CoffeeStories DraftVersion

byLifebushido

CoffeeStories
Copyright2009byLifebushido www.Lifebushido.com/Coffee Coffee@Lifebushido.com PublishedbyLifebushido www.Lifebushido.com Allrightsreserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or information storage and retrieval methods now known or to be invented, without the written permissionofthepublisher,exceptbyareviewerwho wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review written for inclusion in an educational publication,radio,orTVbroadcast. PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica. st 1 EditionJuly2009 Thisbookispublishedinadraftversionwithout finalediting.

LifebushidoVision

The bookyou are abouttoread is a creative endeavor undertaken by Lifebushido and assisted by Ishidos, Turkshidos, and Internshidos. All of these are individuals involved with Lifebushido. Coffee Stories is currently in beta release mode and will be released later in the summer of 2009 in its final version. Yes, thisisabetabook. Lifebushido is building a global network of people working parttime from home with flexible hours using their unique talents. Lifebushido creates business, creative, and charitable/social entrepreneur venturestoallowusalltofocusonouruniquetalents. This is not the first project we have undertaken and it will certainly not be the last. We pride ourselves on being creative with our unique talents to show that anythingispossible. LifebushidoAnythingisPossible If you are interested in Lifebushido or Coffee Stories, contact us at www.Lifebushido.com/Coffee or email Coffee@Lifebushido.com. Wehelpourclientsfocusmoretimeonusingtheir uniquetalents.Wehelpourstafffocusmoretime onusingtheiruniquetalents.Joinus!

Preface

SoIwasinthehospitallastyearwithableedingulcer and the doctor said, No more coffee for you. I told him he might as well kill me now. I mean, Ive met some of my best friends in coffee shops, had some fantastic romances, and of course, met some amazing Hollywood whackadoos who were living on anotherplanet. So its been a year without coffee and oddly enough, Ive been asked to review this book you now hold in your hands. When you read it, you might just appreciate your local coffee parlor with a little more love and affection than you normally do. 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 public sidewalk. And they didnt even buy me coffee. Sorry,funstory,butnothere. CoffeeStories is a happy book. Its about you. Its your hopes, your dreams; its a reflection of your personality. People get married, make babies, incur massive bills, file bankruptcybut like I said, you wont read that here. You will only read about the goodtimes.

Of course, life isnt all fun and games. In fact, I am putting my foot down right now, and I implore the editors of this book to stop the presses. We need real sex, real blood, and real heartache. Wouldnt you rather read about the thousands of people who come to Hollywood, take a dead end job, and spend their free hours writing that one screenplay at their local coffee shop thats going to change their life and put them in a new tax bracket? Only to find massive failure as they turn around, leave their dreams on Hollywood Boulevard, and board the next bus back home to Duluth, Iowa? No. You wont read that here. Well,maybehereinthepreface,butnotinthisbook. If you want to read only the good times, the happy times, and you really love coffee, then keep reading. ButdonttellmeIdidntwarnyou.

TableofContents

CoffeeStories......................................................................................1 CreamandSugar? ........................................................ 3 DowntheRoad ........................................................... 11 Coffee,Tea,orMe? .................................................... 19 NoTearsOverSpoiledMilk ..................................... 27 TheSugarCircle ......................................................... 35 CoffeeStainInspiration............................................. 43 TodaysSpecial ........................................................... 50 TheFirstSip ................................................................ 58 IsThatMyDrink? ...................................................... 61 CreativeProduction.........................................................................71 TheMakingofCoffeeStories ................................... 73 CoffeeStoriesBrainstorming.................................... 75 MarketingIdeas.......................................................... 77 AreYouaManoraWoman?AreYouInterestedin MakingaMovie? ........................................................ 82 UpliftingMovies ........................................................ 84 TheatreConcept ......................................................... 86 SteveKantorBiography ............................................ 88 BySomeoneSpecial ............................................... 90 Credits.......................................................................... 91

Introduction
There is nothing better than getting that daily fix of Cappuccino at your local coffee house. You order up, sit down, and take your first sip of that smooth yet invigorating cup of the hot stuff before moving onto otherthingslikefinishingthefirstchapterofthebook you bought the night before or opening your laptop toconnectwithWiFiortwitter. No matter how focused you are on your task, your eyes and ears soon begin to migrate across the room. Before long, you are drawn into the world of people watching and eaves dropping. You realize that your local coffee shop is more than just a convenient place to go for your daily fix of caffeine; there are lots of wonderful things happening to the people around you. People fall in love, get their first big career break, meet celebrities, forge lasting friendships and land book deals with major publishers after scribbling a fewnotesonanapkin. Serendipitous moments happen all around you while yousipthatmugofjavaandpeoplewatch.Peopleare discovered, scouted, wooed, schmoozed, matched and headhunted. You wonder, why doesnt someone putthesemagicalmomentsinabook? CoffeeStories is a book about just that. It is a collection of stories about great things that happened to people

in their local coffee shops around the world. As you read, you become the fly on the wall watching and listening to peoples dreams, discoveries, romances andfantasies. If you love people watching, eaves dropping, or even have a secret fantasy or two about the waiter serving you your Americano, then you will fall in love with this book. Be sure to take it down to your local coffee shop and orderup before reading. Perhaps you are justonepageawayfromcreatingyourownstory. See www.Lifebushido.com/Coffee or email Coffee@Lifebushido.comformorestoriesortojoinus.

EmailforLocalCoffeeShop Owners
If you know a local coffee shop owner, or are a frequent visitor to a coffee shop, please consider sending the store owner an email along the lines of the text below. Please attach a PDF copy of the book andcopyCoffee@Lifebushido.com. DearCoffeeShopOwner, I am a local customer of your coffee shop and I want to share a marketing idea to add further warmth and charactertoyourcoffeeshop. CoffeeStoriesisagrowingenterprisethatspecializesin collecting great stories from people about significant events that have taken place in their lives while havingcoffeeintheirlocalcoffeeshop. People from all over the world have overwhelmingly responded with their submissions and would like to share their stories through an eBook and other media formats that we are presently working on. These stories are available for your clientele in an eBook formatandwillshortlybeavailableinbookform. However, what I really want to help you accomplish inyourbusinessistocreatethatThirdPlacefeeling

foryourcustomersbyofferingthesegeneralstoriesto you and creating a space where people in your local coffee shop can contribute to a forum that is created specifically for your coffee shop. This forum can be accessed through your WiFi in an eBook form and in the futurepossibleinprint form.We couldeven do a custom private label book with your bookcover, back, andcontent. Everyone has a place where they work and live, but they need that third place where they go to hang out and enjoy friends. Creating a forum for story telling strengthensthatwarmlocalfeelingthatyouwantand raisestheprofileofyourcoffeeshoptoo. Attached is a recent draft of one book version. Just printthefirst1020pages,grabacupofcoffeeatyour store, and enjoy. I would like to hear what you think about this idea and would love the opportunity to answeranyfurtherquestionsaboutthisconcept.

MBAVirtualInternProgram
In May, I was contacted by a student of the UCLA MBA program regarding internship opportunities. The student was hired as Lifebushidos first intern. Within 100 hours, Lifebushido developed a business plan and launched the worlds first global MBA Virtual Intern program for MBA students from the top 100 global schools. One month from that phone call, we are publishing first draft version of Coffee Stories. MBA Virtual Interns work on micro ventures with a business, creative or social entrepreneur focus. The micro ventures will evolve from concept to launch in 10weeks. This book is one of those projects, developed with the help of the MBA Virtual Intern group, it was conceived, assembled, and published in manuscript form in less than 30 days. If you are a MBA Virtual Intern, or a potential MBA Virtual Intern, we want you to know that at Lifebushido Anything is Possible. For more information about the program or to apply, visit www.Lifebushido.com/mba or email us at mbaintern@Lifebushido.com. Our internship programisopen,growing,andacceptingapplications.

CoffeeStories

Coffee Stories

CreamandSugar?
One day I dropped by an out of the way coffee house that had the best coffee in town and brilliant pastries. As I sat down to enjoy my coffee and doughnut, someone I hadnt seen for over ten years came up to me.AtfirstIdidntrecognizethem,butastheybegan to talk I realized it was a kid I mentored while at collegein asmall town.Theywerenowall grown up, with a very successful business. He told me that it was because of my encouragement to use his imagination, to read, and believe in the world that he was motivated to become what he was today. He mentioned that he kept me in mind, and always meant to look me up in the future to show me how happyandsuccessfulhewas.Heattributedmybelief inhis abilities to who hewas today. 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 trackandmoresuccessfulthanever. Sometimes it takes great coffee at a great coffee house to open your eyes to a new way of life. This is exactly what happened to me. Finding myself at a crossroad betweenarealjoboranentrepreneurialfuture,Ioften visited my local independent house,The Globe, for relief from my research, phone calls and procrastination. One day in October, when the 3

Lifebushido

seasonshadbeguntochange,IbreezedintotheGlobe to take the edge off my caffeine craving with a rich Sumatran brew. In line ahead of me was a chatty acquaintance. Since making the most of my time was not a priority , I decided to indulge him. Little did I know our chance encounter would change my life. We began with small talk. Whats up? Whats new? Hearing about my indecisive future, he challenged me to let him help me get started. I can remember the taste of the coffee, and the feeling that my life was about to change. It was as if the coffee synergized the event from the past to the future. When I left the coffee house that day, I was on my way to becoming anentrepreneur. I do lots of business in coffee houses, as I work as a virtual assistant and therefore prefer to meet my clientsoutsideofmyoffice.Itsaconvenientlocation. One of the best meetings I had was with a client who revealed she had resigned her job and was starting out on her own. I thought this was an incredibly brave thing to do and as we talked about her plans over coffee, I was almost jealous of this chance she had to start everything from scratch and plan everything the way she wanted it to be. So yes, I helped my newest client start her business right thereoveralatte! On a trip to London, my three friends and I were taking in the sights on Kings Road when we 4

Coffee Stories

happened topass acoffee shop. We went in,deciding to sit down for a while and have a cup of coffee. We were in England to buy antiques for their store in the USA,butmy three friends were also looking for a flat they could purchase in London. One of my friends was very personable and friendly, and he noticed an older gentleman sitting alone nearby who seemed engrossedinour conversation. Hewas such atypical English gentleman in his manner of dress and looks that my friend invited him to join our table for a cup of coffee and some conversation. The gentleman obviously knew that we, three men and I, a woman, were Americans, and surprisingly he joined us. I say surprisingly because he seemed so much like what we Americans would call a stuffed shirt. We chatted and confided to him our plans for buying antiques and for my friends to purchase a flat if possible. My friends were rather welloff, and could afford something quite decent, but they were new to theway thecountry handledloans,sales,etc. It turns out that the rather dapper, older English gentleman sitting with us was the vice president of one of Englands most prestigious banks, AND he also had what we Americans would call a title. He was Sir soandso.Myfriendsopenedanaccountathisbank, purchased a lovely townhouse just a few blocks from Harrods and we were all invited to Sir Ts home on Berkeley Square for cocktails one night before we left England. All in all, quite a successful little trip into a coffeehouse! 5

Lifebushido

I was sitting in the coffee shop on my universitys campuswhenaforeignexchangestudentwhoIknew fromclassaskedifshecouldjoinme.Shortlyafterour conversation began, it turned to talking about the persecution that she had faced in her life for being a Christian. She has stayed true to her faith despite being rejected by her family and even her country. Her testimony was life changing. I was inspired to stay strong through my own struggles with the faith becauseofwhatshetoldmethatdayovercoffee. Over coffee at a coffee house, I realized what was great about chess. Id grown up wanting to like it and wanting to be good at it, as I was pushed to play by my father. However, nothing had ever clicked about chess. I walked into this coffee house late at night, and in the back room there were three intense chess games going. I started watching them, and was overcome by the glamour of it. As I watched them play,Istartedtounderstandthewayyouthinkahead while playing. I could see that a player moved his knight, for example, with an eye to moving it elsewhere in the future. That moment of revelation in the coffee house stayed with me, and led me to get involved in the culture of tournament chess players. I fell in love with a master player, traveled all over the state attending tournaments, and had my heart broken a million times losing games. Im still not a very good player, but Ill never forget the moment 6

Coffee Stories

that I developed a true desire to play, late that night inthatcoffeehouse. Several years ago I was sitting in a cafe in Paris reading the International Herald Tribune. Although my French is almost good enough to pass for native, this must have been the flag that shouted,Here is an American. In any event, a total stranger came to sit at my table and after an initial hesitation on my part, we started to talk. It turned out to be a really interesting person; an American who had spent years doing humanitarianworkforthe UnitedNations.All the headlines of the 1990s and 2000s, this guy had been there, seen the movie, wore the tshirt and one could even say had written the book. Places like Goma, Kigali, Indonesia were more familiar to him than his home town. We spent a few hours and several coffees talking about his life and career and then went our own ways. I was so buzzed, more by the conversation, than by the coffee, that I only remembered well after I returned to my hotel that I had left my IHT on the table. The conversation neverreallyleftmeevenafterIreturnedtoNewYork. Every time I read about some new humanitarian disasterin thepapers,IlookedatwhatIwasdoingin the finance management company for which I was working and asked myself why. Why slowly transformed itself into the question how. Almost a year later, I decided that if I was going to change careers this was the time to do it and I began to look 7

Lifebushido

for jobs overseas with the UN or a large non governmental organization. It turned out that the degree that I had in Business Administration was not irrelevant to this task. After a few false starts, I was offered a post of Operations Officer with a UN Agency. I have been in Senegal for over a year now andfranklyhaveneverlookedback. I grew up in Kent, Ohio. Going to coffee shops was very cool in the sixties and I met my first husband, a musician. This particular little shop was right across from campus and was always crowded so I hardly ever tried to get in. I ducked in the coffee house door duringaparticularly nasty,snowyandcoldday,only to find it was crowded with no seats to be found. I started to turn to go back out the door when I felt a tug on my coat sleeve. It was a guy from a band in Kent, gesturing for me to have a seat as he scooted over,pattingtheseatnearhimandsmilingupatme.I sat, and fell in love. A few months later we were married! I loved that man until the day he died [always will, actually] and to this day cant walk by a coffee house without a bittersweet feeling of love and lossinmyheart. After spending yet another amazing night at my boyfriendshousewewenttothecoffeehousearound the corner. We were chatting and out of nowhere he asked me to move in with him! We lived together for a year and frequented that same coffee house every 8

Coffee Stories

weekend. And yes! It was there that he asked me to marry him! We have been married now for 5 wonderfulyears! For some reason there is always a number of interesting things happening to me at coffee shops! If its not running into old acquaintances its definitely meetingsomenewandinterestingpeopleallthetime. IrememberonetimeIwenttoacoffeeshopdownthe street from my house and there was this local band thereandIhadnoideawhotheywereIlistenedfora few songs and was just about to leave when the singerapproachedtoaskwhyIwasleavingsosoon.I was speechless, well, because first off he was gorgeous and I guess they werent as small as a band as I thought that they were. They were friends with the owner of the coffee shop and were doing him a favor to get more people to come to the coffee shop. SothesingerandIstruckupaconversation.Thiswas a very quaint little coffee shop with a real working fireplaceandthiswaswintersoIwasthankfulforthe warmth.WesatdownandIthoughtthiswasgoingto beoneofthoseconversationsthatlastforashorttime followed bymany awkward silences. Haha. But I was shocked that we easily kept talking for over three hours. He was a very friendly and interesting individual who had just gotten off an international tour. Well, to make a very long story short, after that there were many more dates to come including the mostuniquedateIveeverbeenonthezoo. Andyes, 9

Lifebushido

five very short years later here we are today still together freshly engaged and happier than ever of course! I am a guy who is really fond of coffee. I used to go almost everyday at a cafe namedLe Cafe. One day when I stopped over to get a cup of coffee, I was accidentally hit by a girl and the coffee that she was holding spilled on my uniform. It was really a mess. When I saw her face, instead of getting angry, I was so amazed and felt something else. I then asked for her name and after that day, we have been seeing each other. The greatest things that happened is that the girl who poured coffee on me became my wife now. I am so thankful for that coffee and that coffee house. This is one of the reasons why I cant stop havingcoffee. I had my first polyamorous date at a coffee shop. My boyfriendandIgotthereearly,andourdategotthere late.Isattheresippingmycoffeeextremelynervously, although my boyfriend was the picture of cool. Every time a blonde woman walked in, my heart would be inmythroat,andmypulsewouldskyrocket.Wehad trouble deciding what table to sit at, and we must have moved a dozen times around the small coffee place. We wanted to make sure that the table was big enough for three, relatively private, and also comfortable. Ill never drink coffee there again withoutrememberingourfirstthreepersondate. 10

Coffee Stories

DowntheRoad
I went to Starbucks a few months back. I bought a coffee, and sat down in the lobby. I didnt have any intentions of anything, I was just enjoying my drink. I noticed that the owner was in the middle of a job interview two tables away from me. After about 5 minutesorsoheappearedtobedonewithhiscurrent applicant. They shook hands, and the owner got up, looked at me and said, Are you next? I obviously hadnt applied and I told him that, but I also told him Iwasindeedlookingforajobifhewashiring.Wesat down and had an interview! After about two weeks he called me back and hired me. I couldnt believe it, andyes,Istillworkthere. Work was tough. Id been a manager of a retail store formorethanayearandhalf,withoutaraiseorover time for all the extra hours Id been working. Mama wassick,thebillswerepilingup,andminimumwage just wasnt doing it for me. So, my boyfriend invited me out for a cup of coffee. Hed been going through someroughtimes, too.His parents andsister had lost their jobs, begging him to drop out of art school and get a job to help make ends meet. And he did drop out, though he never found a job. There we were, sitting at a tiny table his coffee black, mine with cream and sugar sighing the afternoon away and sharing our troubles. What came over my boyfriend 11

Lifebushido

was almost as instantaneous as someone flicking a lightswitch and illuminating a room.Why dont we start our own business? he asked. At first I thought he was crazy, but the more we talked about it, the more feasible it became. To cope with our low start up costs, we used recyclable materials we found around our homes to make jewelry and home decor and accessories. To distribute our wares, we started withafreeonlinewebsite.Slowly,wegainedfunding forswapmeetsandfestivals.Wehandedoutbusiness cards and educated our consumers about the benefits of recycling. And to think that our green company, nowgrowingstrong,startedalloveracupofcoffee. The best thing that has ever happened to me in a coffee house was finding out that I was published for the first time. I was seventeenyearsold and had a poem published in a local magazine that isnt around anymore. I was skipping school and sitting at my favorite coffee shop when the editor of the magazine came in and told me he had just tried to call me to let me know that Idbe intheiranniversary issue. It was the first time Id ever shown anyone something Id written and my first publication. More than a decade laterIcherishthememory. Thank you Cafe Coffee Day, Today I have a sprawling business. My friends and I were chatting over a cup of coffee. We were discussing about the lovely candles we had just learned to make and how 12

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they will light up our homes. A Lady from the next table walked up to us and excused herself for interrupting. She took a chair that was vacant and told us that she was running a gift articles shop and would like to display some candles. She asked us to meet her over a cup of coffee the next day with samples of our candles. When she saw our candles she was extremely pleased and placed an order for fifty. Today, my two friends and I have a great businessinoursparetimethankstothecoffeehouse. Once, I drove very far with my father on a day trip and we stopped at a coffeehouse in the mountains on the way. We sat in the cafe, just discussing things we dont normally get to discuss because I attend college 500 miles away from home. There we got to discuss so many things going on in our lives, and I told him about my decision to join the US Navy if I dont get a job in the first few months after graduation from college. It took him a while to process this but, as we talked more about it, he became more supportive of my idea. Now he is so proud of my decision to become a responsible adult and pay for my tuition any way I have to. Hes my best friend, and sitting in acoffeehouseletushavesuchanunderstanding. I had s job interview at a coffee house. It was for a private tutoring company that was looking to hire certified teachers that are able to help students with manydifferentabilities.Imetwith the director at the 13

Lifebushido

coffee house and it was very pleasant and inviting because of the relaxed environment. We were both comfortable and able to talk to one another regarding the job and my qualifications. I did get the job and from time to time when there are clients in my area I am called for the job. It worked out great for me because it is a great way for me to make a little extra cash. I was in a small coffee house with a friend. A woman atthenexttableadmiredmybagandaskedaboutit.I had made it and explained the process. She owned a nice boutique in town and I got an order for 25 of them.Iwas$600richerforhavingcoffeethatday! I was in a small coffee house with a friend. A woman atthenexttableadmiredmybagandaskedaboutit.I had made it and explained the process. She owned a nice boutique in town and I got an order for 25 of them.Iwas$600richerforhavingcoffeethatday! Iwenttothecoffeehouseforacarmelapplecider,my favorite drink, and the place was absolutely full of patrons. So I had to ask to share a table with another individual. He was in the middle of reading a book entitled, Thinking About Mathematics: The Philosophy of Mathematics. I am currently a college student and, at the time, was majoring in biology. I was taking a calculus course that I really didnt enjoy. Themanlookedatmeandasked,Whatdoyouthink 14

Coffee Stories

about numbers? We began a rather long and deep discussion about math. I never thought somebody could know so much about a subject and could be so passionate about it. He convinced me that math is a very beautiful art form. After that conversation, I went back to my class and passed with flying colors. I graduated college with a biology AND mathematics degree. I work in design. Its a challenging field with a lot of choices as to what type of work to conduct. It also requires very complicated software. For over four years over coffee, I started a mutual support group for other designers. Weve met together and talked about educational initiatives, web resources and job connections. Most of us, as a result now serve on industry advisory boards at local technical colleges, and weve not only helped members advance their careers through networking, weve also saved each other countless frustrations by sharing tips and news about our tools and industry changes. I really think that if we hadnt had good coffee to stimulate our minds and get us going and excited, we wouldnt haveaccomplishedhalfasmuch. NormallyIstartmydayinStarbucksandonedayasI was sipping my hot brewed coffee an elderly lady approached me and ask if I was interested in operating her coffee shop. I did not know what I was thinking at that moment but I automatically said, 15

Lifebushido

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, and we own the chain of coffee shops. We hope to add one more to our fleet of eight to make it ninebytheendoftheyear. Myself and a friend started our business at a Starbucks coffee table. We drafted our business plan, researched equipment, and created demo products overseveralweeks.Thecoffeekeptusgoingandkept uscreating! I learned that I got into the university of my choice overacupofcoffee.Ihadacoffeedatewithmysister, and she surprised me by saying that the results were outandIgotin! Last November, I met the previous owner of my home at a coffee house. There, we signed the final paperstomakethehouseours!Wemovedinthenext day.Prettyexciting,inmybook! While at a coffee house, I was offered the job of a lifetime! I accepted and I have traveled many places withmynewcareer. I met up with an old friend who presented me with a new business opportunity becoming partners in a newbusiness. 16

Coffee Stories

The best thing that ever happened to me over coffee at a coffee house is that I asked the waiter if he liked his job, and he raved about the atmosphere and good tips so much, that I put in an application and ended upwithafunnewjob. The best thing that happened to me at a coffee house was that I found a job. I was drinking some coffee and looking for jobs on the internet when a man asked what kind of job I was looking for. I explained my job position to him and gave him my email address. He said he would check around with his friends. Never thinking of ever hearing from him again, I received an email from him and eventually it ledtoajob. I am currently working part time and had my hours shortened, and so to make extra money, I began to babysit again. I had a woman contact me about watchingherson.Shewantedtomeetwithmefirstto talk and to see how well I interacted with her son. Everything went well and she hired me to help her outonanasneededbasis.ThepayisgreatandIhave sat for her more than three times now. We meet at a localcoffeeshop,wheresheboughtmecoffee,andwe bondedoverthetype ofcoffeeweweredrinking,and howsimilarourfamilieswere.

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Coffee talks have become the foundation of what my 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 thelife talks at the coffee shop that helped develop ourbusinessplan. I got a new job at a coffee house. The prospective employer wanted to meet at the coffee house for the interview. It was a fun, casual place to meet and the interviewwentreallywell.Thejobwasfun,too! A job interview for one of my most important jobs was held at a nearby coffee house. I ended up working in the job for three years. Since then, Ive noticed a number of job interviews taking place at coffeehouses. I once landed a movie role at a coffee shop. I was an aspiring actress in LA, drinking a cafe mocha in a Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. I struck up a conversation with a guy, too short for my liking, but he ended up being a producer in Hollywood of what I would considerB films. He said I looked just like the girl he had envisioned for a project he was working on, and for the first and only time in my career, he was actuallynotbullshitting!Itwasasmallrolewithone line, but $500 (and a 5 cent HIT later), Im telling the story. 18

Coffee Stories

Coffee,Tea,orMe?
I had the best blind date of my life at a coffee house, which led to my marriage. I met someone on an online dating site and we chatted for a while. We decided to meet at a local coffee house. It was love at first sight. We dated after that, and ended up getting married I am so lucky to have the most wonderful little coffeehouserightnearby!Itssmall,cozy,andhaslive entertainment on weekends. At that coffee house, I actually did meet the man I was GOING to marry (untilIbrokeupwithhim)andhadmyfirstdatewith the man I DID marry. Ive spent hours on my laptop working on business ideas for my childbirth education business, built a website, met connections with the Chamber of Commerce, and went into labor! Lotsofmemories! At a coffee house I fell in love with a wonderful man. Wearegoingtobegettingmarriedthisyear. The best thing I had happen over coffee at a coffeehouse was that I fell in love with a man who gavemeabeautifuldaughter. ImettheloveofmylifeonafirstdateatStarbucks!! 19

Lifebushido

I met the love of my life at a coffee house, and it has been five years that we have been together now. Ill never forget the first conversation we had. It was stupid, but it brought us together. We have all the sameinterestsandnevergetoneachothersnerves. The best first date I ever had was over coffee in a coffeehouse. It was public so things werent too awkward, but it was still quiet enough that we could talk and talk. We wound up being there for a couple hours. I actually met my now fianc at Starbucks. I was there with a couple friends and asked my friend to approachher.Shelikedmeandtherestishistory. I met mycurrent girlfriend at a coffeehouse. We had met online a few weeks before and I chose a coffee house to meet her in person. The meeting went extremely well. There is nothing like the laid back ambiance of a coffee house to relax and stimulate interesting conversation. I also find coffee houses to begreatplacestowrite,muse,andthink. I once had a great experience at a coffee shop, but it was also somewhat creepy. I walked into our local coffee shop and saw my friend from the golf team, a boy, who was with his girlfriend. He acknowledged my presence and even came over to ask how I was and such. All the while his creepy girlfriend had a 20

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deadlockonme;shewouldnotstopstaring.AtfirstI felt a little uncomfortable, but then ignored her and kept talking to him. The great ending is that a year or so later he and I started dating, and now I look back onthatstoryallthetimeandcanthelpbutlaugh. I had a wonderful first date at a coffee house. I met my longtime boyfriend on a blind date at a small coffee house in town, and we laughed, shared stories, andgottoknoweachotherovercoffee. Almost 4 years ago I invited a girl, who was a friend of mine for coffee. She rejected my request asking why she should go out and have coffee with me. I answered her questions, and somehow managed to gethertoagreetohavecoffeewithme.Wedatedand are now married. Funny thing is it took me six months to talk her into having that one cup of coffee withme. My boyfriend took me to a very romantic dinner to celebrate our oneyear anniversary. Later, he took me to get coffee and we sat outside and discussed our future together! It was then and there that I knew we wouldalwaysbetogether. The woman I married, who I also met in college and loves coffee use to visit a place in our college days which was well known for both its poetry and java.

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We use go there to kick back and relax, socialize, and listentobands.Itwasapopularhangoutspot. My experience consists mainly of a first date and conversation. After meeting this girl on the internet, we set our first date at a local coffee house. We just began with the meeting in the store itself one cup of coffeeledtoanother,toanother,toanother.Beforewe knewit,thestorewasclosing.Tothisday,Istilldrink thatsamebrandofcoffeebecauseofit. I met my first bf at Starbucks coffeehouse. He was always there with his laptop and doing some work and I just happened to like their frapuccino and would sit close to him. One day, we were in line trying to order coffee and he started the conversation asking me if I work nearby. I said, Yea, I work nearby. The conversation just went on and on. Then after that, he asked me for a date after work. (pretty fast eh?) I said, Sure, depends if I have time (me trying hard to get :) ) Of course we met after work and the date went on and on. I must say. It was one ofthemostmemorabledaysofmylife. I did have a fantastic first date meeting for coffee, whichdoessoundclich,butitwasagreatexperience. I met the girl around 2 p.m. and I had tea, since I do not even drink coffee. She poked fun at me for that, and that was when I knew she was the one for me. Wehavebeentogetherforthreeyearsnow! 22

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Iusedtotutormyfriendatacoffeehouseandduring that time she learned enough to pass her math final. During the summer when we studied more for next year,wefellinloveandarenowhappilydating. My boyfriend and I were having relationship issues. I have a daughter so we dont get much time alone. After class one day I asked him to buy me a Vanilla CoolerwithAndesmintsfromCaribouCoffee.Wesat there for what felt like hours. I felt like we were falling in love all over again. Gazing into each others eyes. We couldnt stop smiling. I realized that we need alone adult time. I love my daughter, but sometimes I need to get a sitter and spend some time alonewithmyboyfriend. During my time at college, many things happened to me over coffee. One particular time, I was getting my coffee and my crush walked in. He sat at the table acrossfrommine,anditwastherethatheaskedmeif one day we could take a walk. I know it sounds strange, him wanting to take a random walk, but it turns out that he wanted to take a walk, so he could askmeoutproperly. When I was in high school, a girl and I would go and get coffee every morning. Nothing really great happened in the coffee house, but all the time that we spent there talking and getting to know each other is 23

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what really made the coffee house so good. Without out our visits, we probably would not have had so muchtimetogettoknoweachotherandgettowhere wearenow. I remember a coffee shop close by that closed down years ago. I met a girl there who I fell in love with. When the shop closed down, I never saw her again. I foundhernumberrecentlywhenImoved,butIreally doubt its still active. Maybe Im just afraid to call! I wonder if she even remembers me. She was so beautiful, but I was a freshman in high school then and she was a senior. I think she was probably way out of my league then, but not now! Id sure like to havethegutstocallnow.Unfortunately,itsbeentoo many years. Although it was a brief friendship, I oftenwonderwhatsheisdoingnowadays. Onetime I was ina coffee shop(CrazyMocha, a local Pittsburgh coffee chain) and I met a girl who seemed nearly perfect to me. She acted geeky, had a Legend of Zelda tattoo, and used a Mac. I was too shy to talk toher,but Iwentbackaweeklaterandsawherthere again. I started talking to her and we seemed to hit it off. Sadly, when I asked her if she wanted to get dinner sometime, she told me she had a boyfriend. Totalfailonmypart... I met my husbandata coffeehouse througha mutual friend.Wehavebeentogetherforover7years. 24

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IfellinlovewhenIhadacoffeeatacoffeehousewith my girlfriend. Really that was the most wonderful momentthatIeverhadinmylife.Acoffeehouseisa niceplacetodeclareourlove. I met my first date in this city, had great discussions, formed a club with classmates, and reconnected with variousfriends. When I was younger I used to meet guys offline. I know that was not very smart, considering some could have hurt me, but it was the only way I was comfortable meeting a guy. If I talked to a guy in person, I would just start shaking and get really nervous. So I get to know them first online, and then agree to meet them. I met my boyfriend of 5 months at Starbucks, and it was the most amazing thing ever. We had so much in common and he told me I was verygorgeous. Three years ago, I was at my local Starbucks sipping my coffee, when I started a conversation with this lovelywomannamedRachel.Wetalkedforalmostan hour, and when she had to leave, she gave me her number. I asked her out for dinner that Saturday night,andwehavebeenhappilydatingeversince! I actually fell in love with my husband at a Starbucks coffeehouse.ThiswasourfirstdateandIwasntquite 25

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sure if I wanted to continue on with him so after just sitting there with him and talking I knew he was the one. Imetmyhusbandoftenyearsatacoffeeshop.Itwas a blind date and we closed the place down. They let us stay until they were done mopping and then we moved outside to the patio, where we talked until we realized it would be morning soon. So we decided to stayformorecoffee I had a few great things happen at a coffee house. I went to a couple of gigs of a friend and coworker. I also set up a special night with the musician so I could ask my girlfriend of seven years to have a commitment ceremony. There was an outdoor stage anditwasunderneaththestarsandthemoonandmy mom was there it was a magical time. The coffee was wonderful, too. And here we are, twelve years later andstillgoingstrong,livinglifetoitsfullest. The last time I went to a coffee shop, I met a woman. She knew I was a photographer from the photo of me in the editorial section of our local newspaper. She liked the article I had done on homelessness in our town and how we can improve it. To make a long story short, that was three years ago and Ive been happilymarriedtohereversince.

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NoTearsOverSpoiledMilk
Coffee houses in my opinion are a great way to reconnect with old friends and stay in touch with current ones. When I was younger and involved in a church youth group, my friends and I used to hang out at a coffee house and catch up on what was new. We went through some hard times, losing parents, dropping out of school, trying new jobs and lifestyles but yet when one of us had something going on, we always new where to go if we needed each other the Coffee Xchange. I remember when my Mom passed away. the call was made and everyone just kind of showed up there that night, we all knew we needed eachotherandwenewwherewecouldgotocomfort each other. Many things happened over the years, we all spent time together, some times simple and sometimes not so simple. Still now when some of us get together we all know where to meet, there is no question. When I am back home visiting sometimes I drive by or stop in and grab some iced coffee and I swear I can still see us in that back corner trying to growuptoosoonandbecool. Iwasgoingthroughsomereallybadtimesat17.Ihad been through three foster homes and two group homes and was ready to give up. I was drinking a lot and just wasnt being a normal teenager. Then a friend told me that I needed to check out the local 27

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cofeeshop in town. I always figured that coffee shops were for people older than me, but I loved cappocuinos so I figured that I would give it a shot, and I am so glad I did. I met the owner of the shop, and he wanted to have a place for people like me to comeandgettheirlivesstraightenedup.BythetimeI was done with my first cup of coffee, I had three new friends and enrolled in the alcohol and drug group that he had.I went to thatcoffeeshop every day until Imovedayearlater,anditsavedmylife.Icleanedup my act, had a great support system, and got As in school. I will never forget my times there. Over the years the name has changed, but that feeling I had wont. I was out of town and having a really tough time. I looked up an AA meeting and while I was driving there I thought about pulling into every bar I passed. When I got to the church where the meeting was supposed to be, there was noone there. I noticed a coffee shop across the street and figured that would be a good place for me to go, to figure out what I wanted to do. As I was having coffee, contemplating a nice cold beer, I saw a man reading an Alcoholics Anonymous flyer a couple of tables away from me. I approached him and shared my troubles with him. We talked for hours. That was four years ago. I still callhimeverytimeIgotothattown.

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When I was sitting and sipping my coffee with my friendsinacafewithadejectedmoodovermyfailure in my job, I met a friendly looking elderly person. He casually asked why I was looking down. I told him my story. He gave me a sly look and asked if I was very sincere about my work. Naturally I am that type of person. He then laughed loudly and said, In that case.you have no option to feel happy, but only to brood over your failures. I was shocked. He gave me a soothing answer after seeing tears in my eyes. He told that we should not long for a life which is not meant for us, at the same time what is good for us will come to us in an appropriate time which can not be thwarted. I should not plan or expect anything to come to my liking, but to accept life as it is. He offered me a job to my liking!!! I then felt relieved of allmytension.Mynewjobisquitechallenging,butis very interesting. After offering the job he never turned out to ask how I felt about it.He is the director ofthefirmIworkfor.Ilearnedthisafterthreeorfour months of my joiningg date! This is an extraodinary experienceIhadinmylife. About two years ago, I was at a coffee house and something hilarious happened. This guy at the front of the line freaked out because they would no longer takehisdiscountcoupon.Hewasthrowingthingsall over the place and when they asked him to leave, he would not. The cashier called the police and the man

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left beforethey arrived, but that was myfavorite time atacoffeehouse. On May 18th of this year I was enjoying a cup of coffee with an old coworker/friend. We normally sit outside to enjoy the sun and rushing river that goes by. When half way through a conversation he grabbed his chest! I wasnt sure what to do. The shop owner called 911 and my friend was rushed away as his coffee turned cold. I got to see him hours later after they had concluded he had a heart attack and wouldbestayingacoupledays.Heendeduphaving an emergency triple bypass! I went to see him off and on since then and recently we even meet up for a coffee in our usual seats by the river. Now the great thing about this story other then my friend is doing greatisthatinthetimeIhadtodrinkmycoffeealone I had many hours to contemplate life without my friendandhavecometotheconclusionthatthecoffee ismuchbetterwithafriend!Eventhesimplestthings in life (a cup of coffee) are not to be taken advantage of. May 18th is one of the scariest days of my life and oneofthegreatest! I actually enjoyed having coffee at our local coffee shop in the mall by myself. One morning, I noticed an elderly gentleman having coffee. He appeared to be alone, but content. He was very aware of his surroundings and everyone in them. After a short time,IaskedifIcouldjoinhim.Heseemeddelighted 30

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at the prospect of having company. As we spoke, he told of his wifes death and their three daughters. Two of his daughters lived out of state but called him onthephonedaily.Thethirddaughterlivedintown, talked to him on the phone at least twice daily and had meals with him two or three times a week. He spoke with such love for his girls. My own daughter passed away two years ago. As we spoke, I felt her presenceasmuchasherabsence. Ihadtheopportunitytogetagreatcounselingsession from the minister at my church at a coffee house. He made me feel at ease about my job loss and really filled me with hope for the future, that everything willbefine. On a crisp morning in late October, I stopped in at a local coffee shop because I just wanted to warm up. I had started wearing glasses recently and they steamed over as I held the cup of freshly brewed hazelnut close to my face to appreciate the aroma. Thesamethingusedtohappentomybrother.Really good coffee was one of the things he valued most in life. I thought about the little coffee grinder that he bought for me, and how impressed he was when I figured out a great way to get all the coffee out and cleantheapplianceatthesametime.Thisledtoother happymemoriesofhim,whichareverydeartome.

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I healed from a severe motorcycle accident that broke allofmyribsontheleftsideofmybodywhenImade my little daily trip to the coffee house for my cup of Joe. I was broken hearted at that time and I had to study for a major exam. Hanging out at the coffee house to studyhelpedmealot.AndIsuredidacetheexam! The best story ever about a coffee shop is when my friend fell on his knees to cry in front of his girlfriend to ask her if they can get back together because three days before they broke up in the same coffee shop. It wasanawesomeexperience. I recently went for a coffee at my local coffee shop. I satdownandpickedupanewspaperwhichhadbeen leftonthetable.Iwantedtoreadtheheadlinesofthe day but was more interested in what the previous readerhadwrittenonthepaper.Ithadlotsofwriting on it, like I have had enough, He never listens to me anymore, andWhat am I doing here with him. Iwonderedwhathadhappened:hadtwopeoplebeen sitting there a few minutes before, and someone had been writing all these comments about someone?? Who where these people and why did she write all that stuff? I never got to read the newspaper; I finished my coffee and realized that sometimes your problemsarenotnearlyasbadasotherpeoples. 32

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Some of the best moments of life have happened at our local coffee house. I love to go down there and sit with my family or with friends. One of my favorite memories is going there with my little brother for coffee. It was a couple weeks before Christmas. My husband was deployed overseas and I was feeling down.ThiswasgoingtobeyetanotherChristmasmy husband would be missing. To cheer me up my little brother took me for coffee. As we sat there talking about past Christmases of our youth and how it was exciting to see my childrens faces when you mentioned Christmas. It helped me to feel better. I willalwayscherishthatnightatthecoffeehousewith himalways. This week, my best friend died unexpectedly. Anotherfriendtookmeoutforcoffeeafewdayslater. Sittingwithlatteinhand,eatingforbiddenchocolates, dishing about issues large and trivial, I felt my first sense of reconnection with life. This simple meeting reminded me that the fabric of friendships is wide andhasmanythreads. I went to a coffeehouse with one of my friends in India. The name of the coffee shop was Barista, whichisaleadingbrandofcoffeehousein India.We were talking when a middle aged man came with his twokids.Themomentthekidscameintheshopthey started shouting, screaming, touching things and disturbing everyone. I thought what kind of rowdy 33

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kids the man has. The man did not say a word to them. Everyone in the shop was staring at the kids butthemantowhomthekidsbelongedhadnoeffect. I could not talk to my friend as the kids were really disturbing. I finally got up and went towards the manandtoldhimtoteachhischildrensomemanners. The man plainly said that he has just come from hospital where his wife died few hours ago and he does not know how to explain this to his kids and himself. I heard this and got frozen. From that day I realized we should never perceive any person or situation without knowing its background. As it is saidperceptioncolorsthevision. During the past year, our mother was suffering from dementia. She had been a joy to us all of our lives, and it was difficult for my sister and me to deal with the changes we were seeing in our ninetyoneyear old mother. We decided to meet at our local coffee house each day before we were to go to care for her. When we were there, my sister and I began to reminisce about our youth, our mother, our families, our lives. Our mother passed away several months ago. It was difficult for our entire family. My sister and I realized, however, that we had grown closer thanwewerebecauseofourcoffeehousemeetings.

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TheSugarCircle
When I was with my friend in Japan, we decided that we were really cold, and went into a coffee shop to warm up. While we were sitting upstairs, drinking our drink, the conversation turned towards more serious topics, and it was then that I came out to my friend and explained to her how I truly felt regarding my own future and the direction that it was going. She listened, accepted me and we grew much closer, thanks to a cup of coffee together in a coffee shop in Japan. When I was about 18 years old, my friends started inviting me to a little coffee shop in the middle of town. It was always at night, which baffled me. After one visit I realized why they liked going there so much. There must have been about twenty people there at any given time during the night. The coffee company even changed their hours to stay open later for us. What amazed me was that all of these people got along, and everyone eventually became good friends and were loyal customers to the coffee shop. Many people liked to play cards there, also. It was at that coffee shop that I met my future fiancee through friendsthatIhadalsoacquiredthere.Fouryearslater, werestilltogether,andarestillloyalcustomersofthe coffeeshop. 35

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At our Favorite Coffee Day in 7th Block Jayanagar, Bangalore (India); many things have happened in my life. It was the first time I left home for studies in a newplace,metnewpeople,stayedalone,andlearned alot.CoffeeDaywasourhangout.Thefourofushad justbecomefriends,andthecoffeegaveusareasonto spend time together and get to know each other. It was the same place where I introduced my boyfriend to my friends and the same coffee helped him to get accepted among my friends... It was a big thing for me! And finally, this was the place where I met my inlaws for the first time. I cant really visualise any other place when I think about those days. Now Im married to him and we are in Delhi. Coffee Days are rarely seen here (as compared to Bangalore) and they bring back all the memories and bring a smile to my face! During my first semester at a fouryear university, one of my classes forced me to work in a group the entiresemester.Ihateworkingingroups,andIcould tell my new teammates felt the same. We all decided to meet weekly at a local Starbucks and it was amazing how the atmosphere changed our attitudes! We would all start our meetings by buying a cup of coffeeandjustchatting.Wewereallseniorsnow,and although we pursue different majors, we still meet at least once a semester at that same Starbucks just to think back about the old times when we first got to

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our new school, and we plan to keep doing so long aftergraduation. Great ideas happen over coffee! Last summer I spent amonth insmall townacrossthe country fromwhere I grew up. I was visiting family and didnt know anyone there. Everyday, while my cousins all went to work, I sat in the local coffee shop and wrote. By the end of the summer, I had a bunch of new friends and a plan to start a new business when I got home. Now here I am; I still have those friends and all plans are a goforthatbusiness! I discovered a lifelong best friend as a result of a casual brainstorming meeting over coffee. I was a student in a Geology class and needed a presentation partner and casually met another student for coffee down the street. We have now been best friends for 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 thousands of 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. Whether it is making arrangements for future face to face coffee shop meetings, links to newly available online coffee products, sites, information, freebies, or coffee themed gifts given to eachotherovertheyears. 37

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Ireconnectedwithafriendinacoffeehouse.Ihadleft work feeling tired and hungry since I had skipped lunchtofinishsomependingworkintheoffice.Iwas feeling very disappointed since my boss had rejected my proposal by dismissing the font size on the cover page. On reaching the coffee shop, I found it fully packed with people and had to share a table with someone whom I never bothered to look up at. As I sat quietly sipping a steaming cup of coffee, and my face hidden in the newspaper. Suddenly, I heard someone tap the top of the paper. Annoyed, I looked up andwas metwith eyespopped outinamazement. It was my ex oyfriend! We had not been in touch for more than two years. We had a painful breakup and did not have time to clear up some misunderstandings. Since I did not have anything exciting in the house to do, 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! I think all the small things that have happened to me overcoffeeatcoffeehousesadduptosomethinggreat. I have met old friends and made new friends. One of my best experiences is sitting alone and having someone come up to me who noticed a book I was reading, and introducing himself to me. He then 38

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shared his views with me and I shared with him. He offeredinsightsIhadnotthoughtof,andIamsurehe felt the same. We then parted company. I never got hisnamebutheisstillonmymind. I used to belong to a knitting club that met at a local coffeehouse on Wednesday nights. There were about a dozen of us that would show up there with our knitting projects and work on them together, share ideas and patterns, swap yarn, and chat about our lives. The club sort of fell apart when several members moved away at once, but while it lasted it was probably one of the most fun groups of friends Ivehad. I used to have a job that I absolutely couldnt stand. I would wake up each morning dreading the fact that I had to go to work. Of course I would look for other employment, but would never end up finding anything that would benefit me. Across the street frommyworkplacewasasmallcoffeehouse.Mybest friend would come and pick me up each day after work, and wed sit and have coffee together. As soon as I would walk through the coffee house doors, I wouldfeelmystressslowlymeltaway.Iwouldsmell the delectable hazelnuts,the cream, and the sweets behind the counter. Sometimes I would order myself a hot tea, othertimes a nice treat like a chocolate mint coffee. My friend and I would sit in their dining area, which was full of velvety soft, comfortable couches, 39

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and wed talk for an hour or two, about anything and everything. Wed share laughs, and later, would go ourseparateways,bothknowingwehadsuchagood time together. Eventually I got pregnant and became a stay at home Mom. I dont see my friend anymore; she moved far away and we lost touch. But I will never forget all of the times we had coffee together, and all of the smiles I gained after a horrible day at myjob. My best friend and I since fifth grade get together over coffee at the local coffee house. We are now 31, andmeetuponceamonth.Wewillsitthereforabout 3hours,eatingtreats,drinkingcoffee,andjusttalking. Wechataboutthekids,complainaboutourhusbands, and just catch up about life. It is how we keep our sanity. We would lose touch if didnt get to have that time together because it is all the time we have together.Wecantreallydoitanywhereelse. Since I was in high school, I have been going to the same coffee house. By no means am I considered a regularbuteverynowandthenIliketostopin.Isit outsideonthedeckinthecoolofthesummerevening, Icuddleupinawoolsweaterinacornerwithawarm cup o joe. About ten years ago I moved away from the town I grew up in away from that cozy coffee house to New York City. When I began visits to my home town my childhood friends and I meet at this coffee house to remind us why we are still friends. 40

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We can sit for there hours. The staff never cares how little or how long we stay. None of the other customers seems to mind our tearfilled laughter, or our three part harmony Weezer performances complete with a spoon drummer and air guitarist. In thatcoffeehouse,werestillsixteen,atthirtyyearsold. The best thing that has ever happened to me at a coffee house is meeting a great friend. I frequent this establishment to this day. The owner is twenty something , wanna be hippie, vegan, spunky chick! She holds open mics for bands and solo acts. My husband the musician, and I checked it out. It was comfy and cozy. lots of couches, and chairs. People wereevensitting on thefloor.Beforethe band started, wandering around the room was this woman in a long skirt smelling of lavender and smiling. I dont mean an ordinary smile either, more like beaming. Shehadsmellscomingfromthekitchenthatdrewme in. We immediately conversed and found we had a great deal in common. When the musicians ended, she always praised each one. It was so peaceful and fun. It was then I wanted to be around that kind of happiness all the time. I am grateful for my new friendandtothecoffeehouse. MyfriendsincollegeandIhadafavoritecoffeehouse hang out. It is there we had our coffee and lots and lots of conversations about life. It is where our friendship strengthened as each of us had secrets to 41

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share. The coffee house is no longer in business but 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 special happened it was just a good time. In fact, its one of the best memories that I have. Ill always remember my coffee house days. I dont get to see those friends very often anymore so I will always cherishthosemoments. I had a chance to go to a coffee shop with a great friend of mine about a year ago. It wasnt anything particularly exciting or groundbreaking and there wasnt anything that would make it stand out in a typical persons mind. However, it was just a time where I really enjoyed my friends company and was abletoconnectonahigherlevelthanmosttimes. ImadeanewfriendoutofagirlIwenttohighschool with. We had the same math class in college, and we needed to study since we were in a group together. Weended upstaying andhavingcoffeetogetherafter everyone else left and we are still friends to this day. Having coffee and being able to open up in a nice placehelpedustoconnectandbecomefriends.

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CoffeeStainInspiration
What a great place for a writer to observe odd, displaced, and touchy people. Visiting my local national chain coffee house is like watching a Jacques Tati movie. I rarely see the same customers or workers more than a few times. Using a laptop and wearingthelocalgarbhelpsme blendinlikeanature cinematographer in a wildlife blind. I can quickly jot down impressions of awkward social encounters, hyperaddled servers, strange pecking orders, and snippets of rants about local issues. All for one drip coffeewithfreerefills. IusecoffeehousestoworkonmybooksIfoundone coffee shop in the Village that has a homey feeling. Weareallquietandworkingonourlaptops.Oneday I went in there totally uninspired, sat down and by theendof4hours,IwasshockedathowmuchworkI had been able to complete. This place is so safe and homey! Even though were in New York City, we all leaveourlaptopsatourcoucheswhenwegotoorder morecoffeeandusetherestroom. I came up with an amazing script for a thrilling motion picture, E.T., while at a coffee house. S. Spielberg

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When I was having coffee at a coffee house, the most brilliant idea struck me. I rushed home and wrote a book. It took me exactly two weeks. I then rushed it to a publisher, who pounced on it and called it hot stuff. The thing became a bestseller, and I could finally have my cool island home and laze around doingexactlywhatIwantedandlettingtherestofthe worldgotohell.Pleasedontbelievethesecondpart. IgetalltheselovelydaydreamswhenIhavecoffeeat 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 long we had 6 or 7 sketched outandwewerehavingaverydifficulttimechoosing one. As we sat there and discussed it a woman walked by and stopped. She pointed to one of the logos and stated that it was amazing and we should use it. She stayed and discussed why she liked it so much over the others. We ended up choosing that logoandhavegottenmanycomplimentsonit. Im a costume designer and often meet with directors and production staff at a coffee house for preproduction and early planning meetings. Its so amazing to see a show come together while were nestled into a corner talking. What begins with words on a page gets hashed over repeatedly, people 44

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tossingtheirvariousideasandspecialtiesintothemix. Everyone jots notes for themselves. Someone inevitably draws a diagram of something the set, a light plot, a costume on a napkin, and things begin tocoalesce.Bytheendoftheafternoon,ournebulous ideas come together into a cohesive whole and weve turned a thin booklet of dialogue into a full production! There is a little cottagelike coffee house that I believe may have been the very last place where you could still smoke inside. The coffee was terrible, but the combination of pews, wicker furniture and magazine racks situated in a darkly lit, smoky nook lined with white Christmas lights yearround remains one of my favoriteplacestowriteinmyjournal,peoplewatchor justrelax.There wasa girl with olive skin and netted hair who used to pull espressos there who intimidated the heck out me with her piercing, gold eyes. I only braved small talk with her once or twice, but the mystery of who she was prompted me to writeascreenplayaboutherandthatcoffeeshop. One time while I was out at a coffee shop with some friends,wegottotalkingaboutwhatwealldidinour spare time. A few of us started talking about our writing. It was great to learn that several of us were writers of one form or another, and we were able to trade information on publishing and distributing our work. It was really nice and because of one of the 45

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ladies that I talked to, I am now a published poet! Its really exciting to finally have my work out in the world after years of writing, and it never would have happenedifIhadntgoneoutforcoffeethatevening! The best things that have happened to me at coffee shops have been related to my writing. I occasionally meet with people much smarter than me, and several times theyve pointed out important problems or provided clever ideas. My absolute favorite one is changing a characters hairstyle. Not a big deal, 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 statements is kind of pass. My friend suggested that instead, she should close her eyes and let her friend fix her hair . . . into a MOHAWK! For reasons that takeanoveltoexplain,Ijustlovethistwist.Andifwe hadnt been meeting in the comfy confines of a coffee house, it wouldnt have happened. My character wouldjustbebaldandannoyedwithme. First let me say that I LOVE coffee houses! I frequent many different ones. My personal favorite is The Mean Bean here in my local town. I remember when myhusbandandIweregoingthroughaverydifficult time we had both lost our jobs within 4 months of each other and we were at the local coffee shop job hunting via their free WiFi. I was sitting there 46

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sipping my chai and watching my husband search when I saw a post flip by that saidjust ask. I sat up in my chair and said Wait a minute! That was the beginningofusstartingourownbusinesscalled...Just Ask! I went to a local area coffee house ordered my coffee, and sat at a table with my coffee and newspaper; I hadascratchticketandwon$500onitwhileenjoying mycoffee.Ithoughtthetablewasgoodluckandhave triedagainbutnosuchluckyet. I was alone at a coffee house between classes and started listening to the people around me. Two girls were talking about things they wished they had and the type of things they liked. I started to jot down some of the things they were saying on a paper napkin. Later I got online and looked up companies that sold what they liked and researched the stocks. I bought a few of them and they are doing very well likeActivisionandNintendo!Thanksgirls! I worked regularly on a novel at a local coffeehouse, listening to the music and relaxing in a great writing atmosphere. As I set down my mug filled to the brim with the steaming house blend, I thought about my life. As I sippedthecupdry,Iwrotelineafterline,untilfinally finished my poem and it was complete. I marched 47

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down to the publisher and the smile on his face when I said, my writers block is over! Well lets just say, Iveneverseenanythinglikeit. I overheard two people talking about the lottery. One told the other to play a certain number. I dont know if he did, but I did and won $55.00. Coffee was great thatday. I have had some great ideas at coffee houses, while talking with friends but had them pretty much shot down, because in America the home of the free not 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 company only to find that I would have to pay $700 to have it made up and marketed. The company thought it was a great idea, but couldnt go any further because I didnt have the funds to pay them. Here is my idea in case someone with money could market it to help people: People get pain all over their bodies, including their hands, especially people with arthritis. There is nothing on the market to help them but creams and gloves. The arthritis pain people get is in the joint right below their finger nail. There are patches for back pain, shoulder pain, leg pain, etc. They should make small bandaidsizedwraps witharthritismedicineonthem for people to put on the joints on their fingers. I just think it would help millions of people suffering from arthritispain.Andthatismybrilliantidea! 48

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I once was at a coffee house and I drank far too much coffee and got this wild caffeine rush. In the course of that wild caffeine rush, sitting at a table with my laptop, I wrote the first 10 pages of my senior thesis after a week of writers block. The thesis was a major success. Though I felt pretty bad afterward, Ill never forgetthatcaffeinefrenzy I met an old friend in the parking lot and we decided to have coffee. During our conversation, my friend mentioned that she had been taking some painting classes. The conversational subjects went from one to another, but we kept returning to her art classes. After I went home, I was overcome with the desire to paint, even though I am no artist, and I started and havebeengoingstrongeversince. The business plan for my first real entrepreneurial outing was hashed out on the back of a paper place mat. That business is a thriving, living multimillion dollarentitytoday!

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TodaysSpecial
What a great place for a writer to observe odd, displaced, and touchy people. Visiting my local national chain coffee house is like watching a Jacques Tati movie. I rarely see the same customers or workers more than a few times. Using a laptop and wearingthelocalgarbhelpsme blendinlikeanature cinematographer in a wildlife blind. I can quickly jot down impressions of awkward social encounters, hyperaddled servers, strange pecking orders, and snippets of rants about local issues. All for one drip coffeewithfreerefills. I was 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 purple halter top, and a long, faux cheetah fur coat. She also had on a wig that looked like red yarn. I remember my first thought was Oh good lord, doesntshehaveamirror.ThenIlookedat herfacea little closer. She had a gleam in her eye. Not a gleam of humor but a gleam that hints at an underlying madness. That made me think a little bit. What right did I have to judge other people based on how they were dressed. I hated it when people made assumptions because I was heavy. I despised that no one could see past the fat to the interesting,

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complicated, wonderful woman underneath. How was I any better judging this poor, ill woman because shewassobusy trying to make the world makesense thatshedidntreallypayattentiontohowshedressed or even that she thought she looked wonderful. If I was going to make progress towards allowing that wonderful woman show through to everyone I met, I needed to stop making the very kind of snap judgements that prevented people from really knowingme. While reading and enjoying a cup of coffee, a guy in his early 20s ran in, holding his arm which was covered with blood. He grabbed some napkins to clean up, and the person behind the bar gave him some wet paper towels. All cleaned up, he sat near me,soIaskedifhewasokay.Hetoldmethathehad been on his bike and a car had cut him off. He yelled at the car and took a tennis ball from his pocket and threw it at the car. It hit the car, bounced back and went right under his front wheel knocking him to the ground. He said at that moment he understood something about anger. He said that the ball represented his anger and when he directed his anger at the car, it caused more damage to him than it did the intended recipient. So be careful where you directyouranger. Foralongtime,itwasabigmysterytomewhycoffee shops were so heavily associated with sociality. What 51

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was it that made people so much more willing to express themselves? And not just more willing, but seemingly more able. Do coffee beans hold some secret power to boost brain cells? It even seems as though people are more creative when holding coffee housediscussions.Icametoananswerseveralyears ago when I started to frequent coffee houses. They hold this power because we give it to them. We designate them, consciously or not, as a place where you have great thoughts. With that said, Ive never had a huge moment in a coffee shop. Rather, their usefulness for me is in changing the way that I think, a bit like a series of miniature epiphanies. Minute changes to my base philosophy and religion. It is thesethatdefineme. I wish I had some beautifully dramatic story about coffee in my life, but I dont. Not really. After my parentsmovedtoClarkdale,Arizona,Iresentedthem for it. It felt as though they had abandoned my brother and I on the East Coast to live their dream. I helped them move. While there, Dad and I decided to hike up to a nearby town, Jerome, about a mile up a mountain from where they lived. While there, we stopped by 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 across the valley while sipping his drink and then I

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understood that this was where he wanted to be and thatIhadtobeokaywithit. One morning, as I was walking towards my favorite coffeeshop,Inoticedabeautifulwomaninthesideof my vision. Instantly, I thought to open the door for her,because manners make a great first impression.I reachedforthedoor.Shewalkedrightpastme.Never once actually thanking me or acknowledging that I was attempting to be nice. Once inside, I watch the woman walk sternly to the bathroom. I wander into the line and looked toward the menu. Still deciding on what I was gonna order, the woman returned and immediately jumped in front of me in line. This is when it began to become obnoxious, but i refused to acknowledge that she was annoying me beyond comprehension. Standing there, I wanted to tell her everything that just happened, in detail and a determined tone to help her understand my position. In haste, she ordered a small plain coffee and proceeded to the door. At this point, I realized I had went from being attracted to detesting this woman in a matter of minutes. She was leaving. The door that wasbeingheldopenapparentlywasntmeantforher. The door shut quickly as she was halfway 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 back to the clerkwho has been waiting on me, andhe asked,Areyousatisfiedwithyourorder?.Inodded, 53

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paid the man his merit and responded, With great satisfaction,myfriend. Over a cup of coffee (well, two cups of coffee and a cup of chai there were three people involved) I learned that I am an intelligent person capable of communicating in complex and interesting ways with people who, I thought were my intellectual superiors. I can explain and justify my views, I can outline my plans, and I can also learn and reflect in order to get past the bumps in the road toward a dissertation. Over a cup of coffee I found that my ideas are importantandthatIcan,andwill,finishthisPhDand whatIsaywillmatter! As per my normal routine, I entered the coffee house, stood on line, ordered the same thing that I do everyday, and waited for my $5.00 drink to be presented to me. While waiting, I saw a homeless man begging for spare change from passersby. I cannot tell you how guilty I felt with my $5.00 coffee. I promptly got back on line, ordered a hot chocolate and delivered the hot chocolate to the frigid man outside. He was grateful for the act of random kindness. For myself, I never purchased a $5.00 coffee again (I make mine in the office no). In hindsight, I could not believe that I did not realize howwastefulIwasbeing.

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When I was attending college in Asheville, NC, there was a doubledecker bus downtown that had been turned into a coffee house. One of my male friends and I were shopping downtown, and we decided to stop at this doubledecker coffee shop. We had a ball! After ordering our pastry and coffee, we went up to the second level of the bus to sip, eat, and converse. Before we finished, a saxaphonist appeared. He played us a few tunes for a tip. This doubledecker bus became our own little hang out. Eventually my friend found love, and he began to take his girlfriend, soon to be future wife there instead. That double deckeris stillthe coolestcoffeehouseIhave everbeen to. One year I was working as a waitress in a coffee house.Thisone Christmas the boss decided toholda toy drive and collected toys and stocking stuffers for needykids.OnChristmasEve,weinvited35families, including a total of 53 kids. We served coffee cake, tea, snacks and other goodies. Then the owner came out dressed as Santa and handed out the stockings and wrapped toys to all the kids. For the adults, he gave them a $125 gift card to Walmart to buy stuff they need, and a $250 grocery gift card to the local grocery store so they can buy some food or whatever they needed. We have been doing that every year untilIquitbecauseofabackinjury,butIstillhelpout. Itbringsagreatsmiletomyface. 55

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In a coffee shop, I realized that age isnt anything but a number. I was standing in line next to a sixtyish lady.A seriouslyhandsome cowboywalksin. I cant help it; I give him the up and down evaluation. And then I realized that the lady next to me was doing the same thing. Then we both busted out in giggles, like acoupleofteenagers. I think great things happen over coffee because I manageacoffeehouse.EverydayIseepeoplegetting together and share life stories over a nice, warm beverage. I love to connect with friends at my shop. I know they will be getting a fabulous cup of coffee (made and roasted by ME!), and I put a lot of love into what I do and I think people can tell! When its slow at my shop, it definitely gives me a chance to dream up new ideas and plan new schemes. I wouldnt trade it for the world. I love what I do and I love that it is so important and part of many peoples dailylives. A good coffee house is like a pink bakery box. The bakery box is the universal sign (ok, maybe only the national sign) of wonderful things to come. Very few of us can deny that the mere sight of a bakery box usually guarantees a warm, fun and delicious experience.Afriendlyandaromaticcoffeehousecan provide the same experience for the senses. With so many people feeling invisible and irrelevant these days,awarm,invitingcoffeehousecanbeaportina 56

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storm. Imagine being recognized and greeted by the barista; perhaps they even remember your favorite drink. Imagine coming in on a cold day, and being comfortedby a warm drink. Throw in the experience of meeting up with a friend, and the experience is enhanced all the more. Bumping into someone you know makes you feel even more connected to your community. There are also times when I bring my journal or my laptop, and enjoy reconnecting with myself over my favorite drink and pastry. In my experience i is unusual to have anything BUT a good experienceatacoffeehouse. IthinkthebestmemoriesIhaveofdrinkingcoffeeare after family dinners. Conversations are always great then and there is something about coffee (i.e. aroma, temperature) that can add so much to the environmentandvibeofaroom. I realized I am not the crappy parent I put myself out there to be. My children and I are sitting in a small Starbucks in the mall killing time and snacking. My oldest of four years old has a toy and another boy his age starts talking to him and grabs for his Power Ranger and yells to his mother that it is his, his toy, hes playing with it, etc. My son calmly is standing next to him and puts his hand on the boys hand with the toy and saysHey that is not how we talk if you ask me nicely CanIPlayWithYourToy? I will let youplay.Itclicked...MygodheISlisteningtome. 57

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TheFirstSip
At a coffee house, I had a really great time talking with my mom and sister with whom I dont get to visit with as often as I would like. My mom told me aboutpeopleinmyfamilyfromalongtimeagothat I had forgotten about, and my sister told me about the new boyfriend in her life and how she hopes the relationship will become serious. It was a great time just chatting with the women in my family while my husband took care of my son for me. Our coffeehouse gathering was very relaxing and it gave me a chance to relax. We all agreed to continue ourwomen only get together monthly so that we can continue to have thisqualitytimetogether. Iamastayathomemomandlatelyhavebeenfeeling out of sorts and not connected to the world outside my door. Nobodys fault but my own really but I dont take much time for myself and burn out has been settling in. So I told my husband a few weeks ago, Im leaving the house early next Saturday and Im going to go and have a cup of coffee by myself at Starbucks before I go Christmas shopping. My husband came home the next day with two gift certificates for Starbucks he had received from clients (he does not drink coffee) and I used them that Saturday. There is something so comforting about the smell of a coffee house. It reminds me of Saturday

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mornings when my mom would get up early and cook breakfast for all of us and she would start brewing the coffee. There is a relaxed atmosphere there as I watched some of the couples and some of the other women that came through the door wondering if they were justtaking a break from life for a few hours as I was. I sat in that big comfy chair and listened to Christmas music for 2 hours. 2 big cupsofcoffeelaterIfeltrelaxedandwonderedwhere the time went. My cell phone never rang and I was completely ready to go out into the mall and deal with the holiday rush. Those moments in Starbucks, for me, were therapy and a time to just breathe and enjoysomethingIenjoy. One great thing that happened over coffee at a coffee house was my husband found out he was going to be adad. Mywifetoldmeweweresoontobeparents. The best thing that ever happened to me at a coffee house wasIfoundoutthatIwaspregnant after being told that I would never have children. My sisters werewithme when Igot thecall, so wecelebrated by buyingeveryoneintheplaceacoffeeandmuffin! Asaworkingmomwithaoneyearold,ahyperactive dog, two cats...and a husband...the most amazing thing happens to me on rare (and lucky) occasions at 59

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the local Starbucks. It may not sound too exciting to anyoneelse,butIwouldnttradeitforanything.That amazing thing is the chance to hang out with my best friend (who is also, oddly enough, a working mom with a one year old, a dog, two cats and a husband). We get to pretend that were normal people without anenormouslaundrylistof thingstodowhenweget home. We can unwind, decompress, and share our wacky stories. Its is a treasured time for me, and I amalwayssothankfulforit. MyoldestsonandI(heis5)gotoalocalcoffeehouse once a week as adate for us. He feels all grown up atthegrownupplace andwegettospendsome time together without his little brother or dad needing something from one of us (me). We talk about his week at school and all kinds ofUS stuff. Its great webothlookforwardtoiteachweek.

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IsThatMyDrink?
My personal experience is that great things do happen over coffee at coffee houses. Baby, a close friend lives at the other end of the city. so we are not meeting each other as often we would like to. We decided to meet mid way at a coffee house. One day wewerebusygossipingandgigglinglikeschoolgirls, when I looked up and saw a burly man looking straight at me. I tried to ignore him and continued with my conversation, but some how I too felt compelled to steal a look at him. I felt doubly odd since I noticed a young lady sitting next to him. I then saw him walking towards our table and before long he was standing next to me and grinning from ear to ear. We looked at him with questioning eyes. when he said, hey, finally I have found you, fatso. Hiscompanionwastheretoobynowandshesmiled. I jumped out of my chair and oh my, the way we hugged each other. That was Ravi my school time friend and neighbor, thirty two years ago. After leaving school we both moved to different cities and lost track of each other. Then it was like, all those years disappeared and we were kids again. Baby andRaviswifeweresoamusedtoseeusthus.Today we have tracked down all our school friends. That coffeehousehasbecomeourregularmeetingjoint.

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I had just moved to suburban Cleveland and had been stopping at a small coffee shop every now and then because of their fabulous Polish pastries. Being of Polish ancestry, I enjoyed chitchatting with the owner. As time went on, the conversation became more personal, and we discovered that our respective grandparents had immigrated to the United States from the same small town in Poland, not far from the Ukrainian border. My grandparents had been gone for several years, and no one else in the family had any information about any relatives that might be left in Poland, but the owner of the coffee shop still had contact with her relatives in this small town. I provided her with whatever information I had (surnames, dates of birth, etc.), in the hope that I might be able to get some tidbits about any of my distant relatives that might still be in this town. A few weeks later, I got a call from the owner of the coffee shop. She was excited and said, You need to come over now! When I got there, she greeted me with a huge smile and with tears in her eyes. It turns out that she was a distant cousin her maternal grandmother and my maternal grandmother had been cousins! Fate? Who knows. But it was over a cup of coffee and some pastries that I connected and found a whole new set of relatives and unlocked mysteries about my family tree that I never would haveknown,wereitnotforacupofcoffee. I really dont want to sound as white trash as I am going to, but in my hometown, the Waffle House was 62

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as close as we had to a coffee shop. Literally, over the years(Imnow48),alloftheabovehappenedtomeat myhometownAwfulWaffle. I had something great happen over coffee at a coffee house. I suddenly met my old friend, who I had not seeninthepasttenyears.Itwasverysurprisingme. I rediscovered one of my old high school friends in a coffee shop once. I was there just to get some coffee and was going to the bathroom to wash up before I left and there she was, waiting a person ahead of me in line. We talked for about an hour, but she was late for an audition so she only had limited time. It was a wonderfulexperience. I went to a coffee house in Lititz on Main St. called Spill the Beans. I was sitting in the coffee shop, enjoying my French vanilla coffee and in walks a girl that looks like someone I went to school with. She looked at me and said my name. We hadnt seen each otherin a couple of years. Itwasfunnythat we found eachotheragaininthiscoffeeshopbecausemyfriend had moved away to another state and she was back just visiting for a week. We exchanged phone numbersandtalktoeachotheratleastonceaweek. There was a Starbucks in the mall, where I used to work. I used to pass it all the time. One day I was getting my usual caramel macchiato. I turn around 63

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and there was this unfamiliar lady coming towards me.SheaskedmeifIwasJuliaandIsayyes.Shethen told me who she is, which did not really ring a bell to me. I then realize who she was my foster mom. We lost touch when my real mother got custody of me; it hadbeenyearssinceIhadseenher. A few years ago, I was having a cup of coffee and taking my time before I went home. I was just watching kids walk around and how they run when they are being chased by their parents, and also watching shoppers after they purchased items for their house or for the kids or just window shopping. Suddenly a girl walked in front me. I was really appreciating her beauty until a guy walked up to her to hold her hands, then I looked at the guy and recognizedhim,hewasmyclassmateinhighschool.I can still remember him; he was the type of guy who doesnotlikewomen.Icansaythatinourtimehewas even scared of courting girls, then suddenly I saw him with a younger female, it was nice to see him with a wife now. I was just smiling to myself when they left, it was nice to see him, now I can say, and at leastafriendofminedidnotgrowoldalone. I was able to reconnect with a friend who I had not seen or heard from in three years. We were able to talk about her family, what I had been up to, and whathappenedtoherexhusband. 64

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Visiting my old hometown, I met the big football hero from my old high school at the same little cafe we went to back then. They made the best coffeecake and had great coffee too. This guy was voted best of everything. He was tall, handsome and it seemed as though he would be an NFL star at the very least. Well,Ididntrecognizehimbecausehegainedatleast 200 pounds! He came up to me and apparently his highschooldays,werehisbestdays.Heproceededto tell me how college was too hard, drinking was easy and basically he threw his life away. He never bothered to ask how I was, so I took my coffee to go. (andtooksomecoffeecaketoo!) One Sunday morning, I went to THAT coffee house, you know the one that is on every street corner? Anyway, I was reading the Sunday paper, minding myownbusiness...anddrinkingcoffee.Ihappenedto overhear a couple at the next table discussing the name of a person that I knew years ago. Now, this name was SO unusual that I knew that there could only be one of them. So I excused myself and asked themiftheyweretalkingaboutthepersonthatIused toknow.Cometofindout,oneofthemwasadistant relative of that person and I gave her my name and number to give to my old friend. I never heard from my old friend, but I always think of her when I pass thatcoffeeshop.

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Coffee shops always make me smile because thats where my best friend of twenty years and I reunited after not seeing each other for over five years. So I holdaspecialplaceinheartforcoffeeshops. At a recent trip to my local coffee house, I met an old friend who I went to high school with. This was a great day, since I hadnt seen this person in about 30 years. (I graduated in 1977.) We enjoyed our coffee together, enjoyed a few laughs, and caught up with the happenings of our lives. It was a pleasant afternoon! I reconnected with an old friend of mine. We found out we both just got involved with knitting, so we brought some of our things and shared ideas. But more importantly we got caught up on our lives and everything that we missed out on. We spent five hours at the coffee shop that day. Drinking, talking, and knitting. We now meet at the coffee shop on a regularbasis. Coffee houses are a great warm place full of some of the best aromas on earth! I was in line at my local coffee shop and behind me stood an old friend from first grade and second grade. We were the best of friends and we could not believe we ran into each other. The coffee house was nowhere near where we grewup. 66

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There is a Dunkin Donuts down the street from my house, which my neighbor Joey and I often visit. In fact, during the summer we went there almost every night.Onenight,likeanyother,weweresittingthere, drinking coffee and watching CNN on the television mounted on the wall. I looked over to my left and saw a familiar face. It was a kid named Derek who I had grown up with for twelve years, before I moved away.IhadnttalkedtoorseenDereksincethemove, about five years ago. I almost didnt recognize him as hed grown up so much. I immediately remembered all the days and nights we played outside together, swam in his pool and had snowball fights. I wanted to go up to him and talk to him but I didnt know what to say. However, I didnt want to miss the opportunity so I went up to him and just said Hi! He recognized me and stood up to give me a hug. Then he came over to our table. I introduced him to Joey, and we sat and talked about all the things we didwhenwewerekids. Overcoffee,Iwasabletoreconnectwithafriendwho I had not spoken with for three years because of a sillydispute.Beingfacetofaceinacozyenvironment, we were able to work through our differences and rebuildafriendship.Wevebeenbestfriendssince! When I worked at Starbucks my coworker and I were doing a coffee tasting ceremony (we were drinking Sumatra) when we discovered that we were actually 67

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cousins! She recognized my last name, since its not terribly common, and we traced it back, and discovered that were third cousins once removed. Shes a wonderful, interesting person and its been very exciting and moving to get to know her better. We now have many more people to invite to holidays andfamilyreunions! Why, I sure did have something great happen over coffee at a coffee house! I had a musician friend who was playing at one and his long lost nephew walked in. What a surprise! They got together again after years of not knowing what happened to each other. Thecloserelationshipisstillgoingon. MyoldestsonandI(heis5)gotoalocalcoffeehouse once a week as adate for us. He feels all grown up atthegrownupplace andwegettospend some time together without his little brother or dad needing something from one of us (me). We talk about his week at school and all kinds ofUS stuff. Its great webothlookforwardtoiteachweek.

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TheMakingofCoffeeStories
How did this book happen? How does anything happen? Well, someone has an idea and things start tohappen,ofteninunpredictableways. Istartedmynewcompany,Lifebushido,inJanuaryof 2006. Since that time, we have been building a global networkofpeopleworkingparttimefromhomewith flexiblehours. Im a huge believer in unique talents and the wisdom of crowds. For my business, I explore a variety of web services. One of these services was Amazons Mechanical Turk service, www.mturk.com. During that first visit, I entered a HIT, the results of which soonmorphedintoWhyAreYouHereRightNow? a book that was published in one month. See www.yruhrn.com. It has been almost 1,000 days since I submitted that first HIT to Mturk. A lot has changed since then, but a lot has stayed the same. Lifebushido has expanded and grown, but we have remained focused on one goal. We hire the best people and work with them so that they can identify their unique talents. Once we establish what they are, we use those unique talents to grow. We help our clients identify and focus on their unique talents by letting them delegate to us administrative assistant tasks and other work which maynotbetheiruniquetalent. 73

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Ihadcoffeewithabusinessfriendaboutoneyearago at a coffee shop. In fact, it was his coffee shop. For some reason, I then posted on Mturk a request for coffee stories. This led to 500 stories in the past year. More importantly, I then shared those stories with peopleandaskedthemformarketingideasofwhatto do with the stories. This book includes some of those ideas. The marketing ideas are as enjoyable as the actual stories. Look for us to launch some of those ideasincomingdaysandyears.Contactme;Ialways like to connect with interesting people with interestingideas. LifebushidoAnythingisPossible SteveKantor President Lifebushidowww.Lifebushido.com Bethesda,MD July2009 P.S.Evenmakingamovie

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CoffeeStoriesBrainstorming
Several of these stories stand out in my mind as ones that would make a great movie (fiction type) if all these characters were brought together in the same coffee house and developed over time. The story would be set at a specific coffee house. I picture one inacitybustlingwithalldifferenttypesofpeople.All very different, all with different stories but all brought together under the same roof and their stories played out over time, each group having a unique and complete story in itself to unfold. Most wouldnt even know each other but they are living side by side. The movie could span years of time as thesestoriesunfold. I guess the movie could cover eight different coffee houses in different parts of the city w/ different characters. Or, it could all revolve around one coffeehouse.Butthis would makean interesting story ofhowitallgetsstarted. You would have to engage some of the characters w/ a few of the people that work there, workers, the musicians,etc. It would be interesting to have a student and all that happens to them over the course oftheir years in the world of higher academia. Lots of intellectuals 75

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meeting and discussing big ideas etc. And the professors could also come and partake in the storyline. This is a good one a business person drawing designs on napkins etc. Lots of fun things you could do with that character. (The story of WALLE the new Pixar movie was done in a coffee shop this exactsameway.) I hear good music playing all the time lots of really coolsongsthatwouldhitacordwiththeviewersand make them wish they were there, too, experiencing it. Like one of those movies such asSt. Elmos Fire or the TV series 30something or The Big Chill where they all got back together and relived their past. That is the feeling I get when thinking about whatitshouldfeellike. Maybe it could even have a sad ending like the coffee shop has to be sold for some reason after many years of these great developed story lines. And then showing how each groups lives would be affected by thelossofsuchacoolplace.

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MarketingIdeas
I think you can hire some writers on Mturk to develop a script. Use Mturk to hire cast and crew in a select city and hire and editor on Mturk to complete the job. You would have to make sure that the actors youhirefromMturk.Thismovieideawouldbevery easy to market and would get press for being the first online collective film project. Publishing a book after the movie is made can be a great way to expose viewers to more serendipitous scenarios. A website that would allow users to post their own experiences can be created before the movie is released to create buzz for the project I wonder if Amazon would featurethefilmsinceitwouldbecreatedusingMturk? When I think about your Coffee Stories vignettes, several possibilities come to mind How about a miniseries, based on the web, with each episode based on one of the stories? For the movie or a television show, take an approach like the old Love Boat TV series, where several different story lines intertwined, tied together by the fact that they were happening on the ship at the same time and the crew (or, in the case of the coffee shop, the staff) provided the continuity. Maybe coffee chains would like to keep something like this going on their website, have a story of the month, and eventually develop it into a book using only incidents that occurred in their chain

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of shops. Some of the stories lend themselves to poemsorsonglyrics.Itcouldbeaninterestingtheme album. There is a new school in Chicago, Flashpoint Academy, which teaches film, sound, animation and video game design. They may be interested in partneringonthisasaprojectfortheirstudents. The film should begin by showing images of the coffee house, Quartermaine, and show the owners opening the store on an average day. The voice over will be the story of the man who was drinking coffee there when the woman walked up to him and asked himtohelpherwithhercoffeeshopandheendedup marrying her daughter. That is a great beginning! Then, the plot would be a series of vignettes in which the characters, who are friends of friends (Love Actually meets Six Degrees of Separation) go through their lives, ordering coffee in the morning before work,orstoppingbyondates. CoffeeStoriesasabook would have a limitedaudience, but if you could combine the stories with other content such as recipes involving coffee, or photographs of retro coffee shops, it would be an easier sell to both consumers and specialty shops/book retailers. It might also be possible to license the stories to a chain such as Starbucks, who frequentlyputsomesortofcontentontheircups.As a movie, the stories should interconnect in some way, either through location (the same coffee shop) or connectionsbetweencharacters.Noneoftheseideas 78

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aremutuallyexclusive.Itispossibletostrengthenthe brand through multiple platforms, as long as everythingisconsistentandwellplanned. DothisasaviralYouTubeMovie.Postsmallportions of the script for creators to use. Set up a drop box for users to submit videos to so you can edit video togetherintoashortfilm.Giveusersspecificationsfor videosize/format.CreateaTwitteraccountforCoffee Stories and hashtag# coffeestories to get word out. Create a Coffee Stories fanpage on Facebook and possibly a Facebook application such as a quizWhat Coffee Story Are You? or a link to send the book to a friend.StartaCoffeeStoriesfriendfeed. How about printing them up as a pack of coasters for coffee shops to use? You could sell CoffeeStories as a promotional tool for the shops to use with their customers. I think some of these stories could be turned into commercials for Starbucks or Folgers. It could be sort of like that series of commercials Anthony Head did years ago, only each story would be different, like Starbucks Tale Number 10 or something. You could also print the short story on a table card or napkin (Starbucks)oronthecoffeecan/packaging(Folgers). Coffee Stories could be turned into blog / social networkingsitewherepeoplecouldactuallymeetin 79

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person through coffee shop networks. Advertising revenue on the website could be provided by companies like Starbucks. It could be turned into a sitcom much like The Office but with different characterseveryepisode. I think this idea would work well as filler between shows on HBO for example 15 minute episodes that playoutbetweenmovies. Turn these stories into decorations for coffee cups onesixth of the story on each cup in a set of 6, one fourth on each of a set of 4. When you have coffee withfriends,youwouldhaveacompletestoryamong you. Or the same kind of thing, but used in a coffee shop stories are mixed and matched, customers minglewitheachothertofigureoutwhosestoriesare connected and in what order during a poetry readingorperformancenight,perhaps. This project has the potential to become a brilliant companion book (hard copy and eBook) and a documentaryfilm. The way I see this working as a movie would have to loosely adapt or modify these stories to fit into an overarching plot that would involve the intersection of many characters lives at a neighborhood coffee shop. Im picturing something like Amelie, only more about the coffee shop rather than exclusively aboutonecharacter.Thewayyoucouldturnthisinto 80

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a business would be some sort of interactive storytelling message board within an actual coffee shop itself. In college, the librarians put up giant dry erase boards next to the bathrooms to discourage us fromwritingonthewallsofthestalls.Idontknowif it stopped that, but plenty of people wrote messages allovertheplaceonthedryeraseboards.Itcreateda fun sort of community feeling, reading the funny or sometimes serious messages from others, and sometimes contributing to the discussion, as you walked by. Ive also seen a kind of paint that dries into a chalkboardanother useful way to create an anonymous community storyboard. Ive seen great results when restaurants do something similar. Maybe even just posting such a board with a tag like Tellashortstoryaboutyourselfandthiscoffeehouse here would generate the results you want as an interactivedialogueinanactualsetting.

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AreYouaManoraWoman?Are YouInterestedinMakingaMovie?
Iam a woman. And,Ihave been interestedin making a movie for a long time. I love to write, and have wanted to write a screenplay. I started one once. I dont have it anymore. I am doing this mechanical turk thing to get a little money because I work from home and have many ideas. One day I just may write a screenplay. I have so many things going through my mind. I have images and music. I see movies in my head all the time. I may just end up writing a book instead. That is usually my dilemma. I cant decide between a novel and a movie. I also have an idea that would probably make a great kids film. I was thinking it could be a cartoon that is on every week.Wellthanksfortheeasyquestion:) I am a woman. Your website has piqued my interest; Ive bookmarked it for further investigation. P.S. Making a movie sounds awesome! We could use my real life example for the story line. What happens to lying cheating husband, who got someone else pregnant while living with your best friend for four monthswhileyouareontheothersideofthecountry takingcareofyourgrandmother? I especially like all the sarcastic comments I could maketothecameraaboutwhatisgoingoninmylife.

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Am I sarcastic? You bet! I recently read that it is a form of passive aggression hmmmm. Funny thing Imalibrarian.HowaggressivecouldIbe?? I am a WOMAN, currently a member of the Lifebushido team. Getting ready to help out with some exciting MTurk stuff. YES, making a movie sounds like great fun!! I think I might be best suited helping out with any writing that would be done. Cantwaittohearmoreaboutit!! I am 100% feline. Woman that is. :) I would be very interested in hearing about your movie, or any other project, that you are interested in becoming involved in. I am a woman if you consider a 19yearold to be a womanalready.Idrathernot makeamovie.Ireally stink at acting. If you dont mind that, though, it reallyjustdependsonthetypeofmovie. Im not sure I understand. But okay. Im a woman. And I may be interested in making a movie, however I am incredibly busy...though, most my time IS spent withacamera...

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UpliftingMovies
My vote goes to The Pursuit of Happiness. This movie has made me cry. The plight of a salesman, who just cant seem to get his life on track, and the simplicity in which it is presented is hard hitting. The lifeofacommonmanintheU.S.,isnotreallyabedof roses. Truly amazing portrayal by Will Smith, the most moving part of the movie is when he becomes homeless and broke, where the lead character has to spend a night in a subway station bathroom. He never gave up the will to live and put all his might into saving his and his sons life from becoming a failure. Studying and working day in and day out, staying in a homeless shelter, and finally ending up, getting the job of a stock broker, for which he had workedandgonethroughuntoldworkplacemiseries. Thisstorydeservesastandingovation. I think the most emotionally uplifting movie I have ever seen in recent years is a film from India Slumdog Millionaire. I cant describe which part or sceneisthebestbecauseallscenesareinterconnecting and responsible for every action throughout the film. When youve reach the part of the film near the end, you will feel the weight of the message and the life story of the primary characters in the movie. Moving is the only way I want to describe it. It was an underdog included in the Oscars; it actually won and claimedthebestpicturetitle,bestingBenjaminButton

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and other good movies of the past year. I deeply salute the Indian inspired film which depicts real life in a real world especially the slums of third world countries. I do want to make a movie someday if given a chance. I would like it to be scifi content and a little bit of horror because Im so much into those genres. Forest Gump The entire movie is inspirational, each andeveryscene. The most uplifting movie I have seen is Pay It Forward. It uplifted my spirit with hope that there are still people out there who care and actually want to help others with nothing to gain personally. The bestpart was how the little boyscausereached across the country and people were helping one another just because. It would be nice in these hard times to see more people reaching out. Even a kind word of hope tosomeonedownontheirluckcanhelpsomuch. Life Is Beautiful The passion and love of the main characterplayedbyRobertoBenigniwassoinspiring. Throughout the film he shows his love for a woman and then for his son as they deal with the horrors of the Holocaust. I have never seen a movie that made me feel the way this one did. This movie shows that lovecanconqueranything.

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TheatreConcept
Diagram1:

Audience(House) Concept1:Aseriesofvignettesacrossthestage(56) o They appear one at a time, with the rest of the stagekeptdark o Eachvignettetellsastory,withthetieinbeingthe coffeeshop o A spotlight, two chairs and a small table, give the coffee shop feel to each platform (each representsaplatform) o The centre larger platform can be used for stories involvingmorethan24people(groupscenes). o Thevignettesessentiallybecomearevolvingsetof storiesfromthebook. o Perhaps all the characters could join a the centre platformforasortoffinale

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Diagram2:

Audience(House) Concept2: o Darkstage,exceptforaspotlightcentrestage o Each vignette is told, either by one person sitting on a bar stool centre stage (i.e.a monologue) interspersed with 24 people vignettes (as in concept 1, but only at centre stage) this allows the program to be presented in a smaller staging area(i.e.inaroomratherthanastage/theatre) o The other tables could be part of a backdrop (settingthescenes)orremovedaltogether(each representsmovingpeople) o Usingthecentreonlyallowsformoving backgrounds.Inessence,thecoffeeshopcouldbe anoutdoorcafe,withpeoplestrollinginand aroundthestoryteller(s);oritcouldbeindoors, butwiththefocusoncentre,youcouldusea chorusofpeopletocreatebackgroundeffectat othertables,strollingaround,orderingetc. 87

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SteveKantorBiography
Steve Kantor is an entrepreneur involved with multiple ventures to help people focus on their unique talents. Steve founded, grew, and sold Gnossos Software from 19862004, took a sabbatical year to recharge in 2005, and started new ventures in 2006. Born in San Diego, California, Steve graduated from Harvard University and then from John Hopkins SAIS with aMAin International Relations and Global Theory. Steve is a world traveler and spent 19851986 backpacking around the world. He has been to over 75 countries and is a strong believer in the value of diversityofbackgrounds. Steveismarriedandthefatherofthreedaughtersand lives in Bethesda, MD. Based on his daughters starting the charitable effort of Project Backpack in September of 2005 for the kids of Katrina, the family effort led to over 100 cities collecting and delivering over 50,000 backpacks to the kids of Katrina in less than 100 days. This helped Steve connect various business ideas brewing in his mind with the vast potential of people working from home parttime, around the world, who have so much to contribute usingtheiruniquetalents.

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In 2006, Steve started Lifebushido. Lifebushido is building a global network of people working part time from home, with flexible hours, using their unique talents. See www.Lifebushido.com for details onourventuresincluding: TheLessonsLearnedbookseriesat www.lessonsbushido.com.Thisincludes LessonsLearnedbyaYoungEntrepreneur andBillionDollarAgentLessonsLearned. Aresourceofoveronehundredcompiledbook notesonbusiness,psychology,andscienceat www.bookbushido.com. Asynthesisofgoalsettingandpersonal growthpursuitsatwww.goalbushido.comand www.topagentgoals.com. OrangePassion,aconsultingfirmhelping companiestofindtheirpassionatecustomers andgetinnovativeideasfromthosecustomers. Seewww.orangepassion.com. BestAgentBusiness,arealestateoutsourcing businessprovidingparttimeassistantstotop realestateagentsnationwide.See www.bestagentbusiness.com.

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BySomeoneSpecial
There is no better joy than knowing what you want from your life, directing your life towards that one ultimate goal, while at the same time, balancing your efforts with good deeds like bringing smiles to even strangestofstrangers. Whenever one person creates anything a poem, a prose, four lines about herself or himself, a scribbling of words or letters, a reaction to a situation, or the way they approach anyone....or to put it simply anything a person does, it has a mark of its own. The way you look when you frown or smile, is a unique phenomenon. I can never replicate it. No one can. Everythingthatyoudohasatagofitsown. Some of us tend to submit to the darkness and do away with positivity while the others follow the light inordertokeepthemselvesawayfromthedark.Both of which is very much possible and easily attainable. What remains difficult and hard, is the balancing act betweenthetwo! What you see is what you perceive. What you perceive is what you believe. What you believe is what you become. What you become is what you aspiretobe.Whatyouaspiretobeiswhatyoudesire. What you desire is what you dream. Your perception iswhateventuallyleadsyoutowardsyourdream.

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Credits
If you helped published Coffee Stories or contributed stories and/or ideas and are not listed in the credits section, please contact us and we will add you to the sectioninthenextversion. PublishingServices JenniferYoung NorthPole,Alaska RaquelMartin Flagstaff,Arizona Ishidos Logan,Iowa GayleneCalvert CarolFarrish Cleveland,Ohio AllanFriedman Toronto,Ontario SherilynFaulhaber York,SouthCarolina CindyDiRisioCrocker Sutton,NewHampshire CherryAngeles Philippines WhitneyGlen MonteVista,Colorado 91

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Internshido ThomasForrester Washington,DC Turkshido SpencerDavis DeborahBackes DarleneMiskovic TimothyKeithSandow VanessaVanWagner NicoleE.Murrow EvelynLee

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