Favorite Repetitive Firsts

Coffee Drinker
Olive Ray

A week ago I got a haircut. Mel, who has cut my hair for eleven years (one of my longest relationships with any person), was tying the straps of the cape over my neck when she asked, "Would you like a Corona with lime?"

I looked at the clock on the wall, 3:30pm. It was eighty-five degrees outside and for some reason I said, "yes." I don't drink beer much and am not a big Corona fan. Something made me want that beer.

Mel returned with bottle of Corona and a lime wedge inserted in the top. I grabbed the bottle and felt the cold wet condensation chill my hand. My anticipation grew. I pinched the lime wedge between my fingers, releasing its juice down the inside of the bottle neck, then pushed it inside the bottle.

I looked at the bottle for a second then touched it to my lips. The cold beer flowed into my mouth and I savored the flavor, then swallowed before it could warm. At that moment, the world came to a peaceful quietness and the coolness of the beer traveled down my throat and through my body. I relaxed back in the seat, feeling ready for my haircut and the rest of the day.

I mentioned how perfect the first sip of cold beer on a warm afternoon is to Mel. We started thinking of other repetitive firsts that never lose their charm, power, and pleasure. These things had to be experiences we repeat multiple times in our lives, yet we still relish the first moments of them.

Here are a few we thought of and a few more I want to add.

• The first puff off of a cigar or cigarette. The rich smoke spreading through my being. Mel loves her cigarettes and I love my occasional cigar.
• The first sip of good coffee in the morning. This is one of my all time favorite rituals. I feel the warm rich flavor flow to every molecule of my body.
• The first taste of my mom's German potato salad. Every time I enjoy that initial burst of flavor, a epicurean ecstasy fills me.
• The first time I see Half Dome and El Capitan when I enter Yosemite National Park. I enjoy seeing them every other day of my stay, but that first view of natural beauty is as close to a religious moment that I've ever experienced. (This also happens in Glacier National Park and Death Valley)
• The first kiss leading to sex. It may be the 5003rd time we made love, but that first kiss sets the mood, tone, atmosphere, and expectations for the next few hours.
• The first time I hear Silent Night and Oh Holy Night during the appropriate Christmas season. Both put me in a peaceful, powerful moment that makes me have hope. Each time after that, they lose meaning due to them being over played.
• The first time I cycle the transmission through all the gears after not driving a stick shift for a while.
• The feeling of me sliding into my lover's wet warmth as I slowly push and she pulls me in. This short moment of pure beauty combines the senses of taste (a kiss) smell ( arousal ) sound (a moan, sigh and breathing) sight (seeing me enter and the beauty of her body, eyes and her taking me in) and of course touch (the richest touch experience for me, the warm, deep embrace of becoming one with her) This one I didn't bring up with Mel... would have been awkward.
• The first photo I take of a new subject. The exhilaration of starting out a new photographic adventure.
• The first dinner out on a trip. It sets the mood for the rest of the eating adventures ahead.

These are some of my favorite repeated firsts. Do you have any?