I have for some time contended coffee shops hold civilized society together. Coffee shops in many ways are responsible for the enlightenment. Now I suppose we need to review the history of the coffee shop to get a context for why.

Constantinople – 1475 – Kiva Han served black unfiltered coffee, made in an ibrik. The article here: https://tinyurl.com/y6dcprwt does a better job than I ever could.

When I read the words “Constantinople – 1475” I see a hazy hot day with the sun setting, streaming through the dust and the profile of an olive skinned man with black stubble just showing over a keffiyeh, squinting against the late day heat. He turns to walk into a coffee shop alive with chatter. Hand gestures emphasizing arguments, or just comments. He takes in the room with it’s maze of tables, organized as needed to accommodate patrons various groups. A subtle glance to the owner behind the bar, they nod back and turn to pull down an ibrik already starting a carafe of strong, cardamon laced Turkish coffee. Making his way to a table against a wall near the middle of the room, oddly an equal distance from each exit in the establishment. The two patrons at the table see the man, and as he arrives at the stone table, stand. One pulls out a ebon black chair out for him and as he sits, they move off to join another table of coffee shop philosophers.

Romance, intrigue, an emotional attachment is what I love about coffee shops. The words can be written anywhere, and I suppose great writers can write anywhere. After all Stephen King made his writing recovery in a laundry room. Would we have Harry Potter without a coffee shop?

But for me there is a romance, a sense of being genuine by going to a coffee shop, sitting at a table alone, arranging my tools to help plot the Martian takeover of the Lunar Empire, and drinking coffee while a write.

As you can see I have digressed, become self-indulgent, procrastinated from writing the real blog. Glue. A glue that holds our worlds together. One of the only places of common ground. Maybe next time.

Be a hero, wear a mask.
Be Well…dcd