Did you know the old men who meet for coffee and discuss politics have gone "high brow"?
I am a recently unemployed woman with too much time on my hands and not enough to occupy them. As such, I have taken to sitting in my local Panera Bread every morning for a couple of hours trying to be responsible and motivated. On these mornings, I see humanity pass me by in the form of the local population. Part of that is the usual.... housewives who have just dropped the kids off at school or camp or whatever daily activity kids do in the summer, students who are taking summer courses and come here for the same reason I do... home is just too tempting to get anything done, and groups who meet once a week or once a month to catch up. It is just such a group that captures my attention today.
There are 4 of them. All about the same age and same manner of dress.... khakis, golf shirts and really thick soled tennis shoes. Arms folded across their chests, coffee having been drunk already, they sit back and discuss politics. It is interesting to hear the world of politics from their point of view. Whether or not I agree with them, I enjoy listening. I'm not eavesdropping but their voices carry through the room like low thunder. These men have seen at least 70 or more years of American history happen and they sound like it. They are weary. They are sad. They see a country that built itself up and is slowly tearing itself down. While my politics differ from theirs, I understand why they feel the way they do. I even find myself agreeing with some of their statements. They are the typical old mans coffee clatch.... and a true part of American tradition. While so much of the world speeds up and we lose some of the old traditions, I'm glad to see that this one is alive and well. So what if it's not at the local diner or the mom and pop grocery store, they don't exist much anymore either. This one is at Panera Bread in Lancaster, CA. It is wonderful and I love them! Talk on, gentlemen, talk on....
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