I am sitting at Starbucks on Mockingbird and 75. I met Mayn-da for Lunch in Lewisville and then had to drop off some film at the lab. They said it would take a few hours to process, and that I should come back at 4:30 to pick up my order. Traffic is so bad this time of year that I couldn't make it to my place and back in two hours with a reasonable amount of time to spare. So, I decided I would find something to do around here. As I was driving East on Oaklawn I saw a small places called "The Cosmic Cafe" that looked inviting, so I stopped in.
There was a sign at the door that read "Please Seat Yourself". I decided to wander inside first to see if there was a counter at which to order a cup of coffee. There wasn't, so I returned outside and sat down ot one of the marble tables to wait for someone to take my order.
No one came.
I waited ten minutes, not having anything better to do, and still, no one came.
I got up and left.
I was now on a mission: to find an accommodating place on Oaklawn to drink a cup of coffee. I drop several miles in both directions. This took about an hour due to the traffic. I found nothing but a Starbucks.
After finding no other place, I decided Starbucks was better than nothing. I drove back only to find limited parking with no open spaces. So much for that idea.
Back on Oaklawn, I followed it to Mockingbird, cut across the SMU campus and landed at 75. Still nothing but a another Starbucks. I parked, ordered my usual, and took a seat outside.
I need to live in a more accommodating city. One with coffee shops other than Starbucks, and in such abundance they are as easy to find as a grocery store. Coffee shops where people gather for nothing more than the purpose of conversation with strangers and friends.
I know these cities exist. San Francisco is that way. I am not basing this on an assumption; I have been there and conversed with many people I am not likely to ever see again.
Perhaps Dallas has these areas, and I have just not been introduced to them. Then again, perhaps it really is the good for nothing city I have always believed it to be.
I sit here and watch the locals pull up in their Mercedes', their BMWs and their Lexus' and I think, "There must be some place better than this!"
