Some people like cities. They like the anonymity of blending
into a crowd. They like choosing where to shop, dine, and have fun. Being
unknown to a server is a relief rather than a blessing. For these folks, the
intimacy of living in a small town where everyone knows your name and your
business is too personal. On the other hand, there are people like me who love
going into a local eatery where the wait staff knows my name and what I’m going
to order. These establishments are the heartbeat of tiny towns.
In the same way that local schools weave together the warp
and weft of a community , the local gatherin’ place—coffee shop—hometown
restaurant-- links people’s lives like a quilter stitching one block to another
or tying the top to the lining. It creates beauty and stability. Comings and
goings at the local java stop establish a rhythm that outsiders soon learn so
they too can join the club.
Area residents gather before hitting the office, their
fields, or pastures. It’s good to down a cup or two of coffee while checking in
with neighbors. It’s site for a mid-morning Bible study to gather. It’s a place the Lions, Rotary, and Kiwanis
meet, share a meal, and settle business in the middle of the day. It’s a
interlude in a long afternoon.
In a world overtaken by impersonal connections these
informal assemblies warm the belly and the heart as individuals look one
another in the eye and ask, “What’s going on?” Then they listen. It’s sometimes
the first place a person hears that someone needs help and arranges to offer
aid. Somehow, it’s more powerful than reading a post on a phone or computer
screen.
It’s a good place to hear who’s getting married or who had a
baby, even before the preacher announces it from the pulpit or the local paper
runs the article. You might find out whose heart is breaking so you can offer a
meal or a kind word. People long out of the classroom and off the sporting
field keep up with area youngsters’ successes. Some might say it’s gossip. I
like to think it's connectedness.
Since I work, I forget how pleasant it is to join a kaffee
klatch. This weekend I got reminded how this daily ritual makes a
person feel like he or she belongs. I returned to Ellis to meet a couple of friends
for breakfast and a quick catch up. In Hays, we would have been anonymous. In
that little town where I lived for thirty-six years, I knew everyone in the
café.
A former student came to our table to introduce his little
brother and girlfriend, telling them we were his former teachers. A past school
board member dropped by to say hey, a neighbor from our newly wed year updated
me on her life. It had been decades since we shared the same block, but we
cared about what was going on in one another’s lives. It was wonderful to
connect with folks who enrich my life.
It was a blessing the way that little visit reminded me that
I still belonged even though I have a new address and new place to lift a cup. These
little establishments are a hidden pleasure of small town living. Put this stop
on your bucket list.
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