Would you judge a book by its cover?
The Starbucks Chronicles
Being a regular customer at Starbucks for the past few months gave me an interesting perspective on the human dynamics of this one store on the foothills of the Lebanese mountains. It’s become my go-to place: a place to work, socialize, network, and conduct business. It’s been rewarding, therapeutic, invigorating, productive, and defining. The reason why I frequent Starbucks? That will be part of my story someday. In the meantime, you can’t avoid people watching, especially when taking mental breaks.
The lady who walks in, almost every other day, loud and full of energy. She calls every barista by their name: Maria, Eddy, Elie, Rony, and Mike. Always in some wild sports outfit. What’s her story, I wonder? The couple who comes in every morning, orders the same drinks, sits and chats for a good two hours. They look like they’re an item. I haven’t caught them with a single smile yet. The three-year-old who brings her mom to Starbucks every morning to say hi to Rony, or is it for mom’s coffee? I saw the judge, the businessman, the freelance personal trainer, the yogi, the lawyer, and the housewives. I met the nomad traveler, the parish priest, the evangelical youth organizer, and the Syrians applying for a German visa. I saw two friends laughing during their break from Dubai, the avid reader, the blogger, the vlogger, and the older gentlemen who get together to read the newspaper (yes; the printed paper). What do they want to say?
Throughout this year, I decided to release one story per week. On a Tuesday. Hence, the Medium publication Tuesdays@Starbucks. I already started with a handful of tales — our pilot ones.
There’s a Lebanese proverb that translates to “You can read a letter from its title [المكتوب بينقرا من عنوانو].” The westerners would advise not to judge a book from its cover. Who is more accurate? I so look forward to finding out by talking to people as they come in to order their drink and take time to sit.
It’s been two weeks since I decided to fill my spare time with this new hobby. Over 30 courageous, generous, humane, and diverse individuals signed up. To date, one story would come from our youngest storyteller, a 12-year-old girl, and another one from a man in his fifties. I can’t wait to listen to their truth (probably not THE truth, THE WHOLE truth, and NOTHING BUT the truth). It will be A truth: informative, inspiring, hopeful, transparent, and naked.