Just opened on our corner
It used to be a nickel
Then what was, became a dime
Some even gave it away
Praying for customers to sit there and dine
Apple pie along with a la mode
No thoughts of calories
Deceptive advertising was always told
There was no “Starbucks”
No “Coffee Tea & Me”
A dollar seventy five was a dinner out
We never sipped while being plugged in
Meeting another for a drink
Was a time for conversation?
Perhaps even gin
They descend upon us relentlessly,
as would farts in a blizzard;
two by two,
one by one,
rarely in threes,
never as a simple crowd at a
ballgame;
ours forever;
coffee zombies;
Many, distraught
wannabes!
Enjoying
overpaying for what used to be one of the simpler things in life;
black coffee,
an important
part
of
our
life
On less
than
a notable
lark
I
ventured
across our
street.
I was taken by the cleanliness; a
different surrealism,
a room
filled
with
people
not
talking
to one
another
A series
of lines
of
apparent
human
beings moving
the
same direction,
towards very
young stewards of
one
look
and meter
One step and stop,
one step and stop,
then with
a postal
service style
deliverance,
each ended
their
march
with
a
similar
cup in hand.
Most not
tasting
their
brew
until
outside and
in
the
confines
of
dissimilar transportation.
The men,
not
a
tried
and
true athletic
group.
The women,
none
baring
the
look
of
a
home wrecker.
1947 Trefner’s, 619 Lexington at 53rd, NYC, a moderately
priced restaurant with long-time patrons: “First there is fruit juice, then a
choice of two soups. The main courses are fried chicken, steaks or some kind of
fish. The chicken, which is $1, is one of the specialties of the house. Another
is Hungarian goulash for 95 cents.”
Your choice of coffee, tea, or soft drink – free with meal.
Coffee Drinking Statistics
Total percentage of Americans over the age of 18 that drink
coffee everyday = 54%
Average size of coffee cup = 9
ounces
Average price of an espresso-based drink = $2.45
Average price for cup of brewed coffee = $1.38
Total percentage of coffee drinkers who prefer their coffee
black = 35%
Total percentage of coffee consumption that takes place
during breakfast hours = 65%
Total amount of money spent by importing coffee to U.S. each
year = $4
billion
Total percentage of coffee Brazil produces of entire worlds
output = 30%
Total amount of cups of coffee (9 ounces) a coffee drinker
consumes daily = 3.1
Total average of money spent on coffee each year by coffee
drinker = $164.71
Total number of U.S. daily coffee drinkers = 100
million
Total number of U.S. daily coffee drinkers who drink
specialty beverages (lattes, cappuccinos, mochas, etc.) = 30
million
Total percentage of coffee drinkers who drink 13 or more
cups of coffee each week = 24%
Total percentage of coffee drinkers who go to premium places
(Starbucks, Coffee Bean, etc.) when they get coffee out = 34%
Total percentage of people who go to lower-price outlets (McDonald’s,
Dunkin Donuts, etc.) when out = 29%
Total percentage of coffee consumed between meals = 30%
Total percentage of coffee drinkers who add cream and/or
sugar = 65%
Total amount of U.S. coffee drinkers who claim to need a cup
of coffee to start their day = 60%
Total percentage of coffee drinkers who say coffee makes
them feel more like their self = 54%
Total percentage of coffee drinkers who have a cup within
the first hour of waking up = 68%
Total amount of yearly money spent on specialty coffee in
the U.S. = 18
billion
There was a time period long before the likes of Starbucks,
when folks ventured out with only a few coins in their pockets in search of
anything that might make do as their dinner. One little guy, the story is told,
entered a restaurant, looked at the menu, and decided he could get one single
meatball with the fifteen cents he had left to his name. The disgruntled waiter
took his order, and as he turned away the little man asked if he might get some
bread. The waiter responded with a bellow for all the diners to hear:
“One meat ball. One meat ball! Well, you gets no bread with one meat ball.”
Believe it or not, the song “One Meat Ball” actually became
a hit in the forties.
i know you can't go back, so i guess it's with a certain distasteful drudgery that we must slog forward... where are the perks? alas, they went with the free coffee... rog
ReplyDelete