I saw something lovely at the Starbuck’s on Tuesday morning.
There were ten men in the seating area, and two women. The men were all paired up, and every pair was deep in conversation. Like, really talking. Not just complaining about the Cardinals or rejoicing over the Blues.
Pethaps I’m looking at it through a 1960s bias, but I haven’t seen men that intent on listening to each other, ever. Maybe it’s just that I’ve never seen men in the wild in the morning. Maybe — or let’s say definitely — I’m sexist, and make assumptions. Most likely every man is different, and this coffeehouse had the talkative men assembled there by coincidence.
I began eavesdropping. I got a lot of good eavesdropping done as I made each of my four trips to the bathroom, which was really why I was in the Starbucks.
Conversation 1: Man A had to fire someone, and Man B was giving advice. Man A said “Well, sounds like I’ve got some hard conversations ahead of me.”
Conversation 2: Man C confessed he was having trouble stepping up for his family, but, “You gotta do it, even if it’s hard.”
Conversation 3: The ex-wife and Man E were trying to make it work, but sometimes it’s not worth the effort. Man F had nothing to add. Things must have been good in his marriage. He sympathized but did not add examples.
Conversation 4: Man G gave off a heavy church Deacon vibe. He was educating Man H on the five love languages.
Conversation 5: No idea. They were on the other side of the creamer station and were by the window and I would have had to be very obvious in order to listen to them.
It was just remarkable. Who knew? Coffeehouses. This is where the men open up and the work gets done.
P.S. And if you are a man, and you were at a Starbucks Tuesday in the St. Louis Metro area, have no fear, I lied about the date, the coffee chain, and the location.