By Merlin Lessler —<\/p>\n
I was sitting in the Owego Kitchen coffee house the other day and wondered where the coffeehouse concept came from. I wondered. Google answered. They (it) said it was born in the Mideast, in the 15th century and migrated to Europe and England in the 17th century. It was a \u201cgentlemen only\u201d establishment!<\/p>\n
All I know is that they weren\u2019t around when, or where, I was growing up. Sure, old guys hung out in diners, perched on swivel bar stools, sipping oily, black coffee from china mugs, chewing the fat, as they called those mindless conversations loaded with guffaws.<\/p>\n
In my world, the modern version of the coffee house began as a hippy thing. I was around, but unaware, as the concept blossomed. My wife and I were otherwise occupied with three daughters under the age of five, and too busy to afford leisure time to hang out in a coffee house listening to dreadful, homegrown poetry. <\/span><\/p>\n At any rate, in spite of our lack of participation, those institutions gravitated across the country throughout the 1960\u2019s. Few, if any, turned a profit. But that wasn\u2019t the objective for the longhaired men and long-skirted women who ran them. They were designed to enhance the anti-establishment movement; owners and patrons subscribed to the credo: \u201cDon\u2019t trust anyone over 30.\u201d It was a place where people discussed life philosophies on overstuffed, well-worn couches and chairs.<\/p>\n A random guy or girl was often hanging out, strumming a guitar and singing folk songs like \u201cThis Land is Your Land.\u201d It provided a refuge for young adults, especially college students doing homework and escaping every-day life.<\/p>\n Coffee houses still are around, run by independent proprietors, slugging it out against the giants: Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts and the like \u2013 Corporations run by people over 30, who can\u2019t be trusted to figure out how to monetize the hippy version of a coffee house.<\/p>\n Who would have thought customers would pay 5, 7, 10 dollars or more for a complicated beverage crafted by a mixologist (barrister) to start their day. Not me! I take my coffee black and often with a free refill, and then overstay my welcome. That\u2019s what old coots do.<\/p>\n We\u2019re lucky, here in Owego, to be blessed with four coffeehouses that big business hasn\u2019t gotten their hands on. Bring your guitar and strum a tune or two.<\/p>\n