one small corner of the universe

Remember my glorious reunion a few weeks ago with the Starbucks decaf 2% latte? While I was waiting for my drink that morning I tasted a sample of a new muffin ‘Bucks is selling as part of the “fall coffee lineup.” It was a teeny square of what I later discovered to be a pumpkin spice cream cheese muffin, and it was good enough to make me want a whole one. I’d already paid for my latte, so I filed the tasty muffin away in the messy overflowing shoebox that is my brain, but every time I’ve been to Starbucks since that day they’ve been out of these particular muffins, and not just at my regular location, but at all Starbucks all over the world. Apparently they were better than I thought, and throngs of people knew something I didn’t know.

Indeed, what those people knew was this: the “cream cheese” part of the name “pumpkin spice cream cheese muffin” means that in the center of the muffin, surrounded by cinnamon and pumpkin and walnuts and pure sugar and fat is a big honkin’ dollop of the creamiest cream cheese ever produced. And it…is…good. It’s the kind of good that causes you to make involuntary pleasure sounds while you are eating, the kind of good that makes you want to share with your friends and loved ones, but then when you see a friend or loved one coming toward you and you realize there is only one small bite of muffin left, with one small smear of cream cheese on its surface, you shove the muffin into your mouth and then pretend you were eating a Zone protein bar, and never you mind that little Starbuck’s bag, it’s not mine.

Go! Get one today, and make sure you get there early, because lots of us know what you don’t, and we may have already beaten you to this morning’s supply.