Making your way in the world today takes everything you've got.
Taking a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot.
Wouldn't you like to get away?
Sometimes you want to go
Where everybody knows your name,
and they're always glad you came.
You wanna be where you can see,
our troubles are all the same
You wanna be where everybody knows
Your name.
You wanna go where people know,
people are all the same,
You wanna go where everybody knows
your name.
("Where Everybody Knows Your Name" by Gary Portnoy and Judy Hart Angelo)
Cheers Lyrics
The other day I had a cool experience when entering my local coffee shop to meet a friend for coffee. Being a fan of the tv show “Cheers” in my early days, I thought their “community” there at the Cheers Bar was admirable on many levels. For the hapless Norm to have everyone shout out “Hi Norm” as he entered the bar and flopped onto his usual bar stool must have been his daily highlight.
Anyhow, when I walked into our neighbourhood coffee shop that morning the place was packed. I immediately saw Denise and her husband Mark in the centre of the shop and was approaching them to greet them when I heard my name called from the 4 o'clock position and had to turn to my right to greet Bob with a wave and a wink before turning back to utter a few words of greeting to my initial targets. Just then, as I was approaching the counter, my friend Ken who I was meeting for coffee, approached me and we had a few preliminary words. Meanwhile, simultaneously the owner of the shop behind the counter called out my name asking me if I wanted “the usual”. All this occurred in the course of about 60 seconds. It was quite a display! It was unlike anything I had ever experienced before. Certainly all the social moons were in alignment for that particular moment in time.
By this point in time I was feeling a bit self conscious. I was sure that others in the shop were wondering who this popular fellow was. Not only did he have acquaintances in all quadrants of the coffee shop but he was one who had “a regular”. It was at that moment, as I listened to my dark grande coffee being dispensed, I realized that I had finally arrived..... I was known.
