So It’s Reusable. I Am Too
WHAT IS WITH THESE PEOPLE? It is 5:45 in the morning. It is still dark and there is a line out to the door at St. Arbucks. Is it the End of Times? Has a fleet of UFOs begun to attack Earth? Has Godzilla been spotted coming out of the Wabash River?
Something is afoot at St. Arbucks my coffee and writing refuge.
Oh, I get it now! It is some sort of Holiday Season Promotion and they are giving away decorated reusable plastic cups with the purchase of some overpriced beverage creation.
Whatever.
I remember what happened when they did this Promotion last year. It was chaos on top of mayhem, wrapped in anarchy. This year showed promise of being even worse.
At 5:45 AM there were people in line inside the store and a drive-through line that reached back into the street blocking traffic. I wasn’t paying close attention when I pulled into the parking lot and went to my usual gimp spot. It didn’t take me long to realize my mistake and to realize that it was going to take an act of God for me to ever get out of there.
The staff was working at a fevered pace before the sun came up. They could only work so fast and the waiting customers were getting surly. They knew that it was going to be as difficult for them as it was for me – and I wasn’t carrying a big sloppy wet drink and a cheap plastic reusable cup.
By 7:00 AM it was wall to wall people inside the Chapel. I was trapped in the corner along with the other Usual Suspects who were looking like trapped bunnies in a roomful of raccoons. The Baristas were sweating like Hookers in the Vatican. I was fearful that they might snap and climb out of the drive-through window to escape.
I remember that last year they ran out of the free plastic cups before they ran out of customers. It got ugly. There were people yelling at the Baristas and Baristas in tears. I heard about that the next day because I made a break for my freedom at about eight o’clock. I got to my car and sat there for about ten minutes before I could back up and make my run for freedom. This year I was blessed with a sudden break in the action and I got out of there in nothing flat.
(Skip to the next day)
Having saved myself I returned the next day when I went for coffee. I spoke with the surviving Barista who told me how it all ended at about 10:30 AM. Apparently, after last year’s fiasco the brains in Seattle took steps to avoid a repeat. This year they sent a boatload of those cups. The Barista said that they had a stockpile of 900 cups to give away. When the last thirsty customer got their free reusable plastic cup the supply of 900 cups had shrunken down to…10 cups. Tragedy had been averted by the narrowest of margins.
She offered me one of the remaining cups. I turned it down. It was just one more cheap thing that would have to be washed after every use.
A lot like me.
Down the Hall on Your Left 