Monday, October 27, 2003
In the Beginning
Many things interest me. Coffee is one. I became a coffee drinker in college and was satisfied with the run-of-the mill brews until a new coffee shop opened in my home town. Its name is the Iron Horse Coffee Company.
In a store front in our historic downtown, the Iron Horse is a favorite gathering spot for the kids at the community college and senior citizens out for a light lunch. On Friday evenings you may hear a Jazz band or a folk singer or just settle in for a game of chess with a friend. During the week, they serve lots of lunches to the merchants and business people down town and make the drive to work tolerable by supplying large cups of Red Sea Blend, Swiss Chocolate, or Mocha Java. With its exposed brick walls, rotating art gallery, and shabby chic furnishings, it appeals to all the senses as you relax on one of the well used couches or check your e-mail at the computer on the bar counter.
The Iron Horse clientele has a diversity of interests; I have found, at different times, Evangelical Bible studies in progress on the mezzanine as well as the local Gay rights group holding a lighthearted though informative meeting over lunch. The unexpected mixtures of people and things I found at Iron Horse inspired me to see the intersection between faith and culture aptly expressed in the phrase, Iron Freedom. As a Christian, I have a commitment to absolutes, the Iron, but I also have the responsibility to explore and engage my diverse world, the Freedom. The exploration of the possibilities opened up to me by that process and my desire to share the adventure through my writing is why I am creating this Journal.
Many things interest me. Coffee is one. I became a coffee drinker in college and was satisfied with the run-of-the mill brews until a new coffee shop opened in my home town. Its name is the Iron Horse Coffee Company.
In a store front in our historic downtown, the Iron Horse is a favorite gathering spot for the kids at the community college and senior citizens out for a light lunch. On Friday evenings you may hear a Jazz band or a folk singer or just settle in for a game of chess with a friend. During the week, they serve lots of lunches to the merchants and business people down town and make the drive to work tolerable by supplying large cups of Red Sea Blend, Swiss Chocolate, or Mocha Java. With its exposed brick walls, rotating art gallery, and shabby chic furnishings, it appeals to all the senses as you relax on one of the well used couches or check your e-mail at the computer on the bar counter.
The Iron Horse clientele has a diversity of interests; I have found, at different times, Evangelical Bible studies in progress on the mezzanine as well as the local Gay rights group holding a lighthearted though informative meeting over lunch. The unexpected mixtures of people and things I found at Iron Horse inspired me to see the intersection between faith and culture aptly expressed in the phrase, Iron Freedom. As a Christian, I have a commitment to absolutes, the Iron, but I also have the responsibility to explore and engage my diverse world, the Freedom. The exploration of the possibilities opened up to me by that process and my desire to share the adventure through my writing is why I am creating this Journal.
