As I sat with my wife, Lauri, playing checkers at a coffee shop here in town, I thought about the importance of having places for people to gather. Places like these help to create positive feelings of community and provide venues for discussion.
If you look on the East Coast in cities from Savannah to Boston, you find old historic places designated as “the coffee house,” where various historical figures met to discuss issues regarding the colonies and American independence. These sites for socializing came from Great Britain, and we adopted the custom. Corporate America caught on, and we all know the most famous coffee shop proliferating all over the country.
We still see some independent coffee places operating, and it seems these run in an old American tradition. Our busy working lives sometimes prevent us from taking time to relax in these spaces, but any time given for this purpose enriches life by strengthening ties to each other and to ourselves. Even the activity of drinking coffee becomes secondary as we focus on time with people we value.
People who like to take advantage of that time honored tradition of “getting out of the house” seem to gravitate to these spaces for time on the computer, studying or texting on the phone. In this land of plentiful choices, the option to engage with others or remain alone stands as an individual decision.
I include myself among the people who love to hear that “meet me at the coffee shop” invitation. Meeting people there means subjects to discuss, business transacted or just time together. Strengthening relationships and creating new ones all become possible. If you go often enough, you start running into other people who frequent the shop on a regular basis.
The association between bookstores and coffee shops became an American fixture sometime in the last century. On just about any day, the denizens of conversation, books, school work and electronic media congregate close to books, coffee and other people. You never know what company or great idea some of these people form as they sit there, but it stands a good chance of making a helpful contribution to someone’s life.
Coffee acts as a stimulant for people, and I view this stimulation as beneficial, with the usual thoughts of moderation in the consumption of it. The shops where we drink this beverage helped our founding fathers create the country just as they help us develop our own personal lives.
Our milder weather this time of year in Plant City allows us to sit outside and coffee houses offer this opportunity with outdoor seating. These spaces become our public “front porches” suited for greeting and meeting. Fresh air adds a welcoming flavor to any conversation over coffee.
Sometimes, I wonder, while enjoying time in a coffee shop, just how many other people across America do this same activity at the same time I do it. The number probably ranges from the thousands to the millions. This many people gathering in a social space stands as a positive marker for me that connecting to other people remains an important American priority.
Coffee shops remind us of the freedom of association we continue to enjoy as a country.
Scott Toler is a licensed mental health counselor living in Plant City. He may be reached at etoler25@tampabay.rr.com.