     An experiment was conducted recently to determine the effects of
numerous cups of coffee on human physiology.
     The test took place in the bright and well-ventilated offices of a 
newspaper.  Regular automatic-drip coffee was used.  The brand name is not
mentioned here because of possible pending litigation.  The names of two
ancillary participants have been disguised due to the likelihood of 
assault charges being filed with the District Attorney's office.
     What follows is a journal of events as recorded by this reporter.
     First cup (7:30 am) - Do my Night-of-the-Living-Dead shuffle over to
the coffee pot.  My mind is in a blissful haze.  Larry, the guy who makes
the coffee, snarls a greeting.  The coffee is rich in sediment, as if 
scraped from the bottom of a pond.
     "Hmmm, good coffee," I say to Larry.
     "I hate you," Larry says
     It's morning in America.
     Second cup (8:00) - I gaze through half-shut eyes at the warning
on the pink package of my sugar substitute: "Use of this product may be
hazardous to your health.  This product contains saccharin which has 
been determined to cause cancer in laboratory animals."
     Terrific.  White mice are keeling over on treadmills after ingesting
just a few grains of this stuff.  And I go through 10 packs a day.  If
I were awake, this might be cause for concern.
     Third cup (8:40) - Beginning to feel that familiar jolt to the 
central nervous system.  Brain slowly starting to kick over, like a 
lawn mower that has languished in the tool shed over the winter.
     Fourth cup (9:15) - Oh, yes, yes!  Feeling a sudden burst of energy
now.  I empty all the wastebaskets.
     Fifth cup (10:15) - Caffeine has kicked in big-time.  Arrive early 
for meeting in editor's office.  To kill some time, I wash all her
windows.  Then I straighten her desk and reorganize her files.
     The meeting itself goes well.  Not exactly sure what is said,
though.  I spend most of the time trying to catch this fly buzzing 
around my head.
     Editor appears concerned by my behavior, repeatedly insisting
that she doesn't see any fly in the room.  Finally she barks at me to
"stop this nonsense."  But I know it's there.
     Sixth cup (11:45) - Just had an interesting conversation about
the primaries with X on the way to lunch.  I disagreed with him on
several points.  Unfortunately, I also pushed him down a flight of 
stairs.  But he asked for it with that crack about the Electoral Col-
lege.  So did Y, an elderly woman who tried to intervene on his behalf.
OK, I was a little jittery.  But she should just butt out of matters
that don't concern her.
     Wasn't that hungry at the restaurant for some reason - just 
sipped water and knocked back a few breath mints.
     Oh, and another cup of coffee.  You don't want to feel sluggish
after a meal.
     Seventh cup (12:50 pm) - Can't stop talking.  The words are coming
out of my mouth in machine-gun bursts, like one of those "Morning Zoo"
radio DJs.  Blood pressure must be soaring.  On my way back to the
office, I stop and wash a few cars in the employee parking lot.
     Eighth cup (1:44) - This sentence appears on the screen of my
word processor:  The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.  I've
written it 50 times.  Can't think.  Mind racing now.  Someone just
tapped my on the shoulder and I jumped over a filing cabinet.
     Ninth cup (2:30) - Just lit a Winston and I don't even smoke. 
Smoking isn't allowed in the newsroom, either.  But, hey, what are they
gonna do about it?  I've got two words if they send Security up here:
hostage situation.
     Tenth cup (3:35) - Sweating profusely now.  Just dropped to the
floor and knocked off 20 push-ups, apparently startling the woman at
the next desk.
     "WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?!" I scream at her.  She flees in terror
to the rest room.
     Boy, mu head is pounding.  Feeling slightly nauseous, too.  But
it's a good kind of nauseous.

