Sadness prevails as efforts go in vain

Some may take this as silly, lacking in depth, without an awareness of the impoverished world, or perhaps an embracing of material and fleeting pleasures; yet, even with the knowledge that a good cup of coffee is simply a passing fancy, I cannot help but feel sadness tinged with anger at Starbucks for having closed our local establishment.

Four years ago, when Starbucks moved into our community, a mostly blue-collar community ripe with auto parts stores, hardware stores, dollar stores, and farming equipment, I and others recognized the immense value of having the famous chain locate a coffeehouse in our area. Bragging rights abounded, and one could often hear "we have a University, a Walmart, a Home Depot, a movie theater, J.C. Penney, Staples, Chilis, and of course Underwood's Barbecue." This pronouncement would quickly and inevitably be followed with "And we have a Starbucks" as though this concluded the definitive proof of our "arrival" into the 21st century and our demonstration that we are a worthy town with many things to do not to mention strength of culture. In short, there is and has been something rather "classy" about having a Starbucks in town.

But one day, a median showed up in front of the store, having been built overnight by the city for safety reasons. I do not question the need for traffic safety, but we must acknowledge that the median took half the business away from Starbucks due to the inconvenience of having to go around it to frequent the famed coffeehouse. Furthermore, Walgreens decided to move in, resulting in the temporary closing of the road directly behind Starbucks. Suddenly, all was hopeless. Sales plummeted and the customers chose to drive onward rather than dealing with the very difficult situation of traffic flow.

And, in all its bean-counting wisdom, the home company made a decision that Starbucks in Brownwood was no longer worth the effort, was losing money, and closed it. The months preceding the closing were filled with various efforts to prevent the dastardly deed including letters, petitions, calls, anger, pleading, and many emails. But all efforts were in vain, for it did happen. Gone. History. End of story. Kaput. Finished. Of course, there is a good side I suppose, I now save $2 to $4 a day. But, alas, our four years of great coffee and a nice environment replete with soft jazz, nice art, comfortable chairs, good pastries, and mostly insightful conversation is a thing of the past. Obviously all those things are available in different places, including my own office if I so choose, but regardless of the utilitarian viewpoint, I and many others will sorely miss our Starbucks.

So in spite of my immediate bitterness and hurt I share with our community, I cannot help but admit that because of Starbucks I now have many new friends. During our four years together, I became friends with a local physician, police officer, construction worker, businessman, banker, bookseller, and deepened my relationship with a pastor friend. The last four years have been special and not easily forgotten, for as the saying goes, "'tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all!"