Many folks when they get to retirement start reserving tee times more frequently. In my case, it’s tea time! I don’t play golf and I don’t drink coffee, which are two key elements of retirement leisure. For a short while, I would walk our dogs down to the neighborhood Starbuck’s for a grande cup of Peach Tranquility Herbal Tea loaded with honey. This was a carry-over from my working days when Starbuck’s tea was an automatic stop on the way to my desk every morning.

The honey was soothing to my throat that has suffered from several procedures to remove a wart from my vocal cords. Without these procedures, I couldn’t speak without discomfort and networking events were uncomfortable. As a man with a very gregarious personality, I was eventually forced to avoid large gatherings where I had to project my voice to be heard. It’s what honestly led to my retirement because even talking on the phone was difficult. It’s tough to do any job without the ability to communicate.

I was at a fundraising event the other night with a friend and had to retreat to a corner to avoid overusing my voice. I don’t have the laser procedures any more and simply have to find ways not to irritate my vocal cords. As I was explaining this to my friend, he suggested that I try a medicinal tea called Throat Coat. I was intrigued because I’d never mentioned to him that I used to order tea with honey regularly but had gotten out of the habit. The company who makes it is called Traditional Medicines, a former client of his. One of their loyal customers was President Bill Clinton who would drink it before and after frequent speaking engagements to sooth his throat.

Before the delivery convenience of Amazon Prime, Clinton would apparently send Secret Service messengers to the plant to pick up his supply of tea bags. The story was that when they arrived unexpectedly at the warehouse many of the workers began to scatter, fearing it was some kind of illegal immigration raid. It was simply “tea time” for the President, not a green card check. I ordered a supply for myself and add a spoonful of honey “to help the medicine go down.”

My wife also had a great ceramic travel mug with a rubber lid that she got at a recent convention, and I’m making efficient use of our instant hot water dispenser. Maybe it will keep me from drinking so many Diet Cokes? Plus, I just added “honey in a squeeze bottle” to the shopping list. The will help avoid the sticky mess that I’ve made in the kitchen that is supposedly ruining her good silverware. I wonder if Bill Clinton had these kinds of problems?

“Teatime” dates back to the Victorian era. When tea first came to England in the 1650s from China, it was a luxury item accessible only to the upper classes. Like coffee, it was first consumed in public coffeehouses. Over the course of the 18th century, costs dropped and popularity increased. Around the same time, as tea was spreading, it was moving out of public tea shops and becoming something people would drink at home, thus moving into the traditionally feminine domestic sphere. Afternoon tea parties became the rage. Also after the evening meal, the women would retreat to gossip and enjoy tea, while the men would smoke and drink. I may just add a little whisky to my tea to make me feel more manly.