the donuts, glistening under the heat lamps. They were singing to me. “Fa la la, Andy. Come to us, Andy. We are custard filled, jelly filled, sweet as can be, Andy.”

I glided forward, entranced by the hypnotic song of the Krispy Kreme donut line. “I want all of them,” I said to the person at the counter. “Umm. Sir, you can’t have all of them. Which ones would you like?”

“How many can I get?” I replied. A small pool of saliva had accumulated around the base of my sweating hands on the counter.

“Would you like a dozen?” The now-scared teen asked, hoping I didn’t hit maul for being so presumptious.

“Yes. I want that.”

A “Baker’s Dozen” assorted donuts

1. Bavarian
2. Bear Claw
3. Chocolate Cake
4. Chocolate Bar
5. Cinnamon Swirl
6. Creme
7. Custard
8. Custard-Filled Maple Bar
9. Glazed
10. Lemon Jelly
11. Maple Bar
12. Maple Donut
13. Original

I took my new friends back to the car, offended that they ever had to spend time with that mean kid. I promised to treat them better.

On the drive home, I did treat my friends better. In the four hours between Seattle and Portland, I assimilated all thirteen of them.