coffee stories by lifebushido draft 2009

7/29/2019 Coffee Stories by Lifebushido Draft 2009

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CoffeeStories

DraftVersion

byLifebushido


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CoffeeStories

Copyright2009byLifebushido

www.Lifebushido.com/Coffee

[email protected]

PublishedbyLifebushido

www.Lifebushido.com

Allrightsreserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or

transmitted inany formorbyanymeans,electronicor mechanical, including photocopy, recording or

information storage and retrieval methods now

known or to be invented, without the written

permissionofthepublisher,exceptbyareviewerwho

wishes to quotebriefpassages in connectionwith a

review written for inclusion in an educational

publication,radio,orTVbroadcast.

PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica.

1stEditionJuly2009

Thisbook

is

published

in

adraft

version

without

finalediting.


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Preface

SoIwasinthehospitallastyearwithableedingulcer

andthedoctorsaid,Nomorecoffeeforyou.Itold

himhemightaswellkillmenow. Imean, Ivemet

some ofmybest friends in coffee shops, had some

fantasticromances,andofcourse,metsomeamazing

Hollywood whackadoos who were living on

anotherplanet.

Soitsbeenayearwithoutcoffeeandoddlyenough,

Ivebeenaskedtoreviewthisbookyounowhold in

your hands. When you read it, you might just

appreciateyour localcoffeeparlorwitha littlemore

loveandaffection thanyounormallydo.Of course,

dontexpecttoreadanythingnegativeherelike,Hey,

IwasdrinkingmymorningcupofJoeatthesoandso

coffee shop when all of a sudden the place was

robbed by two masked gunmen; they striped me

naked and made me do 25 jumping jacks on the

publicsidewalk.Andtheydidntevenbuymecoffee.

Sorry,fun

story,

but

not

here.

CoffeeStoriesisahappybook.Itsaboutyou.Itsyourhopes, your dreams; its a reflection of your

personality. People getmarried,makebabies, incur

massive bills, file bankruptcybut like I said, you

wont read that here. Youwill only read about the

goodtimes.


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Of course, life isnt all fun andgames. In fact, I am

puttingmy footdown rightnow, and I implore the

editorsofthisbooktostopthepresses.Weneedreal

sex, real blood, and real heartache. Wouldnt you

ratherreadaboutthethousandsofpeoplewhocome

toHollywood, takeadeadendjob,and spend their

free hourswriting that one screenplay at their local

coffee shop thatsgoing to change their lifeandput

themin

anew

tax

bracket?

Only

to

find

massive

failure as they turn around, leave their dreams on

HollywoodBoulevard, andboard thenextbusback

hometoDuluth,Iowa?No.Youwontreadthathere.

Well,maybehereinthepreface,butnotinthisbook.

Ifyouwant to readonly thegood times, thehappy

times,andyoureally lovecoffee, thenkeepreading.ButdonttellmeIdidntwarnyou.


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TableofContents

CoffeeStories...................................................................................... 1CreamandSugar?........................................................ 3DowntheRoad........................................................... 11Coffee,Tea,orMe? .................................................... 19No

Tears

Over

Spoiled

Milk

..................................... 27TheSugarCircle ......................................................... 35CoffeeStainInspiration............................................. 43TodaysSpecial ........................................................... 50TheFirstSip ................................................................ 58IsThatMyDrink? ...................................................... 61

CreativeProduction......................................................................... 71TheMakingofCoffeeStories ................................... 73CoffeeStoriesBrainstorming.................................... 75MarketingIdeas.......................................................... 77AreYouaManoraWoman? AreYouInterestedin

MakingaMovie?........................................................ 82UpliftingMovies ........................................................ 84Theatre

Concept ......................................................... 86

SteveKantorBiography ............................................ 88BySomeoneSpecial ............................................... 90Credits.......................................................................... 91


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Introduction

There isnothingbetter thangetting thatdaily fixofCappuccinoatyourlocalcoffeehouse.Youorderup,sitdown, and takeyour first sipof that smoothyetinvigoratingcupof thehotstuffbeforemovingontootherthingslikefinishingthefirstchapterofthebookyoubought thenightbeforeoropeningyour laptop

to

connect

with

Wi

Fi

or

twitter.

Nomatter how focused you are on your task, youreyesandearssoonbegintomigrateacrosstheroom.Before long,youaredrawn into theworldofpeoplewatchingandeavesdropping.You realize thatyourlocalcoffeeshopismorethanjustaconvenientplacetogo foryourdaily fixof caffeine; there are lotsofwonderful things happening to the people aroundyou.

People fall in love, get their firstbig careerbreak,meet celebrities, forge lasting friendships and landbook dealswithmajor publishers after scribbling afewnotesonanapkin.

Serendipitousmomentshappenallaroundyouwhileyousipthatmugofjavaandpeoplewatch.Peoplearediscovered, scouted, wooed, schmoozed, matchedandheadhunted.Youwonder,whydoesntsomeoneputthesemagicalmomentsinabook?

CoffeeStoriesisabookaboutjustthat.Itisacollectionofstoriesaboutgreatthingsthathappenedtopeople


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in their localcoffeeshopsaround theworld.Asyouread,youbecome theflyon thewall watchingand

listening to peoples dreams, discoveries, romancesandfantasies.

Ifyoulovepeoplewatching,eavesdropping,orevenhaveasecretfantasyortwoaboutthewaiterservingyouyourAmericano, thenyouwill fall in lovewiththisbook.Besuretotakeitdowntoyourlocalcoffee

shop and orderupbefore reading. Perhaps you arejustonepageawayfromcreatingyourownstory.

See www.Lifebushido.com/Coffee or [email protected].


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EmailforLocalCoffeeShop

Owners

If you know a local coffee shop owner, or are a

frequent visitor to a coffee shop, please consider

sending the storeowner an email along the linesof

thetextbelow. PleaseattachaPDFcopyofthebook

[email protected].

DearCoffeeShopOwner,

IamalocalcustomerofyourcoffeeshopandIwant

toshareamarketingideatoaddfurtherwarmthand

charactertoyourcoffeeshop.

CoffeeStoriesisagrowingenterprisethatspecializesincollectinggreat stories frompeopleabout significant

events that have taken place in their lives while

havingcoffeeintheirlocalcoffeeshop.

Peoplefrom

all

over

the

world

have

overwhelmingly

respondedwith their submissionsandwould like to

sharetheirstoriesthroughaneBookandothermedia

formats that we are presently working on. These

stories are available for your clientele in an eBook

formatandwillshortlybeavailableinbookform.

However,whatIreallywanttohelpyouaccomplishinyourbusinessistocreatethatThirdPlacefeeling


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foryourcustomersbyofferingthesegeneralstoriesto

youandcreatingaspacewherepeople inyour local

coffeeshopcancontribute toa forum that iscreated

specifically foryourcoffeeshop. This forumcanbe

accessedthroughyourWiFiinaneBookformandin

thefuturepossibleinprintform. Wecouldevendoa

customprivatelabelbookwithyourbookcover,back,

andcontent.

Everyonehasaplacewhere theyworkand live,but

theyneedthatthirdplacewheretheygotohangout

andenjoyfriends. Creatingaforumforstorytelling

strengthensthatwarmlocalfeelingthatyouwantand

raisestheprofileofyourcoffeeshoptoo.

Attachedis

arecent

draft

of

one

book

version.

Just

printthefirst1020pages,grabacupofcoffeeatyour

store,andenjoy. Iwouldliketohearwhatyouthink

about this idea andwould love the opportunity to

answeranyfurtherquestionsaboutthisconcept.


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MBAVirtualInternProgram

InMay, Iwas contactedby a student of theUCLA

MBA program regarding internship opportunities.

The studentwas hired as Lifebushidos first intern.

Within100hours,Lifebushidodevelopedabusiness

plan and launched the worlds first global MBA

VirtualIntern

program

for

MBA

students

from

the

top100globalschools. Onemonth from thatphone

call, we are publishing first draft version of CoffeeStories.

MBAVirtual Internsworkonmicroventureswitha

business, creative or social entrepreneur focus. The

microventureswillevolvefromconcepttolaunchin10weeks.

Thisbookisoneofthoseprojects,developedwiththe

help of the MBA Virtual Intern group, it was

conceived, assembled, and published inmanuscript

form in less than30days. IfyouareaMBAVirtual

Intern, or a potentialMBAVirtual Intern,wewant

you to know that at Lifebushido Anything is

Possible.

Formoreinformationabouttheprogramortoapply,

visit www.Lifebushido.com/mba or email us at

[email protected].

Ourinternship

programisopen,growing,andacceptingapplications.


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CoffeeStories


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Coffee Stories

3

Cream

and

Sugar?

OnedayIdroppedbyanoutofthewaycoffeehouse

thathadthebestcoffeeintownandbrilliantpastries.

As I sat down to enjoy my coffee and doughnut,

someone Ihadntseenforover tenyearscameup to

me.AtfirstIdidntrecognizethem,butastheybegan

to talk I realized itwas a kid Imentoredwhile atcollegeinasmalltown.Theywerenowallgrownup,

with a very successfulbusiness.He toldme that it

was because of my encouragement to use his

imagination,toread,andbelieveintheworldthathe

was motivated to become what he was today. He

mentioned that he kept me in mind, and always

meant to lookmeup in the future to showmehow

happyandsuccessfulhewas. Heattributedmybelief

inhisabilitiestowhohewastoday.Nothinghasever

been as fulfilling to me, and this story. He has

encouraged me to strive even further in my job.

Today, despite numerous fall backs, I am back on

trackand

more

successful

than

ever.

Sometimesittakesgreatcoffeeatagreatcoffeehouse

toopenyoureyestoanewwayoflife.Thisisexactly

whathappened tome.Findingmyselfatacrossroad

betweenarealjoboranentrepreneurialfuture,Ioften

visitedmy local independenthouse, TheGlobe ,for

relief from my research, phone calls andprocrastination. One day in October, when the


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Lifebushido

4

seasonshadbeguntochange,IbreezedintotheGlobe

to take the edgeoffmy caffeine cravingwith a rich

Sumatran brew. In line ahead of me was a chatty

acquaintance.Sincemakingthemostofmytimewas

notapriority, Idecided to indulgehim.Littledid I

know our chance encounterwould changemy life.

Webeganwith small talk.Whatsup?Whats new?

Hearing aboutmy indecisive future, he challenged

meto

let

him

help

me

get

started.

Ican

remember

the

tasteof the coffee,and the feeling thatmy lifewas

abouttochange.Itwasasifthecoffeesynergizedthe

event from the past to the future.When I left the

coffeehousethatday,Iwasonmywaytobecoming

anentrepreneur.

Ido lotsofbusiness incoffeehouses,as Iworkasavirtual assistant and therefore prefer to meet my

clientsoutsideofmyoffice. Itsaconvenientlocation.

OneofthebestmeetingsIhadwaswithaclientwho

revealed she had resigned herjob andwas starting

out on her own. I thought thiswas an incredibly

brave thing todo and aswe talkedaboutherplans

over coffee, Iwas almostjealous of this chance she

had to start everything from scratch and plan

everything theway shewanted it tobe. Soyes, I

helped my newest client start her business right

thereoveralatte!

Onatrip

to

London,

my

three

friends

and

Iwere

taking in the sights on Kings Road when we


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Coffee Stories

5

happenedtopassacoffeeshop.Wewentin,deciding

tositdownforawhileandhaveacupofcoffee. We

wereinEnglandtobuyantiquesfortheirstoreinthe

USA,butmythreefriendswerealsolookingforaflat

they couldpurchase inLondon. Oneofmy friends

wasverypersonableandfriendly,andhenoticedan

older gentleman sitting alone nearby who seemed

engrossedinourconversation. Hewassuchatypical

Englishgentleman

in

his

manner

of

dress

and

looks

thatmyfriendinvitedhimtojoinourtableforacup

of coffee and some conversation. The gentleman

obviouslyknew thatwe, threemenand I,awoman,

wereAmericans,andsurprisinglyhejoinedus. Isay

surprisingly becauseheseemedsomuch likewhat

we Americans would call a stuffed shirt. We

chatted and confided to him our plans for buyingantiques and for my friends to purchase a flat if

possible. Myfriendswereratherwelloff,andcould

affordsomethingquitedecent,buttheywerenew to

thewaythecountryhandledloans,sales,etc. Itturns

out that the ratherdapper,olderEnglishgentleman

sitting with us was the vice president of one of

Englandsmostprestigiousbanks,ANDhealsohad

whatweAmericanswouldcall a title. HewasSir

soandso. Myfriendsopenedanaccountathisbank,

purchasedalovelytownhousejustafewblocksfrom

Harrodsandwewereall invited toSirTshomeon

BerkeleySquareforcocktailsonenightbeforeweleft

England.All

in

all,

quite

asuccessful

little

trip

into

a

coffeehouse!


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6

Iwas sitting in the coffee shop onmy universitys

campuswhenaforeignexchangestudentwhoIknew

fromclassaskedifshecouldjoinme.Shortlyafterour

conversation began, it turned to talking about the

persecution thatshehad faced inher life forbeinga

Christian. She has stayed true to her faith despite

being rejectedby her family and even her country.

Hertestimony

was

life

changing.

Iwas

inspired

to

staystrong throughmyownstruggleswith the faith

becauseofwhatshetoldmethatdayovercoffee.

Over coffee at a coffee house, I realizedwhatwas

greataboutchess.Idgrownupwantingtolikeitand

wantingtobegoodat it,asIwaspushed toplayby

my father.However,nothinghadeverclickedaboutchess. Iwalked into this coffee house late at night,

and in theback room therewere three intensechess

games going. I started watching them, and was

overcomeby the glamour of it.As Iwatched them

play,Istartedtounderstandthewayyouthinkahead

while playing. I could see that a playermoved his

knight, for example, with an eye to moving it

elsewhereinthefuture.Thatmomentofrevelationin

the coffeehouse stayedwithme, and ledme toget

involvedinthecultureoftournamentchessplayers.I

fellinlovewithamasterplayer,traveledalloverthe

state attending tournaments, and had my heart

brokenamillion

times

losing

games.

Im

still

not

a

very good player,but Ill never forget themoment


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Coffee Stories

7

that Idevelopeda truedesire toplay, late thatnight

inthatcoffeehouse.

Several years ago I was sitting in a cafe in Paris

reading the InternationalHerald Tribune.Although

myFrench isalmostgoodenough topassfornative,

thismusthavebeentheflagthatshouted, Hereisan

American. Inanyevent,atotalstrangercametosit

atmy

table

and

after

an

initial

hesitation

on

my

part,

we started to talk. It turned out to be a really

interestingperson;anAmericanwhohadspentyears

doinghumanitarianworkfortheUnitedNations. All

the headlines of the 1990s and 2000s, this guy had

been there, seen themovie,wore the tshirtandone

could even say had written the book. Places like

Goma,Kigali, Indonesiaweremore familiar to himthan his home town. We spent a few hours and

several coffees talking about his life and career and

thenwentourownways. Iwassobuzzed,moreby

the conversation, than by the coffee, that I only

rememberedwell after I returned tomyhotel that I

had leftmy IHT on the table. The conversation

neverreallyleftmeevenafterIreturnedtoNewYork.

Every time I read about some new humanitarian

disasterinthepapers,IlookedatwhatIwasdoingin

the financemanagement company forwhich Iwas

working and asked myself why. Why slowly

transformed itself into the question how. Almost a

yearlater,

Idecided

that

if

Iwas

going

to

change

careersthiswasthetimetodoitandIbegantolook


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8

for jobs overseas with the UN or a large non

governmental organization. It turned out that the

degreethatIhadinBusinessAdministrationwasnot

irrelevant to this task. Aftera few falsestarts,Iwas

offered a post of Operations Officer with a UN

Agency. Ihavebeen inSenegalforoverayearnow

andfranklyhaveneverlookedback.

Igrew

up

in

Kent,

Ohio.

Going

to

coffee

shops

was

verycoolinthesixtiesandImetmyfirsthusband,a

musician.Thisparticular little shopwas rightacross

from campus andwas always crowded so I hardly

evertriedtogetin.Iduckedinthecoffeehousedoor

duringaparticularlynasty,snowyandcoldday,only

tofind itwascrowdedwithnoseatstobefound. I

started to turn togobackout thedoorwhen I feltatugonmy coat sleeve. Itwasaguy fromaband in

Kent, gesturing forme tohave a seat ashe scooted

over,pattingtheseatnearhimandsmilingupatme.I

sat, and fell in love. A fewmonths later we were

married! I loved that man until the day he died

[alwayswill,actually]andtothisdaycantwalkbya

coffeehousewithoutabittersweetfeelingofloveand

lossinmyheart.

After spending yet another amazing night at my

boyfriendshousewewenttothecoffeehousearound

thecorner.Wewerechattingandoutofnowherehe

askedme

to

move

in

with

him!

We

lived

together

for

ayear and frequented that same coffeehouse every


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Coffee Stories

9

weekend.Andyes! Itwas there thatheaskedme to

marry him! We have been married now for 5

wonderfulyears!

For some reason there is always a number of

interestingthingshappeningtomeatcoffeeshops!If

itsnot running intooldacquaintances itsdefinitely

meetingsomenewandinterestingpeopleallthetime.

Iremember

one

time

Iwent

to

acoffee

shop

down

the

street frommyhouse and therewas this localband

thereandIhadnoideawhotheywereIlistenedfora

few songs and was just about to leave when the

singerapproachedtoaskwhyIwasleavingsosoon.I

was speechless, well, because first off he was

gorgeousandIguesstheywerentassmallasaband

as I thought that theywere.Theywere friendswiththeownerof the coffee shopandweredoinghim a

favor togetmorepeople tocome to thecoffeeshop.

SothesingerandIstruckupaconversation.Thiswas

a very quaint little coffee shopwith a realworking

fireplaceandthiswaswintersoIwasthankfulforthe

warmth.WesatdownandIthoughtthiswasgoingto

beoneofthoseconversationsthatlastforashorttime

followedbymanyawkwardsilences.Haha.ButIwas

shocked that we easily kept talking for over three

hours. He was a very friendly and interesting

individualwho hadjust gotten off an international

tour.Well,tomakeaverylongstoryshort,afterthat

therewere

many

more

dates

to

come

including

the

mostuniquedateIveeverbeenonthezoo.Andyes,


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10

five very short years later here we are today still

together freshly engaged and happier than ever of

course!

Iamaguywho isreally fondofcoffee. Iused togo

almosteverydayatacafe named LeCafe.Oneday

when I stopped over to get a cup of coffee, Iwas

accidentallyhitbyagirland thecoffee thatshewas

holdingspilled

on

my

uniform.

It

was

really

amess.

When Isawher face, insteadofgettingangry, Iwas

so amazed and felt something else. I then asked for

her name and after that day,we havebeen seeing

eachother.Thegreatest things thathappened is that

the girlwho poured coffee onmebecamemywife

now. Iamso thankful for thatcoffeeand thatcoffee

house. This is one of the reasons why I cant stophavingcoffee.

Ihadmyfirstpolyamorousdateatacoffeeshop.My

boyfriendandIgotthereearly,andourdategotthere

late.Isattheresippingmycoffeeextremelynervously,

althoughmyboyfriendwasthepictureofcool.Every

timeablondewomanwalked in,myheartwouldbe

inmythroat,andmypulsewouldskyrocket.Wehad

trouble decidingwhat table to sit at, andwemust

havemoved a dozen times around the small coffee

place.Wewantedtomakesurethatthetablewasbig

enough for three, relatively private, and also

comfortable.Illnever

drink

coffee

there

again

withoutrememberingourfirstthreepersondate.


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Coffee Stories

11

Down

the

Road

Iwent to Starbucksa fewmonthsback. Ibought a

coffee,andsatdown in the lobby. Ididnthaveany

intentionsofanything,Iwasjustenjoyingmydrink.

Inoticed that theownerwas in themiddleof ajob

interview two tables away fromme. After about 5

minutesorsoheappearedtobedonewithhiscurrentapplicant. Theyshookhands,andtheownergotup,

lookedatmeand said, Areyounext? Iobviously

hadntappliedandItoldhimthat,butIalsotoldhim

Iwasindeedlookingforajobifhewashiring.Wesat

downandhadan interview! Afterabouttwoweeks

hecalledmebackandhiredme.Icouldntbelieveit,

andyes,Istillworkthere.

Workwastough.Idbeenamanagerofaretailstore

formorethanayearandhalf,withoutaraiseorover

time forall theextrahours Idbeenworking.Mama

wassick,thebillswerepilingup,andminimumwage

justwasn

tdoing

it

for

me.

So,

my

boyfriend

invited

meout foracupofcoffee.Hedbeengoing through

someroughtimes,too.Hisparentsandsisterhadlost

theirjobs,begginghimtodropoutofartschooland

getajob tohelpmakeendsmeet.Andhediddrop

out, though he never found ajob. Therewewere,

sitting at a tiny table his coffeeblack,minewith

cream and sugar sighing the afternoon away andsharingourtroubles. Whatcameovermyboyfriend


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12

was almost as instantaneous as someone flicking a

lightswitchandilluminatingaroom. Whydontwe

startourownbusiness? heasked. AtfirstIthought

hewas crazy,but themorewe talked about it, the

morefeasibleitbecame. Tocopewithourlowstart

up costs, we used recyclable materials we found

aroundourhomes tomakejewelryandhomedecor

and accessories.Todistributeourwares,we started

withafree

online

website.

Slowly,

we

gained

funding

forswapmeetsandfestivals.Wehandedoutbusiness

cardsandeducatedourconsumersaboutthebenefits

of recycling. And to think thatourgreen company,

nowgrowingstrong,startedalloveracupofcoffee.

Thebest thing that has ever happened tome in a

coffeehousewasfindingoutthatIwaspublishedforthe first time. Iwas seventeenyearsold andhad a

poempublishedinalocalmagazinethatisntaround

anymore. Iwas skipping school and sitting atmy

favoritecoffeeshopwhentheeditorofthemagazine

cameinandtoldmehehadjusttriedtocallmetolet

meknowthatIdbeintheiranniversaryissue. Itwas

the first time Id ever shown anyone something Id

writtenandmyfirstpublication. Morethanadecade

laterIcherishthememory.

Thank you Cafe Coffee Day, Today I have a

sprawlingbusiness. My friendsand Iwerechatting

overacup

of

coffee.

We

were

discussing

about

the

lovelycandleswehadjust learnedtomakeandhow


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Coffee Stories

13

theywill lightupourhomes. ALadyfrom thenext

table walked up to us and excused herself for

interrupting. She took a chair thatwas vacant and

toldus thatshewasrunningagiftarticlesshopand

would liketodisplaysomecandles. Sheaskedusto

meet her over a cup of coffee the next day with

samplesofour candles. When she sawour candles

shewas extremely pleased and placed an order for

fifty.

Today,my

two

friends

and

Ihave

agreat

businessinoursparetime thankstothecoffeehouse.

Once, Idrovevery farwithmy fatheronaday trip

andwestoppedatacoffeehouseinthemountainson

theway.Wesatinthecafe,justdiscussingthingswe

dontnormallygettodiscussbecauseIattendcollege

500milesaway fromhome.Therewegot todiscusssomanythingsgoingon inour lives,andI toldhim

aboutmydecisiontojointheUSNavyifIdontgeta

job in the first few months after graduation from

college.Ittookhimawhiletoprocessthisbut,aswe

talkedmoreabout it,hebecamemore supportiveof

my idea. Now he is so proud of my decision to

become a responsible adult and pay formy tuition

anywayIhaveto.Hesmybestfriend,andsittingin

acoffeehouseletushavesuchanunderstanding.

Ihad sjob interviewatacoffeehouse. Itwas fora

private tutoring company that was looking to hire

certifiedteachers

that

are

able

to

help

students

with

manydifferentabilities. Imetwiththedirectoratthe


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Lifebushido

14

coffee house and itwas very pleasant and inviting

because of the relaxed environment. Wewereboth

comfortableandabletotalktooneanotherregarding

thejob andmy qualifications. Idid get thejob and

fromtimetotimewhenthereareclientsinmyareaI

am called for thejob. Itworked out great forme

becauseitisagreatwayformetomakealittleextra

cash.

Iwasinasmallcoffeehousewithafriend.Awoman

atthenexttableadmiredmybagandaskedaboutit.I

hadmadeitandexplainedtheprocess.Sheowneda

niceboutique in town and I got an order for 25 of

them.Iwas$600richerforhavingcoffeethatday!

Iwasinasmallcoffeehousewithafriend.Awomanatthenexttableadmiredmybagandaskedaboutit.I

hadmadeitandexplainedtheprocess.Sheowneda

niceboutique in town and I got an order for 25 of

them.Iwas$600richerforhavingcoffeethatday!

Iwenttothecoffeehouseforacarmelapplecider,my

favorite drink, and the placewas absolutely full of

patrons. SoIhadtoasktoshareatablewithanother

individual. Hewas in themiddleofreadingabook

entitled, Thinking About Mathematics: The

PhilosophyofMathematics. Iamcurrentlyacollege

studentand,at the time,wasmajoring inbiology. I

wastaking

acalculus

course

that

Ireally

didn

tenjoy.

Themanlookedatmeandasked, Whatdoyouthink


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Coffee Stories

15

aboutnumbers? Webegana rather longanddeep

discussion aboutmath. I never thought somebody

couldknowsomuchaboutasubjectandcouldbeso

passionateabout it. Heconvincedme thatmath isa

verybeautiful art form. After that conversation, I

wentbacktomyclassandpassedwithflyingcolors.

IgraduatedcollegewithabiologyANDmathematics

degree.

Iwork indesign.Itsachallengingfieldwitha lotof

choices as towhat type ofwork to conduct. It also

requires very complicated software. For over four

years over coffee, I started amutual support group

for otherdesigners. Wevemet together and talked

about educational initiatives,web resources andjob

connections.Most of us, as a result now serve onindustry advisoryboards at local technical colleges,

andweve not only helpedmembers advance their

careers through networking,weve also saved each

othercountlessfrustrationsbysharingtipsandnews

aboutour toolsand industrychanges. Ireally think

that ifwe hadnt had good coffee to stimulate our

minds and get us going and excited, we wouldnt

haveaccomplishedhalfasmuch.

NormallyIstartmydayinStarbucksandonedayasI

was sippingmy hotbrewed coffee an elderly lady

approached me and ask if I was interested in

operatingher

coffee

shop.

Idid

not

know

what

Iwas

thinking at that moment but I automatically said,


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Lifebushido

16

why not. I am still working there today, and

running eight shops. The woman has since passed

away, but I was fortunate enough to marry her

daughter,andweown thechainofcoffeeshops.We

hopetoaddonemoretoourfleetofeighttomakeit

ninebytheendoftheyear.

Myself and a friend started our business at a

Starbuckscoffee

table.

We

drafted

our

business

plan,

researched equipment, and created demo products

overseveralweeks.Thecoffeekeptusgoingandkept

uscreating!

I learned that Igot into theuniversityofmy choice

overacupofcoffee.Ihadacoffeedatewithmysister,

andshesurprisedmebysayingthattheresultswereoutandIgotin!

Last November, I met the previous owner of my

home at a coffeehouse. There,we signed the final

paperstomakethehouseours!Wemovedinthenext

day. Prettyexciting,inmybook!

While at a coffee house, Iwas offered thejob of a

lifetime! IacceptedandIhavetraveledmanyplaces

withmynewcareer.

Imetupwithanoldfriendwhopresentedmewitha

newbusiness

opportunity

becoming

partners

in

a

newbusiness.


35/110

Coffee Stories

17

Thebest thing thateverhappened tomeovercoffee

atacoffeehouseisthatIaskedthewaiterifheliked

hisjob,andheravedabouttheatmosphereandgood

tipssomuch, that Iput inanapplicationandended

upwithafunnewjob.

Thebestthingthathappenedtomeatacoffeehouse

wasthat

Ifound

ajob.

Iwas

drinking

some

coffee

and looking for jobs on the internet when a man

askedwhatkindofjobIwaslookingfor. Iexplained

my job position to him and gave him my email

address. He said hewould check aroundwith his

friends. Never thinking of ever hearing from him

again,Ireceivedanemailfromhimandeventuallyit

ledtoajob.

Iamcurrentlyworkingpart timeandhadmyhours

shortened, and so tomake extramoney, Ibegan to

babysit again. I had a woman contact me about

watchingherson.Shewantedtomeetwithmefirstto

talk and to see howwell I interactedwith her son.

Everythingwentwell and shehiredme tohelpher

outonanasneededbasis.ThepayisgreatandIhave

sat forhermore than three timesnow.Wemeetata

localcoffeeshop,wheresheboughtmecoffee,andwe

bondedoverthetypeofcoffeeweweredrinking,and

howsimilarourfamilieswere.


36/110

Lifebushido

18

Coffeetalkshavebecomethefoundationofwhatmy

friend and I would call life talks. These talks

essentially consisted of our thoughts on women,

business, and success. We are in the process of

openingourfirstbusinesstogetheranditwasactually

the lifetalks atthecoffeeshopthathelpeddevelop

ourbusinessplan.

Igot

anew

job

at

acoffee

house.

The

prospective

employerwanted tomeetat thecoffeehouse for the

interview. Itwasafun,casualplacetomeetandthe

interviewwentreallywell.Thejobwasfun,too!

Ajob interview for one ofmymost importantjobs

was held at a nearby coffee house. I ended up

working in thejob for three years. Since then, Ivenoticed a number ofjob interviews taking place at

coffeehouses.

Ioncelandedamovieroleatacoffeeshop.Iwasan

aspiring actress in LA, drinking a cafemocha in a

Coffee Bean& Tea Leaf. I struck up a conversation

withaguy, tooshortformy liking,butheendedup

being a producer in Hollywood of what I would

consider B films. HesaidIlookedjustlikethegirl

hehad envisioned for aprojecthewasworkingon,

and for the firstandonly time inmycareer,hewas

actuallynotbullshitting! Itwasasmallrolewithone

line,but

$500

(and

a5cent

HIT

later),

Im

telling

the

story.


37/110

Coffee Stories

19

Coffee,

Tea,

or

Me?

Ihadthebestblinddateofmylifeatacoffeehouse,

which led to my marriage. I met someone on an

online dating site and we chatted for a while.We

decidedtomeetatalocalcoffeehouse.Itwasloveat

firstsight.Wedatedafterthat,andendedupgetting

married

I am so lucky to have the most wonderful little

coffeehouserightnearby!Itssmall,cozy,andhaslive

entertainment onweekends.At that coffee house, I

actually didmeet theman IwasGOING tomarry

(untilIbrokeupwithhim)andhadmyfirstdatewith

themanIDIDmarry.Ivespenthoursonmy laptop

working on business ideas for my childbirth

educationbusiness,built awebsite,met connections

withtheChamberofCommerce,andwentintolabor!

Lotsofmemories!

Atacoffee

house

Ifell

in

love

with

awonderful

man.

Wearegoingtobegettingmarriedthisyear.

The best thing I had happen over coffee at a

coffeehousewas that I fell in lovewith amanwho

gavemeabeautifuldaughter.

ImettheloveofmylifeonafirstdateatStarbucks!!


38/110

Lifebushido

20

Imettheloveofmylifeatacoffeehouse,andithas

been fiveyears thatwehavebeen togethernow. Ill

never forget the first conversation we had. It was

stupid,but itbrought us together.We have all the

sameinterestsandnevergetoneachothersnerves.

Thebest first date I ever hadwas over coffee in a

coffeehouse. It was public so things werent too

awkward,but

it

was

still

quiet

enough

that

we

could

talkandtalk. Wewoundupbeingthereforacouple

hours.

I actuallymetmy now fianc at Starbucks. Iwas

therewith a couple friends and askedmy friend to

approachher.Shelikedmeandtherestishistory.

Imetmycurrentgirlfriendatacoffeehouse. Wehad

met online a fewweeksbefore and I chose a coffee

house to meet her in person. The meeting went

extremelywell. There is nothing like the laidback

ambiance of a coffee house to relax and stimulate

interestingconversation. Ialso findcoffeehouses to

begreatplacestowrite,muse,andthink.

Ioncehadagreatexperienceatacoffeeshop,but it

was also somewhat creepy. Iwalked into our local

coffeeshopandsawmyfriendfromthegolf team,a

boy,whowaswithhisgirlfriend.Heacknowledged

mypresence

and

even

came

over

to

ask

how

Iwas

and such. All thewhilehis creepygirlfriendhad a


39/110

Coffee Stories

21

deadlockonme;shewouldnotstopstaring.AtfirstI

felt a littleuncomfortable,but then ignoredher and

kepttalkingtohim.Thegreatendingisthatayearor

so laterheandIstarteddating,andnowI lookback

onthatstoryallthetimeandcanthelpbutlaugh.

Ihadawonderfulfirstdateatacoffeehouse. Imet

my longtimeboyfriend on ablind date at a small

coffeehouse

in

town,

and

we

laughed,

shared

stories,

andgottoknoweachotherovercoffee.

Almost4yearsagoIinvitedagirl,whowasafriend

ofmine for coffee. She rejectedmy request asking

why she should go out and have coffeewithme. I

answered her questions, and somehowmanaged to

gethertoagreetohavecoffeewithme.Wedatedandare now married. Funny thing is it took me six

monthstotalkherintohavingthatonecupofcoffee

withme.

Myboyfriend tookme to avery romanticdinner to

celebrateouroneyearanniversary.Later,hetookme

to get coffee andwe sat outside and discussed our

futuretogether!ItwasthenandtherethatIknewwe

wouldalwaysbetogether.

ThewomanImarried,whoIalsomet incollegeand

loves coffee use to visit a place in our college days

whichwas

well

known

for

both

its

poetry

and

java.


40/110

Lifebushido

22

Weusegotheretokickbackandrelax,socialize,and

listentobands.Itwasapopularhangoutspot.

My experience consists mainly of a first date and

conversation.Aftermeeting thisgirlon the internet,

we setour firstdateata local coffeehouse.Wejust

beganwiththemeetinginthestoreitself onecupof

coffeeledtoanother,toanother,toanother.Beforewe

knewit,

the

store

was

closing.

To

this

day,

Istill

drink

thatsamebrandofcoffeebecauseofit.

Imetmy firstbf at Starbucks coffeehouse.Hewas

always therewith his laptop and doing somework

and I just happened to like their frapuccino and

would sit close to him. One day, we were in line

tryingtoordercoffeeandhestartedtheconversationasking me if I work nearby. I said, Yea, I work

nearby. Theconversationjustwentonandon. Then

after that,heaskedme foradateafterwork. (pretty

fast eh?) I said, Sure, depends if I have time (me

trying hard to get :) )Of coursewemet afterwork

andthedatewentonandon.Imustsay. Itwasone

ofthemostmemorabledaysofmylife.

I did have a fantastic first datemeeting for coffee,

whichdoessoundclich,butitwasagreatexperience.

Imetthegirlaround2p.m.andIhadtea,sinceIdo

notevendrinkcoffee.Shepoked funatme for that,

andthat

was

when

Iknew

she

was

the

one

for

me.

Wehavebeentogetherforthreeyearsnow!


41/110

Coffee Stories

23

Iusedtotutormyfriendatacoffeehouseandduring

that timeshe learnedenough topasshermath final.

During the summerwhenwe studiedmore fornext

year,wefellinloveandarenowhappilydating.

MyboyfriendandIwerehavingrelationshipissues.I

have a daughter sowe dont getmuch time alone.

Afterclass

one

day

Iasked

him

to

buy

me

aVanilla

CoolerwithAndesmintsfromCaribouCoffee.Wesat

there for what felt like hours. I felt like we were

fallinginlovealloveragain.Gazingintoeachothers

eyes. We couldnt stop smiling. I realized that we

need alone adult time. I love my daughter, but

sometimesIneedtogetasitterandspendsometime

alonewithmyboyfriend.

Duringmytimeatcollege,manythingshappenedto

meovercoffee.Oneparticulartime,Iwasgettingmy

coffee andmy crushwalked in.He sat at the table

acrossfrommine,anditwastherethatheaskedmeif

one day we could take a walk. I know it sounds

strange,himwanting to take a randomwalk,but it

turnsout thathewanted to takeawalk,sohecould

askmeoutproperly.

WhenIwasinhighschool,agirlandIwouldgoand

get coffee every morning. Nothing really great

happenedin

the

coffee

house,

but

all

the

time

that

we

spenttheretalkingandgettingtoknoweachotheris


42/110

Lifebushido

24

whatreallymadethecoffeehousesogood. Without

out our visits,we probablywould not have had so

muchtimetogettoknoweachotherandgettowhere

wearenow.

I rememberacoffee shopcloseby thatcloseddown

yearsago. Imetagirl therewho I fell in lovewith.

Whentheshopcloseddown,Ineversawheragain. I

foundher

number

recently

when

Imoved,

but

Ireally

doubtitsstillactive. MaybeImjustafraidtocall! I

wonder if she even remembers me. She was so

beautiful,but Iwas a freshman inhigh school then

andshewasasenior. I thinkshewasprobablyway

outofmy league then,butnotnow! Idsure like to

havethegutstocallnow. Unfortunately,itsbeentoo

many years. Although it was abrief friendship, Ioftenwonderwhatsheisdoingnowadays.

OnetimeIwasinacoffeeshop(CrazyMocha,alocal

Pittsburghcoffeechain)andImetagirlwhoseemed

nearlyperfecttome. Sheactedgeeky,hadaLegend

ofZeldatattoo,andusedaMac. Iwastooshytotalk

toher,butIwentbackaweeklaterandsawherthere

again. Istartedtalkingtoherandweseemedtohitit

off. Sadly,when I asked her if shewanted to get

dinner sometime, she toldme she had aboyfriend.

Totalfailonmypart...

Imet

my

husband

at

acoffee

house

through

amutual

friend.Wehavebeentogetherforover7years.


43/110

Coffee Stories

25

IfellinlovewhenIhadacoffeeatacoffeehousewith

my girlfriend. Really that was themost wonderful

momentthatIeverhadinmylife. Acoffeehouseisa

niceplacetodeclareourlove.

Imetmyfirstdateinthiscity,hadgreatdiscussions,

formedaclubwithclassmates,andreconnectedwith

variousfriends.

When Iwas younger I used tomeet guys offline. I

know that was not very smart, considering some

could havehurtme,but itwas the onlyway Iwas

comfortablemeeting a guy. If I talked to a guy in

person, I would just start shaking and get really

nervous. SoIgettoknowthemfirstonline,andthenagree tomeet them.Imetmyboyfriendof5months

atStarbucks,anditwasthemostamazingthingever.

Wehad somuch in common andhe toldme Iwas

verygorgeous.

Threeyearsago,Iwasatmy localStarbuckssipping

my coffee, when I started a conversation with this

lovelywomannamedRachel.Wetalkedforalmostan

hour, andwhen she had to leave, she gaveme her

number. I asked her out for dinner that Saturday

night,andwehavebeenhappilydatingeversince!

Iactually

fell

in

love

with

my

husband

at

aStarbucks

coffeehouse.ThiswasourfirstdateandIwasntquite


44/110

Lifebushido

26

sureifIwantedtocontinueonwithhimsoafterjust

sittingtherewithhimandtalkingIknewhewasthe

one.

Imetmyhusbandoftenyearsatacoffeeshop.Itwas

ablinddateandweclosed theplacedown.They let

us stayuntil theyweredonemopping and thenwe

movedoutsidetothepatio,wherewetalkeduntilwe

realizedit

would

be

morning

soon.

So

we

decided

to

stayformorecoffee

Ihada fewgreat thingshappenatacoffeehouse. I

wenttoacoupleofgigsofafriendandcoworker. I

also set up a special night with the musician so I

could ask my girlfriend of seven years to have a

commitmentceremony. Therewasanoutdoorstageanditwasunderneaththestarsandthemoonandmy

momwasthereitwasamagicaltime.Thecoffeewas

wonderful, too. Andhereweare, twelveyears later

andstillgoingstrong,livinglifetoitsfullest.

ThelasttimeIwenttoacoffeeshop,Imetawoman.

SheknewIwasaphotographerfromthephotoofme

in the editorial sectionofour localnewspaper. She

liked the article I haddone on homelessness in our

town andhowwe can improve it. Tomake a long

story short, thatwas three years ago and Ivebeen

happilymarriedtohereversince.


45/110

Coffee Stories

27

No

Tears

Over

Spoiled

Milk

Coffee houses in my opinion are a great way to

reconnect with old friends and stay in touch with

currentones.WhenIwasyoungerandinvolved ina

churchyouthgroup,my friends and Iused tohang

outatacoffeehouseandcatchuponwhatwasnew.

Wewent through some hard times, losing parents,droppingoutofschool,tryingnewjobsandlifestyles

butyetwhenoneofushadsomethinggoingon,we

alwaysnewwheretogoifweneededeachotherthe

CoffeeXchange. I rememberwhenmyMompassed

away. the callwasmade and everyonejust kind of

showedup there thatnight,weallknewweneeded

eachotherandwenewwherewecouldgotocomfort

eachother.Manythingshappenedovertheyears,we

all spent time together, some times simple and

sometimesnotsosimple.Stillnowwhensomeofus

get togetherweallknowwhere tomeet, there isno

question.WhenIambackhomevisitingsometimesI

driveby

or

stop

in

and

grab

some

iced

coffee

and

I

swear I can still seeus in thatback corner trying to

growuptoosoonandbecool.

Iwasgoingthroughsomereallybadtimesat17.Ihad

been through three foster homes and two group

homesandwasreadytogiveup.Iwasdrinkingalot

and just wasnt being a normal teenager. Then afriend toldme that I needed to check out the local


46/110

Lifebushido

28

cofeeshopintown.Ialwaysfiguredthatcoffeeshops

were for people older than me, but I loved

cappocuinosso I figured that Iwouldgive itashot,

and Iamsoglad Idid.Imet theownerof theshop,

andhewanted tohaveaplace forpeople likeme to

comeandgettheirlivesstraightenedup.BythetimeI

wasdonewithmyfirstcupofcoffee,Ihadthreenew

friends and enrolled in the alcohol and drug group

thathe

had.

Iwent

to

that

coffee

shop

every

day

until

Imovedayearlater,anditsavedmylife.Icleanedup

my act, had a great support system, and gotAs in

school. Iwillnever forgetmy times there.Over the

years the name has changed,but that feeling I had

wont.

Iwasoutof townandhavinga really tough time. Ilooked up anAAmeeting andwhile Iwas driving

thereIthoughtaboutpullingintoeverybarIpassed.

When I got to the church where the meeting was

supposed tobe, therewas noone there. I noticed a

coffee shopacross the streetand figured thatwould

be a good place forme to go, to figure outwhat I

wantedtodo.AsIwashavingcoffee,contemplating

anicecoldbeer, Isawamanreadingan Alcoholics

Anonymous flyeracoupleoftablesawayfromme.I

approached him and sharedmy troubleswith him.

We talked forhours.Thatwas fouryearsago. I still

callhimeverytimeIgotothattown.


47/110

Coffee Stories

29

When Iwas sitting and sippingmy coffeewithmy

friendsinacafewithadejectedmoodovermyfailure

inmyjob,Imetafriendlylookingelderlyperson.He

casuallyaskedwhy Iwas lookingdown. I toldhim

my story.Hegavemea sly lookandasked if Iwas

verysincereaboutmywork.NaturallyIamthattype

ofperson.Hethenlaughed loudlyandsaid, Inthat

case.you have no option to feel happy,but only to

broodover

your

failures.

Iwas

shocked.

He

gave

me

a soothing answerafter seeing tears inmy eyes.He

told thatwe shouldnot long for a lifewhich isnot

meant forus, at the same timewhat is good forus

willcometousinanappropriatetimewhichcannot

be thwarted.Ishouldnotplanorexpectanything to

come to my liking, but to accept life as it is. He

offeredmeajobtomyliking!!!Ithenfeltrelievedofallmytension.Mynewjobisquitechallenging,butis

very interesting. After offering the job he never

turnedouttoaskhowIfeltaboutit.Heisthedirector

ofthefirmIworkfor.Ilearnedthisafterthreeorfour

monthsofmyjoininggdate!This isanextraodinary

experienceIhadinmylife.

About two years ago, Iwas at a coffee house and

somethinghilarioushappened. Thisguyatthefront

ofthelinefreakedoutbecausetheywouldnolonger

takehisdiscountcoupon. Hewasthrowingthingsall

overtheplaceandwhentheyaskedhimto leave,he

wouldnot.

The

cashier

called

the

police

and

the

man


48/110

Lifebushido

30

leftbeforetheyarrived,butthatwasmyfavoritetime

atacoffeehouse.

OnMay 18th of this year Iwas enjoying a cup of

coffeewithanoldcoworker/friend.Wenormallysit

outside toenjoy the sunand rushing river thatgoes

by. When half way through a conversation he

grabbedhischest!Iwasntsurewhattodo.Theshop

ownercalled

911

and

my

friend

was

rushed

away

as

his coffee turned cold. I got to see him hours later

after they had concludedhehad a heart attack and

wouldbestayingacoupledays. Heendeduphaving

anemergencytriplebypass!Iwenttoseehimoffand

on since then and recentlywe evenmeet up for a

coffeeinourusualseatsbytheriver. Nowthegreat

thingabout this storyother thenmy friend isdoinggreatisthatinthetimeIhadtodrinkmycoffeealone

I had many hours to contemplate life without my

friendandhavecometotheconclusionthatthecoffee

ismuchbetterwithafriend! Eventhesimplestthings

inlife(acupofcoffee)arenottobetakenadvantage

of.May18thisoneofthescariestdaysofmylifeand

oneofthegreatest!

I actually enjoyed having coffee at our local coffee

shop in themallbymyself. Onemorning, Inoticed

anelderlygentlemanhavingcoffee. Heappeared to

be alone, but content. He was very aware of his

surroundingsand

everyone

in

them.

After

ashort

time,IaskedifIcouldjoinhim. Heseemeddelighted


49/110

Coffee Stories

31

attheprospectofhavingcompany. Aswespoke,he

told of his wifes death and their three daughters.

Twoofhisdaughterslivedoutofstatebutcalledhim

onthephonedaily. Thethirddaughterlivedintown,

talked tohimon thephone at least twicedaily and

hadmealswithhim twoor three timesaweek. He

spokewithsuchloveforhisgirls. Myowndaughter

passedaway twoyearsago. Aswespoke, I felther

presenceas

much

as

her

absence.

Ihadtheopportunitytogetagreatcounselingsession

fromtheministeratmychurchatacoffeehouse. He

mademe feel at ease aboutmyjob loss and really

filledmewith hope for the future, that everything

willbefine.

Onacrispmorning in lateOctober,Istopped inata

localcoffeeshopbecauseIjustwantedtowarmup. I

had started wearing glasses recently and they

steamed over as I held the cup of freshly brewed

hazelnut close tomy face to appreciate the aroma.

Thesamethingusedtohappentomybrother. Really

goodcoffeewasoneof the thingshevaluedmost in

life. I thoughtabout the little coffeegrinder thathe

bought forme, and how impressed hewaswhen I

figuredoutagreatway togetall thecoffeeoutand

cleantheapplianceatthesametime. Thisledtoother

happymemoriesofhim,whichareverydeartome.


50/110

Lifebushido

32

Ihealedfromaseveremotorcycleaccidentthatbroke

allofmyribsontheleftsideofmybodywhenImade

my littledaily trip to thecoffeehouse formycupof

Joe.

IwasbrokenheartedatthattimeandIhadtostudy

foramajorexam.Hangingoutatthecoffeehouseto

studyhelpedmealot. AndIsuredidacetheexam!

Thebest storyeverabouta coffee shop iswhenmy

friendfellonhiskneestocryinfrontofhisgirlfriend

toaskheriftheycangetbacktogetherbecausethree

daysbeforetheybrokeupinthesamecoffeeshop.It

wasanawesomeexperience.

Irecentlywentforacoffeeatmylocalcoffeeshop. Isatdownandpickedupanewspaperwhichhadbeen

leftonthetable. Iwantedtoreadtheheadlinesofthe

daybut wasmore interested inwhat the previous

readerhadwrittenonthepaper. Ithadlotsofwriting

on it, like Ihavehad enough , Henever listens to

meanymore ,and WhatamIdoingherewithhim.

Iwonderedwhathadhappened:hadtwopeoplebeen

sitting therea fewminutesbefore,andsomeonehad

been writing all these comments about someone??

Whowhere thesepeople andwhydid shewrite all

that stuff? I never got to read the newspaper; I

finishedmycoffeeandrealized thatsometimesyour

problemsare

not

nearly

as

bad

as

other

people

s.


51/110

Coffee Stories

33

Someof thebestmomentsof lifehavehappened at

ourlocalcoffeehouse.Ilovetogodownthereandsit

withmy familyorwith friends.Oneofmy favorite

memories is going there withmy littlebrother for

coffee. Itwas a coupleweeksbeforeChristmas.My

husband was deployed overseas and I was feeling

down.ThiswasgoingtobeyetanotherChristmasmy

husbandwouldbemissing.Tocheermeupmylittle

brothertook

me

for

coffee.

As

we

sat

there

talking

aboutpastChristmasesofouryouthandhow itwas

exciting to see my childrens faces when you

mentionedChristmas. Ithelpedme to feelbetter. I

willalwayscherishthatnightatthecoffeehousewith

him always.

This week, my best friend died unexpectedly.Anotherfriendtookmeoutforcoffeeafewdayslater.

Sittingwithlatteinhand,eatingforbiddenchocolates,

dishing about issues large and trivial, I feltmy first

senseofreconnectionwith life. Thissimplemeeting

remindedme that the fabric of friendships iswide

andhasmanythreads.

Iwent to a coffeehousewith one ofmy friends in

India. The name of the coffee shop was Barista,

whichisaleadingbrandofcoffeehouseinIndia. We

weretalkingwhenamiddleagedmancamewithhis

twokids. Themomentthekidscameintheshopthey

startedshouting,

screaming,

touching

things

and

disturbingeveryone. I thoughtwhatkindof rowdy


52/110

Lifebushido

34

kids theman has. Themandid not say aword to

them. Everyone in the shopwas staringat thekids

butthemantowhomthekidsbelongedhadnoeffect.

Icouldnot talk tomy friendas thekidswere really

disturbing. I finally got up andwent towards the

manandtoldhimtoteachhischildrensomemanners.

The man plainly said that he has just come from

hospitalwherehiswife died few hours ago and he

doesnot

know

how

to

explain

this

to

his

kids

and

himself. Iheardthisandgotfrozen. FromthatdayI

realized we should never perceive any person or

situationwithout knowing itsbackground. As it is

saidperceptioncolorsthevision.

Duringthepastyear,ourmotherwassufferingfrom

dementia. Shehadbeenajoy tousallofour lives,anditwasdifficultformysisterandmetodealwith

the changeswewere seeing in our ninetyoneyear

oldmother. Wedecided tomeetatour local coffee

houseeachdaybeforeweweretogotocareforher.

When we were there, my sister and I began to

reminisceaboutouryouth,ourmother,our families,

our lives. Ourmotherpassed away severalmonths

ago. Itwasdifficultforourentire family. Mysister

and I realized, however, thatwe had grown closer

thanwewerebecauseofourcoffeehousemeetings.


53/110

Coffee Stories

35

The

Sugar

Circle

WhenIwaswithmyfriendinJapan,wedecidedthat

wewere really cold, andwent into a coffee shop to

warm up.Whilewewere sitting upstairs, drinking

our drink, the conversation turned towards more

serioustopics,and itwasthenthatIcameouttomy

friendandexplainedtoherhowItrulyfeltregardingmy own future and thedirection that itwas going.

She listened,acceptedmeandwegrewmuchcloser,

thanks toacupofcoffee together inacoffeeshop in

Japan.

When Iwas about 18 years old,my friends started

invitingme to a little coffee shop in themiddle of

town.Itwasalwaysatnight,whichbaffledme.After

one visit I realized why they liked going there so

much. There must havebeen about twenty people

thereatanygiven timeduring thenight.The coffee

companyevenchangedtheirhourstostayopenlater

forus.

What

amazed

me

was

that

all

of

these

people

got along, and everyone eventually became good

friendsandwere loyalcustomers to thecoffeeshop.

Manypeoplelikedtoplaycardsthere,also.Itwasat

thatcoffeeshopthatImetmyfuturefianceethrough

friendsthatIhadalsoacquiredthere.Fouryearslater,

werestilltogether,andarestillloyalcustomersofthe

coffeeshop.


54/110

Lifebushido

36

At our FavoriteCoffeeDay in 7th BlockJayanagar,

Bangalore(India);manythingshavehappenedinmy

life. Itwas the first time I lefthome for studies ina

newplace,metnewpeople,stayedalone,andlearned

alot.CoffeeDaywasourhangout.Thefourofushad

justbecomefriends,andthecoffeegaveusareasonto

spend time togetherandget toknoweachother. It

wasthesameplacewhereIintroducedmyboyfriend

tomy

friends

and

the

same

coffee

helped

him

to

get

accepted amongmy friends... Itwas abig thing for

me! And finally, thiswas theplacewhere Imetmy

inlaws for the first time. I cant reallyvisualise any

otherplacewhen I thinkabout thosedays.Now Im

marriedtohimandweareinDelhi.CoffeeDaysare

rarelyseenhere(ascomparedtoBangalore)andthey

bringbackallthememoriesandbringasmiletomyface!

Duringmy first semester at a fouryear university,

oneofmy classes forcedme towork inagroup the

entiresemester. Ihateworkingingroups,andIcould

tellmynewteammatesfeltthesame. Wealldecided

to meet weekly at a local Starbucks and it was

amazinghow theatmospherechangedourattitudes!

Wewouldallstartourmeetingsbybuyingacupof

coffeeandjustchatting.Wewereallseniorsnow,and

althoughwepursuedifferentmajors,westillmeetat

least once a semester at that same Starbucksjust to

thinkback

about

the

old

times

when

we

first

got

to


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Coffee Stories

37

ournew school,andweplan tokeepdoing so long

aftergraduation.

Greatideashappenovercoffee!LastsummerIspent

amonthinsmalltownacrossthecountryfromwhere

I grew up. I was visiting family and didnt know

anyonethere.Everyday,whilemycousinsallwentto

work,Isatinthelocalcoffeeshopandwrote.Bythe

endof

the

summer,

Ihad

abunch

of

new

friends

and

aplantostartanewbusinesswhenIgothome.Now

hereIam;Istillhavethosefriendsandallplansarea

goforthatbusiness!

I discovered a lifelong best friend as a result of a

casualbrainstormingmeeting over coffee. Iwas a

studentinaGeologyclassandneededapresentationpartner and casuallymet another student for coffee

down thestreet. Wehavenowbeenbestfriendsfor

nearly ten years and we still manage to meet for

coffee several times a year, despite distance, life

changes, etc. Our mutual love of coffee, led to

thousandsof intellectual conversations, inspirational

and motivational ideas, projects, and life altering

directions. Somehow, even our email discussions

always end up with coffee being a common

denominator. Whetheritismakingarrangementsfor

future face to face coffee shop meetings, links to

newly available online coffee products, sites,

information,freebies,

or

coffee

themed

gifts

given

to

eachotherovertheyears.


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Lifebushido

38

Ireconnectedwithafriendinacoffeehouse.Ihadleft

work feeling tired and hungry since I had skipped

lunchtofinishsomependingworkintheoffice.Iwas

feelingverydisappointedsincemybosshadrejected

myproposalbydismissingthefontsizeonthecover

page.On reaching the coffee shop, I found it fully

packedwith people and had to share a tablewith

someonewhom

Inever

bothered

to

look

up

at.

As

I

satquietlysippingasteamingcupofcoffee,and my

face hidden in the newspaper. Suddenly, I heard

someonetapthetopofthepaper.Annoyed,Ilooked

upandwasmetwitheyespoppedoutinamazement.

Itwasmyex oyfriend!Wehadnotbeenintouchfor

morethantwoyears.Wehadapainfulbreakupand

did not have time to clear up somemisunderstandings. Since I did not have anything

exciting in the house todo, I opted to spend a few

more minutes at the coffee shop. A few minutes

turned into a late dinner after resolving the

misunderstandingsthathadbeendwellinginthepast.

The rest is history but it is true that great things

happenovercoffeeatcoffeeshops!

Ithinkallthesmallthingsthathavehappenedtome

overcoffeeatcoffeehousesadduptosomethinggreat.

Ihavemetoldfriendsandmadenewfriends. Oneof

my best experiences is sitting alone and having

someonecome

up

to

me

who

noticed

abook

Iwas

reading, and introducing himself to me. He then


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Coffee Stories

39

sharedhisviewswithmeandIsharedwithhim. He

offeredinsightsIhadnotthoughtof,andIamsurehe

feltthesame. Wethenpartedcompany. Inevergot

hisnamebutheisstillonmymind.

Iusedtobelongtoaknittingclubthatmetatalocal

coffeehouseonWednesdaynights.Therewereabout

a dozen of us thatwould show up therewith our

knittingprojects

and

work

on

them

together,

share

ideas and patterns, swap yarn, and chat about our

lives. The club sort of fell apart when several

membersmovedawayatonce,butwhile it lasted it

wasprobablyoneof themost fungroupsof friends

Ivehad.

IusedtohaveajobthatIabsolutelycouldntstand.IwouldwakeupeachmorningdreadingthefactthatI

had togo towork.Ofcourse Iwould look forother

employment, but would never end up finding

anything that would benefit me. Across the street

frommyworkplacewasasmallcoffeehouse.Mybest

friendwould come and pickme up each day after

work,andwedsitandhavecoffeetogether.Assoon

as Iwouldwalk through the coffee house doors, I

wouldfeelmystressslowlymeltaway.Iwouldsmell

the delectable hazelnuts,the cream, and the sweets

behind thecounter.SometimesIwouldordermyself

ahottea,othertimesanicetreatlikeachocolatemint

coffee.My

friend

and

Iwould

sit

in

their

dining

area,

whichwas fullofvelvety soft, comfortable couches,


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Lifebushido

40

andwedtalkforanhourortwo,aboutanythingand

everything.Wed share laughs, and later,would go

ourseparateways,bothknowingwehadsuchagood

time together.EventuallyIgotpregnantandbecame

astayathomeMom.Idontseemyfriendanymore;

shemoved far away andwe lost touch. But Iwill

never forgetallof the timeswehad coffee together,

andallof the smiles Igainedafterahorribledayat

myjob.

Mybest friend and I since fifth grade get together

overcoffeeat the localcoffeehouse.Wearenow31,

andmeetuponceamonth.Wewillsitthereforabout

3hours,eatingtreats,drinkingcoffee,andjusttalking.

Wechataboutthekids,complainaboutourhusbands,

andjust catchup about life. It is howwe keep oursanity.Wewouldlosetouchifdidntgettohavethat

time together because it is all the time we have

together.Wecantreallydoitanywhereelse.

Since Iwas inhigh school, Ihavebeengoing to the

same coffee house. By nomeans am I considered a

regular buteverynowandthenIliketostopin.Isit

outsideonthedeckinthecoolofthesummerevening,

Icuddleupinawoolsweaterinacornerwithawarm

cupo joe.About tenyearsago Imovedaway from

the town I grew up in away from that cozy coffee

house toNewYorkCity.When Ibeganvisits tomy

hometown

my

childhood

friends

and

Imeet

at

this

coffee house to remind uswhywe are still friends.


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Coffee Stories

41

Wecansitfortherehours.Thestaffnevercareshow

little or how long we stay. None of the other

customers seems tomindour tearfilled laughter,or

our three part harmony Weezer performances

completewithaspoondrummerandairguitarist.In

thatcoffeehouse,werestillsixteen,atthirtyyearsold.

Thebest thing that has ever happened tome at a

coffeehouse

is

meeting

agreat

friend.

Ifrequent

this

establishment to this day. The owner is twenty

something,wannabe hippie, vegan, spunky chick!

She holds open mics for bands and solo acts. My

husband themusician, and I checked it out. Itwas

comfy and cozy. lots of couches, and chairs.People

wereevensittingonthefloor.Beforethebandstarted,

wandering around the room was this woman in along skirt smelling of lavender and smiling. I dont

mean an ordinary smile either,more likebeaming.

Shehadsmellscomingfromthekitchenthatdrewme

in.We immediately conversed and foundwehad a

great deal in common.When themusicians ended,

shealwayspraisedeachone. Itwas sopeacefuland

fun. Itwas then Iwanted tobearound thatkindof

happiness all the time. I am grateful for my new

friendandtothecoffeehouse.

MyfriendsincollegeandIhadafavoritecoffeehouse

hangout. It is therewehadour coffeeand lotsand

lotsof

conversations

about

life.

It

is

where

our

friendship strengthenedas eachofushad secrets to


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Lifebushido

42

share.The coffeehouse isno longer inbusinessbut

we, the ones who couldnt get enough coffee and

conversations,stillarefriendsevenaftertenyears

At a coffee house, I always had a good time with

friends, just sitting and chatting. Nothing really

specialhappened itwasjustagood time. In fact,

itsoneof thebestmemories that Ihave. Illalways

remembermy

coffee

house

days.

Idon

tget

to

see

those friends very often anymore so I will always

cherishthosemoments.

I had a chance to go to a coffee shopwith a great

friendofmineaboutayearago. Itwasntanything

particularly exciting or groundbreaking and there

wasnt anything thatwouldmake it stand out in atypical personsmind. However, itwasjust a time

whereIreallyenjoyedmyfriendscompanyandwas

abletoconnectonahigherlevelthanmosttimes.

ImadeanewfriendoutofagirlIwenttohighschool

with. Wehadthesamemathclassincollege,andwe

needed to study sincewewere inagroup together.

Weendedupstayingandhavingcoffeetogetherafter

everyoneelseleftandwearestillfriendstothisday.

Having coffee andbeing able to open up in a nice

placehelpedustoconnectandbecomefriends.


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Coffee Stories

43

CoffeeStainInspiration

What a great place for a writer to observe odd,

displaced, and touchy people. Visiting my local

nationalchaincoffeehouseislikewatchingaJacques

Tati movie. I rarely see the same customers or

workersmore thana few times.Usinga laptopand

wearingthelocalgarbhelpsmeblendinlikeanature

cinematographer inawildlifeblind.Icanquicklyjot

down impressions of awkward social encounters,

hyperaddled servers, strange pecking orders, and

snippetsof rantsabout local issues.All foronedrip

coffeewithfreerefills.

Iuse

coffee

houses

to

work

on

my

books

Ifound

one

coffee shop in theVillage thathas ahomey feeling.

Weareallquietandworkingonourlaptops.Oneday

Iwent in there totallyuninspired, satdown andby

theendof4hours,IwasshockedathowmuchworkI

hadbeenable to complete.Thisplace is so safeand

homey! EventhoughwereinNewYorkCity,weall

leaveourlaptopsatourcoucheswhenwegotoordermorecoffeeandusetherestroom.

I came up with an amazing script for a thrilling

motion picture, E.T.,while at a coffee house. S.

Spielberg


62/110

Lifebushido

44

WhenIwashavingcoffeeatacoffeehouse,themost

brilliant ideastruckme. Irushedhomeandwrotea

book.Ittookmeexactlytwoweeks. Ithenrushedit

to apublisher,whopounced on it and called ithot

stuff. The thingbecame a bestseller, and I could

finally havemy cool island home and laze around

doingexactlywhatIwantedandlettingtherestofthe

worldgotohell. Pleasedontbelievethesecondpart.

Iget

all

these

lovely

day

dreams

when

Ihave

coffee

at

my favorite coffee house! Cheers and thanks for

readingwhatIwrote!

As my brother and were sitting in a coffee house

discussing the details and planning of opening our

own business, we started brainstorming and

sketching logos. Before longwehad6or7sketchedoutandwewerehavingaverydifficulttimechoosing

one. As we sat there and discussed it a woman

walkedby and stopped. She pointed to one of the

logosandstated that itwasamazingandweshould

use it. Shestayedanddiscussedwhyshe liked itso

much over the others. We ended up choosing that

logoandhavegottenmanycomplimentsonit.

Imacostumedesignerandoftenmeetwithdirectors

and production staff at a coffee house for

preproduction and early planningmeetings. Its so

amazing to see a show come together while were

nestledinto

acorner

talking.

What

begins

with

wordsonapagegetshashedoverrepeatedly,people


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Coffee Stories

45

tossingtheirvariousideasandspecialtiesintothemix.

Everyone jots notes for themselves. Someone

inevitablydrawsadiagramofsomething theset,a

lightplot,acostume onanapkin,andthingsbegin

tocoalesce. Bytheendoftheafternoon,ournebulous

ideascometogetherintoacohesivewholeandweve

turned a thin booklet of dialogue into a full

production!

ThereisalittlecottagelikecoffeehousethatIbelieve

mayhavebeen thevery lastplacewhereyou could

still smoke inside. The coffeewas terrible,but the

combinationofpews,wickerfurnitureandmagazine

rackssituated inadarkly lit,smokynook linedwith

whiteChristmaslightsyearroundremainsoneofmy

favoriteplacestowriteinmyjournal,peoplewatchorjustrelax. Therewasagirlwitholiveskinandnetted

hair who used to pull espressos there who

intimidated theheckoutmewithherpiercing,gold

eyes. Ionlybravedsmalltalkwithheronceortwice,

but the mystery of who she was prompted me to

writeascreenplayaboutherandthatcoffeeshop.

OnetimewhileIwasoutatacoffeeshopwithsome

friends,wegottotalkingaboutwhatwealldidinour

spare time. A few of us started talking about our

writing. Itwasgreat to learn thatseveralofuswere

writersofone formoranother,andwewereable to

tradeinformation

on

publishing

and

distributing

our

work. Itwas really nice andbecause of one of the


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Lifebushido

46

ladiesthatItalkedto,Iamnowapublishedpoet!Its

really exciting to finally have my work out in the

worldafteryearsofwriting,anditneverwouldhave

happenedifIhadntgoneoutforcoffeethatevening!

Thebest things thathave happened tome at coffee

shopshavebeenrelatedtomywriting.Ioccasionally

meetwithpeoplemuchsmarterthanme,andseveral

timesthey

ve

pointed

out

important

problems

or

provided clever ideas.My absolute favorite one is

changinga charactershairstyle.Notabigdeal,you

think? Well, originally, I wanted to shave my

characters head after she goes through a traumatic

event. I wasnt really enthusiastic about the idea,

though, because women shaving their heads as

statementsiskindofpass.Myfriendsuggestedthatinstead, she shouldclosehereyesand lether friend

fix herhair . . .intoaMOHAWK! Forreasonsthat

takeanoveltoexplain,Ijustlovethistwist.Andifwe

hadntbeenmeetinginthecomfyconfinesofacoffee

house, it wouldnt have happened. My character

wouldjustbebaldandannoyedwithme.

FirstletmesaythatILOVEcoffeehouses! Ifrequent

many different ones. My personal favorite is The

MeanBeanhereinmylocaltown. Irememberwhen

myhusbandandIweregoingthroughaverydifficult

time wehadboth lostourjobswithin4monthsof

eachother

and

we

were

at

the

local

coffee

shop

job

hunting via their free WiFi. I was sitting there


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Coffee Stories

47

sippingmy chai andwatchingmy husband search

whenIsawapostflipbythatsaid justask. Isatup

inmychairandsaid Waitaminute! Thatwas the

beginningofusstartingourownbusinesscalled...Just

Ask!

Iwenttoalocalareacoffeehouseorderedmycoffee,

and sat at a tablewithmy coffee and newspaper; I

hadascratch

ticket

and

won

$500

on

it

while

enjoying

mycoffee.Ithoughtthetablewasgoodluckandhave

triedagainbutnosuchluckyet.

I was alone at a coffee housebetween classes and

started listening to thepeoplearoundme.Twogirls

were talkingabout things theywished theyhadand

the type of things they liked. I started tojot downsome of the things they were saying on a paper

napkin.Later Igotonlineand lookedup companies

thatsoldwhattheylikedandresearchedthestocks.I

boughtafewofthemandtheyaredoingverywell

likeActivisionandNintendo!Thanksgirls!

Iworkedregularlyonanovelata localcoffeehouse,

listeningtothemusicandrelaxing inagreatwriting

atmosphere.

As I set downmymug filled to thebrimwith the

steaminghouseblend,I thoughtaboutmy life. AsI

sippedthe

cup

dry,

Iwrote

line

after

line,

until

finally

finishedmy poem and itwas complete. Imarched


66/110

Lifebushido

48

downtothepublisherandthesmileonhisfacewhen

Isaid, mywritersblock isover! Well letsjustsay,

Iveneverseenanythinglikeit.

Ioverheardtwopeopletalkingaboutthelottery.One

toldtheothertoplayacertainnumber.Idontknow

ifhedid,butIdidandwon$55.00.Coffeewasgreat

thatday.

Ihavehad somegreat ideas at coffeehouses,while

talkingwith friendsbuthad themprettymuch shot

down,because inAmerica thehome of the freenot

much is free. I had a great idea that would help

millions of people suffering from arthritis in their

hands, sent it to an invention companyonly to find

thatIwouldhavetopay$700tohaveitmadeupandmarketed. Thecompanythoughtitwasagreatidea,

butcouldntgoanyfurtherbecauseIdidnthavethe

funds topay them.Here ismy idea incasesomeone

withmoney couldmarket it to help people: People

getpainallover theirbodies, including theirhands,

especiallypeoplewitharthritis. There isnothingon

themarket tohelp thembutcreamsandgloves.The

arthritis pain people get is in thejoint rightbelow

their finger nail. There are patches for back pain,

shoulderpain,legpain,etc. Theyshouldmakesmall

bandaidsizedwrapswitharthritismedicineonthem

forpeople toputon thejointson their fingers. Ijust

thinkit

would

help

millions

of

people

suffering

from

arthritispain.Andthatismybrilliantidea!


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Coffee Stories

49

IoncewasatacoffeehouseandIdrankfartoomuch

coffeeandgotthiswildcaffeinerush.Inthecourseof

that wild caffeine rush, sitting at a table with my

laptop, Iwrote the first10pagesofmysenior thesis

afteraweekofwritersblock.Thethesiswasamajor

success.ThoughIfeltprettybadafterward,Illnever

forgetthatcaffeinefrenzy

Imetanoldfriendintheparkinglotandwedecided

tohave coffee. Duringour conversation,my friend

mentioned that she hadbeen taking some painting

classes. Theconversationalsubjectswentfromoneto

another, but we kept returning to her art classes.

AfterIwenthome,Iwasovercomewiththedesireto

paint, even though I amnoartist,and I startedandhavebeengoingstrongeversince.

Thebusiness plan formy first real entrepreneurial

outingwashashedouton thebackofapaperplace

mat. Thatbusiness isa thriving, livingmultimillion

dollarentitytoday!


68/110

Lifebushido

50

TodaysSpecial

What a great place for a writer to observe odd,

displaced, and touchy people. Visiting my local

nationalchaincoffeehouseislikewatchingaJacques

Tati movie. I rarely see the same customers or

workersmore thana few times.Usinga laptopand

wearingthelocalgarbhelpsmeblendinlikeanature

cinematographer inawildlifeblind.Icanquicklyjot

down impressions of awkward social encounters,

hyperaddled servers, strange pecking orders, and

snippetsof rantsabout local issues.All foronedrip

coffeewithfreerefills.

Iwas

sitting

in

Urban

Stampede

in

Grand

Forks,

ND,

having a cup one cold November day. I looked

outsidethewindowandtherewasawomanwalking.

She was wearing very tight bright red pants, and

purplehalter top,anda long, faux cheetah fur coat.

She also had on awig that looked like red yarn. I

remember my first thought was Oh good lord,

doesntshehaveamirror. ThenIlookedatherfacealittlecloser.Shehadagleaminhereye.Notagleam

of humorbut a gleam that hints at an underlying

madness. Thatmademethinkalittlebit.Whatright

did Ihave tojudgeotherpeoplebasedonhow they

were dressed. I hated it when people made

assumptionsbecauseIwasheavy.Idespisedthatno

one could see past the fat to the interesting,


69/110

Coffee Stories

51

complicated, wonderful woman underneath. How

wasIanybetterjudgingthispoor,illwomanbecause

shewassobusytryingtomaketheworldmakesense

thatshedidntreallypayattentiontohowshedressed

or even that she thought she lookedwonderful. If I

was going tomake progress towards allowing that

wonderfulwomanshowthroughtoeveryoneImet,I

needed to stop making the very kind of snap

judgementsthat

prevented

people

from

really

knowingme.

Whilereadingandenjoyingacupofcoffee,aguy in

his early 20s ran in, holding his arm which was

coveredwithblood. He grabbed some napkins to

clean up, and the personbehind thebar gave him

somewetpaper towels. Allcleanedup,he satnearme,soIaskedifhewasokay. Hetoldmethathehad

beenonhisbikeandacarhadcuthimoff. Heyelled

at thecarand tooka tennisballfromhispocketand

threw itat thecar. Ithit thecar,bouncedbackand

wentrightunderhisfrontwheelknockinghimtothe

ground. He said at thatmoment he understood

something about anger. He said that the ball

representedhisangerandwhenhedirectedhisanger

at thecar, itcausedmoredamage tohim than itdid

the intended recipient. Sobe carefulwhere you

directyouranger.

Foralong

time,

it

was

abig

mystery

to

me

why

coffee

shopsweresoheavilyassociatedwithsociality.What


70/110

Lifebushido

52

was it that made people somuch more willing to

express themselves?And notjustmorewilling,but

seemingly more able. Do coffee beans hold some

secret power toboostbrain cells? It even seems as

thoughpeoplearemorecreativewhenholdingcoffee

housediscussions. Icametoananswerseveralyears

agowhen I started to frequent coffee houses. They

hold this power because we give it to them. We

designatethem,

consciously

or

not,

as

aplace

where

youhavegreat thoughts. With thatsaid, Ivenever

had a hugemoment in a coffee shop. Rather, their

usefulnessformeisinchangingthewaythatIthink,

a bit like a series of miniature epiphanies.Minute

changes to my base philosophy and religion. It is

thesethatdefineme.

Iwish I had somebeautifully dramatic story about

coffee inmy life,but I dont.Not really. Aftermy

parentsmovedtoClarkdale,Arizona,Iresentedthem

for it. It felt as though they had abandoned my

brotherandIon theEastCoastto livetheirdream.I

helped themmove. While there,Dadand Idecided

tohikeuptoanearbytown,Jerome,aboutamileup

amountain fromwhere they lived.While there,we

stoppedby a little caf, the Flat Iron, and ordered

Cappuccinos, even though it was after ten in the

morning and youre not supposed to drink

Cappuccino after ten. He looked out the window

acrossthe

valley

while

sipping

his

drink

and

then

I


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Coffee Stories

53

understoodthatthiswaswherehewantedtobeand

thatIhadtobeokaywithit.

Onemorning,as Iwaswalking towardsmy favorite

coffeeshop,Inoticedabeautifulwomaninthesideof

myvision. Instantly, I thought toopen thedoor for

her,becausemannersmakeagreatfirstimpression. I

reachedforthedoor.Shewalkedrightpastme.Never

onceactually

thanking

me

or

acknowledging

that

I

wasattempting tobenice. Once inside, Iwatch the

womanwalk sternly to thebathroom. Iwander into

the line and looked toward themenu.Stilldeciding

onwhatIwasgonnaorder,thewomanreturnedand

immediatelyjumped in front ofme in line. This is

when itbegan tobecomeobnoxious,but irefusedto

acknowledge that she was annoying me beyondcomprehension. Standing there, Iwanted to tellher

everything that just happened, in detail and a

determinedtonetohelpherunderstandmyposition.

In haste, she ordered a small plain coffee and

proceeded tothedoor.At thispoint,IrealizedIhad

wentfrombeingattractedtodetestingthiswomanin

amatterofminutes. Shewasleaving.Thedoorthat

wasbeingheldopenapparentlywasntmeantforher.

Thedoorshutquicklyas shewashalfway through.

She was stuck in the door, on her cellphone and

holding an empty cup of java that had showered

down her once clean pants.Justice indeed. I turn

backto

the

clerk

who

has

been

waiting

on

me,

and

he

asked, Areyousatisfiedwithyourorder?. Inodded,


72/110

Lifebushido

54

paid theman hismerit and responded, With great

satisfaction,myfriend.

Overacupofcoffee (well, twocupsofcoffeeanda

cup of chai there were three people involved) I

learned that I am an intelligent person capable of

communicatingincomplexandinterestingwayswith

peoplewho,Ithoughtweremyintellectualsuperiors.

Ican

explain

and

justify

my

views,

Ican

outline

my

plans,andIcanalso learnandreflect inordertoget

past thebumps in the road toward a dissertation.

Over a cup of coffee I found that my ideas are

importantandthatIcan,andwill,finishthisPhDand

whatIsaywillmatter!

Aspermynormalroutine

coffee stories by lifebushido draft 2009

Documents