Rebecca Ashby

Starbucks—“A Slice of Life”



Posted: Friday, January 18, 2008

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http://www.rmashby.com

Do we go to Starbucks for the coffee or do we go for "a slice of life?" Starbucks is a social icon of the 21st Century. We either love it or hate it but clearly Starbucks makes its impact in today's world. Hey, there's one on every corner! Some say it's overpriced, overrated and over marketed and then there are those of us who find our daily latte at Starbucks a pleasant and stimulating ritual.

Hopping out of my Honda and into Starbucks to purchase my daily latte and now with coffee in hand, I walk outside to sit down, smoke a cigarette and enjoy my piping hot caffeine jolt and then, seemingly out of the blue, a woman, in her early forties, dressed in a bright orange pullover sweater, toting two coats in her arms and rambling obscenities approaches my table asking for a smoke. I give it to her hoping she will move on but instead she plops herself down at the next table and speaks loud, boisterous obscene ramblings for twenty minutes. The four tables surrounding her were full of Starbucks patrons and even though no one spoke, just from eye contact, you could tell that all of us agreed that this person was utterly mad!

During the twenty minutes of her ramblings, a family of bicyclists that included a disabled child in a sidecar approached the parking lot right next to our seats. It was obvious, at first glance, that the ten year old boy was quite a handful for his parents. The man emerged with treats from Starbucks for his family but as he handed the boy his drink, the youngster immediately spilled it. Subsequently, the child cried and screamed hysterically over his loss.

Coincidentally, the Starbucks sidewalk tables are also a pedestrian walkway. Elderly men in baggy gray jogging suits and worn out sneakers were sauntering along in one direction as young blond tanned surfer boys were riding their scooters in the other. As I glanced into the parking lot, I noticed that a lady, who was backing her car out of the parking space, had scraped the adjacent vehicle. Nonchalantly, she drove away seemingly oblivious to the damage she'd created.

Some of the most passionate discussions I've had in recent months were about Starbucks. My older daughter hates Starbucks but her kids love it. My younger daughter loves Starbucks; we meet for coffee at Starbucks regularly. Personally, I find the people in and around Starbucks fascinating fodder for my writing.

McDonald's is planning on adding coffee bars to their fourteen thousand locations. While I'm sure that McDonald's will have equally acceptable coffee, they'll never have the "slice of life" experience that is truly a trademark of Starbucks.

Rebecca Ashby has spent the last thirty years teaching English and Communication Arts.  She is now retired from the teaching profession and is working on her memoirs.  You can see her other articles at

www.rmashby.com   www.harvray.com 

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