Friday, July 24, 2009

TV in the Chapel Annex

I mentioned in a previous post that one of the marriage conversations took place in God's Grounds--the free coffee shop in the Adder Chapel annex. It is run by chaplain's assistants and other volunteers. The other place to get coffee is and actual coffee shop called Green Beans about a mile away.

I go to Green Beans every day for a half hour between work and the evening ride to read a book and drink a latte. I could go to God's Grounds and drink espresso for free, but if I did, I would have to sit near a big-screen TV with 24/7 Simpsons and animated movies. At Green Beans, they play music on the side of the shop where the coffee is made, but the side with the couches is for reading and conversation.

The conversation I had with guy telling me his wife was his best friend and they share no interests took place with me sitting with my back to the TV and us talking over the TV. There are books in the room where the TV is, but no one picks them up. The TV is loud.

So I go to the commercial coffee place because it is quiet and avoid God's Grounds in the Chapel because of the noise. I would think it odd, except Green beans is run by young Indian men with university education who value conversation. God's Grounds is run by Americans who value cartoons.

4 comments:

  1. God's Grounds... When I was in college there were coffee shops around campus called Holy Grounds. I guess that's the Catholic college version of the more secularized Common Grounds, which one can find on other campuses. They didn't have The Simpsons, though, which is a shame, because The Simpsons is awesome! You just need to catch the one where Bart and Lisa go to military school.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This has to be one of your best posts ever...but I find myself leaving this comment a lot lately on your blog. Who knew that serving in Iraq would be the functional equivalent of a stint at the Iowa Writers Workshop?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Meredith and Denise--you are too kind.
    Sarah--I have missed the Simpsons since 1991, but not very much.

    ReplyDelete

Not So Supreme: A Conference about the Constitution, the Courts and Justice

Hannah Arendt At the end of the first week in March, I went to a conference at Bard College titled: Between Power and Authority: Arendt on t...