The audacity of hopelessness

I may soon have a new rule. The proposed rule is: never convene or attend a business meeting at Starbucks.

Why? Well I am still working on that. The germ of this new rule is that business meetings, committee meetings, non-profit organizational meetings held at coffeehouses are likely to end up being a waste of time. Not in all instances. I can think of exceptions, but most of the time. I will say that after a recent experience, it may be a useful rule to live by.

With my new rule when someone says "Let's have a meeting, how about at Starbucks", I could say "No, let's have a meeting and then go to Starbucks, or Peetes, or Dunkin Donuts. Work first, coffee later."
Now you're probably not wondering why I would think of having such a rule. So I'll tell you anyway.

Earlier this week, I went to Obama's web site and found out there was an organizing activity for today and that it was going to be held at a Starbucks. Not a bad idea thinks I, work for social justice, make plans to help change America, and have a couple of iced coffees. Great idea. So I show up at almost the appointed time and there's gentleman sitting with his dog outside with a book about Franklin Delano Roosevelt's first 100 days.
"You here for the meeting," he asked.
"Yes," says I.
"Well, we're it."
"Let me get a coffee."

So I get a coffee, he puts his dog in his vehicle, and we get to talking. This is an important first step. In any meeting, even one held outside a Starbucks in February, it is important for participants to "check in" and take some time to learn about each other. Once that is done, the meeting begins and the participants can start finding places of agreement and perhaps ways to initiate effective action. It was cold outside but we were making progress. It was then that a third person showed up. He was dressed in a nice suit and had a watch which sorta looked like a Rolex. He had come prepared with copies of what later turned out to be: HIS SOLUTION TO AMERICA'S CURRANT (sic) PROBLEM.

I could make a joke that I didn't know that there was a problem with the raisins in America, but I won't do that. I will say that when I read that HIS SOLUTION was to lower mortgage rates to 2% -3% percent, I stopped caring about HIS SOLUTION. It got worse from there, the meeting devolved into listening to this fellow talk about his theories, which he posted on the Newt Gingrich version of Barack Obama's web portal, American Solutions.

Actually Gringich's American Solutions is an interesting web site and if the Republican party focused on the ideas Gringrich expoused there they might be better off than listening to the porcine gruntings of an Oxcontin addicted radio talk show host, an aging former beauty queen from Alaska, and an unlicensed plumber from Ohio. I am hoping it won't get much notice.

So this was how the meeting was going. It was not a meeting of the minds, it was an exercise in contradiction. When I realized this, my rational mind shut down and some my numerous defects of character kicked in. I became intolerant, impatient, inflexible and alliterative. (I hates it when I gets alliterative) I refused to sit in a cold metal chair outside of a Starbucks listen to a liberterian eccentric, spout his philosophical idealogy in the middle of February. Call me a jerk, call me unreasonable. I have another rule, which is "That when my ass starts hurtin', my mind stops workin'" My ass was aching from the cold. We were getting nowhere with our liberterian eccentric friend, and I felt that no work was going to be done. At least not that day, outside of Starbucks and oh, did I mention it was February.

So I came home and on the drive I wondered if President of Obama ever had such moments when he was a community organizer in the South side of Chicago. I imagine he did. So on the plus side I've developed a new life rule, I took part in an effort to help make my community a little better, and met a couple of interesting people. Well maybe one interesting person, I don't think that the libertian eccentric guy with his solution to America's CURRANT problem was all that interesting. So onward and upward. I'm still working for Change I can BLEEPIN' believe in.

Capitano Tedeschi

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