It's the Water!

It has been an extremely hot summer here in Florida.  Here on this southern peninsula state, it is supposed to be hot, but at times this past summer season, it has been oppressively hot and humid.  My daily updates, from Dave in Connecticut,  always include the weather report.  He reports, it was an overly hot and humid summer season there as well.  At my Florida home, we would never consider life without air conditioning. In Connecticut, ceiling fans in my home, kept me cool.  At times, the humidity might have been a bit much, but for me, not unbearable.  The inside temperatures at Fred's News was always a comfortably cool atmosphere during the summer months.  The two large AC units helped with the climate control and our many patrons appreciated the cooling comfortable environment, as did Northeast Utilities, much to my chagrin!   With the many "heated" and lively conversations constantly occurring, it wasn't only the weather causing the heat within the walls of Fred's News!  Our own iced tea and  iced coffee were  a precious commodity during those warm Connecticut summer months.  Here in Florida, it's "sweet tea" (appreciated by many dentists), or if by chance you can find a place that serves iced coffee, you are in luck.  Dunkin Donuts is here in Florida, but not nearly as numerous as Connecticut.  The coffee just doesn't have the same taste.  In plain English, the water here "sucks!"  We miss the water at Fred's News every minute of every day!  That three hundred foot plus well produced the best sparkling, great tasting water I have ever consumed.  Our coffee, tea and even the ice cubes had a freshness that is hard to describe.  It quenched your thirst and invigorated your inner being, allowing you being to carry on your activities, even on the hottest New England summer day.   My consumption of bottled water has quadrupled and doesn't even begin to fill the void left by "NO MORE FRED'S NEWS WATER!" 

On the other end of the spectrum, a cooler season is coming.  At Fred's News, even the coolest or coldest New England weather was made tolerable with a steaming cup of coffee or tea.  People would always ask, "What brand of coffee do you use?"  We would tell them, even giving them a packet of coffee to try at home.  They'd report, "I can't make it taste like the coffee of Fred's News!" Whew, thought we lost a customer!  Actually, it was the water folks.  That water was a daily topic for conversations at Fred's.  Didn't matter if you were a regular or a "first-timer", that water got you!  Most people would ask,  "where the hell is the well?"  Bill adopted the answer, "out back, fifteen feet down and three hundred fifty feet to the Shetucket River!"  That raised more than a few eyebrows. We never knew what people believed.  The truth: the well sat alongside Fred's News, approximately four feet from the side bulkhead, more than three hundred fifty feet straight down, into an aquifer, that criss-crosses through New England, including parts of the village of Baltic.  We were just fortunate enough  Fred's News was located right on top of it!  No gimmicks, no additives to enhance the flavor, just extremely good, unadulterated,  old fashioned, great tasting WATER!