Early this morning I sat sipping a medium roast “Grande”
which is Starbuck’s, small regular coffee. I had a small shot of half-n-half
and a packet of sugar substitute. I was good to go; no frills, no picture of
smiley faces or forest creatures constructed from floating cream… just a cup of
Joe.
I am a great watcher of people and even at 7:30a.m. in the
morning there was plenty to observe. I noticed immediately that coffee orders
may well be indicative of what is so horribly wrong with our entitled, pampered, soon to be someone
else’s colony society.
Case #1
A large yet fashionable woman of maybe 40 years pulled up in
a late model Dodge SUV. She totally owned her femininity and looked great in
her orange linen top and white capris’. She ordered some sort of concoction
which should have had vanilla as it’s’ center attraction. As the barista was
creating the customer stopped him to ask “Shouldn’t I be able to taste the
vanilla? Yesterday, I couldn’t taste it.” The barista fellow of probably mid-50’s
simply restated her order followed by the word, yes. He continued creating. The
customer stopped him again. She now wanted and extra shot of whatever makes and
meets her vanilla standards. That was her vanilla standards and not her vanilla
standards. Politely, the barista complied without comment. He was now finally
finished. The customer now wanted to sip/ taste test the finished product prior
to paying. She almost seemed excited with her task and alas she approved! She
payed the man. With head held high she sauntered towards the door looking as if
she had accomplished something important; not only for herself but for
God-fearing free people everywhere. She exited having gotten exactly what she
had paid for.
Case #2
Roughly fifteen minutes after the above case ended, in walked
a beautiful young woman in her early twenties. She was wearing tiny orange patterned
shorts and a black/gray stripped top and high heels which matched noting but,
who am I to judge? It was clear that she knew that she was very attractive in
spite of her sartorial shoe blunder. She then surveyed the room as if to seek
out those who might disagree. Satisfied, she and her “date” (a young man of the
same approximate age) that seemed to be cast as set dressing in that he was pudgy
and nondescript; as if it was his job to make her light appear even brighter.
As you might have imagined, she was even more high maintenance than the woman
in Case #1.
The young woman placed her order of a blond roast (I believe
an order for people who do not really like coffee). This is like ordering a cup
of weak tea, but I digress. She interrupts to add a shot of this and as shot of
that.
She then asked the price and complains that her order was
cheaper at another location. The barista woman looked to be restraining herself
from asking “Do you actually believe that I give a ----?” Just then there was
another problem… “At your other location in Clay, N.Y. the shots of [this or
that] were put in the cup before the coffee.” The barista apologizes just as
she was taught in training. I believe that this is what defines the word complicit?
The concoction was finished and this queen (as with the other) needs to taste
test for approval prior to paying. As the barista shifts from her left foot to
her right, her expression was now more pointed and possibly “just friggin’ eat
me B----!”She smiles (both of them at the approval). The barista now asks the
gentleman what he would like. He stammered “nothing.” He looked to be too embarrassed
to add to the barista’s torment. Again the customer exited almost giddy with
accomplishment. I spied them through the window. The guy got into a twelve year
old Honda Accord with Glaucoma headlights and me lady got behind the wheel of a
mid-series BMW. I am a little jealous in that I have as of yet found anyone to
finance or tolerate my idiosyncratic behaviors. As well, I am not so fetching
in hot shorts, any more anyway.
I could go on but, you get the picture? This is how a
pampered, entitled culture starts their day… With a “you have to watch those
people” attitude they order about a minimum wage “servant” to create their absurdly
over-priced morning beverage that in
most cases is not even coffee. They feel superior and the most important thing
to them as they start a new day is a properly prepared cup of la-dee-da “coffee.”
As an aside: During the hour or so that I sat watching these
people, there sat a man on a bench directly facing the front door (this Starbucks
location is on a corner with two entrances). That man who looked to weigh
dripping wet 100 pounds was doing his best “I am Travon Martin” imitation in a gray
hoody; his head bowed to convey or rather solicit pity.
The majority of people who parked on that side of the building walked behind
him and around the corner to the other entrance to avoid being asked for money.
Even those who passed him said “No.” As time wore on he looked sadder as he
rolled cigarette after cigarette. The contrast of the man sitting in front of
the Starbucks begging might have been unsettling if it wasn’t for the
preoccupation with getting one’s $5.00 cup of fancy correct.
The saddest part of this whole experiment was that I placed
a dollar in my left pocket to give to the guy. There was a group of people gathered
inside but blocking the front door so, I exited from the side. Before I could
decide which direction I was going in the man from the bench was in my face
with “man I don’t have nothin’” I gave him the dollar and he looked disappointed.
He had the same expression of the woman who could not taste the vanilla the day
before. I walked a couple doors down and mailed a few letters and then made my
way around the block…There he was again demanding more money from me. I told
him NO! Unlike the baristas, I do realize that you get treated like you teach
people to treat you.
