I like coffee. And chocolate. But I’m not sure they like me. At night.

If I drink coffee, have a Pepsi or eat chocolate at or after dinner, the caffeine will hit my “awake” buzzer – usually around 3:00 a.m. It is a problem. And it takes a world of effort, relaxation, meditation and prayer to entice my body to succumb – once again – to sleep. We go out for dinner with friends and I see “chocolate fondant” on the menu and I begin to perspire – as I sputter to the server “I’ll have the c-c-c-carrot cake.”

A few years ago, Donna and I were talking about this . . . this . . . “situation.” So I penned a song about my dilemma. It goes to the tune of “Strangers in the Night”. . . .

Chocolate in the night – Keeps my eyes open.

When I douse the light – I just try copin’

I will sometimes read – until the clock strikes four.

It was just a bite. Then an another.

I tried with all my might – Thought of my mother.

But it didn’t work – I took another piece.

Chocolate in the night – It’s an addiction.

It really is a fright – it’s not a fiction.

Everywhere I go – Rain, heat frost or snow

I will grab a candy bar – a Hershey’s kiss or cocoa star

And . . . .

You get my drift. . . .