Analysis Of Ballad Of The Sad Cafe

Founded in 2011 off the aspirations of a young Nikki Evans, Mr. and Mrs.Evans opened their family, locally owned coffee shop, Forty Weight. The Evans family started their family owned business with the hope to build a friendly, christian based shop that is open to the public and private parties. Over the last two days I have visited Forty Weight during a variety of different times (Friday 8:00am, Saturday 10:00am and Saturday 2:00pm) to observe the type of environment and the type of people that are the “coffee drinkers at Forty

The city always seemed to push the stars farther away from the world in the dead of night. Rain had begun to sprinkle downtown and it began to trickle across the top of the parked cars in the street. Vernon was sitting there silently listening to the drizzle outside that sounded like pebbles falling on a tin roof, still thinking about the dreams his been having. The Coffee Cup was like any other diner nestled between apartments and liquor stores. There was seven cut-up stools and behind them against the wall sat a cigarette machine and no smoking sign. The counter was worn from years of service. Two booths sat facing the storefront windows

During this war, the family has to get rid of any valuable items, because of the rebel soldiers that are invading the town. Mother had to make the decision about if she will bury her most valuable item- a tea set given to her by her grandmother. She ends up keeping it and giving it to a family friend. Amelia doesn’t know if she made the right decision, because the family friend that Mother had given the tea set to was a rebel. Amelia’s dad had to leave with Aunt Lou, in case the rebel soldiers forced her back into slavery. Wes was the oldest man in the house, so he had to take care of the family. He made decisions for his mother that she didn’t always agree with, like sneaking out to become a soldier. The rebel soldiers are invading more and more of the town, and one morning, two soldiers and a general came to the door asking for the keys to the convenient store that the family owned. Mother handed them over, and was unsure of her decision, until Amelia assured her that Dad would do the same thing.

“This one was hardly bigger than a garage. The table was cluttered with limp- looking magazines and at one end of it there was a big green glass ashtray full of cigarette butts and cotton wads with little blood spots on them. If she had had anything to do with the running of the place, that would have been emptied every so often. There were no chairs against the wall at the head of the room. It had a rectangular-shaped panel in it that permitted a view of the office where the nurse came and went and the secretary listened to the radio. A plastic fern, in a gold pot sat in the opening and trailed its fronds down almost to the floor. The radio was softly playing gospel music” (O’Connor 3). As the Turpins waited Mrs. Turpin began to describe the other waiting room occupants to pass the time. Mrs. Turpin can be seen as a larger woman who is proud of her means and then there is her husband Claud who can be described as a “florid, bald, sturdy and shorter than Mrs. Turpin (O’Connor 1). Next was an unnamed blonde child whose attire consisted of a dirty blue romper, the boy’s mother was seen “wearing on a yellow sweatshirt and wine- colored slacks, both gritty-looking, and the rims of her lips were stained with snuff. Her dirty yellow hair was tied behind with a little piece of red paper ribbon” (O’Connor 5). The next woman is called the “stylish woman” by

Ann Hood’s article titled Street Scenes is about her drive home to her childhood house in West Warwick RI, to visit her mother. What’s significant about this drive home is that she sees things from her past that bring her back to important memories she has kept as she’s grown older. One place that was particularly important to Hood was West Warwick’s own Dunkin Donuts coffee shop. Hood makes it evident that the Dunkin Donuts is meaningful to her by saying, “My mother would take me at three in the morning for coffee and a plain cruller when I was in high school and suffered insomnia”(Hood 239). This is a touching memory from Hood’s past that displays the love and care she

He had worked from ten o’clock that mourning to six-o’clock that evening at the general store before he returned home and spending the rest of the day with his wife and children. When questioned if he had any clues about what might have happened to Amelia, he began telling the police about what a wonderful person Amelia was, always eager to learn new things, great with the customers and had the kindest and purest heart he had ever seen. However, much like Mary, ted informed the police of Amelias uneasiness around the Indians passing

Throughout the trip the grandmother rambles on about the past how children had respect for their elders and people respected each other, her youth, and her past maiden courtship with Mr. Edgar Atkins Teagarden “E.A.T” and his Saturday watermelons with his initials carved into them. During the trip they make a lunch stop at a rundown gas station “The Towers” where you will find “RED SAMMY’S FAMOUS BARBACUE”, “THE FAT BOY WITH THE HAPPY LAUGH” run by Red Sammy Butts and his wife outside of Timothy, Georgia. The family has their lunch and grandmother finds a listening agreeable ear about how much better their past was compared to these days.

The inn keeper's parlor was the best in town, they told her. His wife was wearing a heavy dress, adorned with lace and a massive broach that she raised a plump hand to touch, as if to be certain it was still there. They spoke of the massive rug, bought from Paris, and the finely crafted furniture they all sat upon. The preacher listened quietly, smiling as though their vanity wasn't a sin, while Mrs. Hartford eyed the dress with longing. Della thought that the dress was tasteless. The lace was poorly made, and the line of the bodice wasn't flattering. The fabric was an odd shade between blue and green, and the woman inside it was far less appealing. She didn't bother to mention that her own parlor had been filled with crystal, and priceless art her father had collected around the world. She didn't mention that her toys had cost more than Mrs. Johnson's gowns, or that she was mispronouncing the tea they'd been served. Not to be kind, not to be deceptive, but because did not matter anymore. Nothing mattered anymore. She'd given up that life to marry Ben, given up her family, given up her home and her gowns and her education.

Coffee brews under a drip of scalding water, beans grind in the gears of a metal mechanism set atop the bar, and the chatter of patrons syncs with the sound of steaming milk in each Starbucks cafe chain. Like most cafes, the aroma of Arabica overwhelms all others, natural light shines in through the windows to touch the wooden tables, and the murmurs of conversations can be heard throughout the edifice. However, whereas the plebeian palate that feigns good taste finds pleasure in drinking coffee in its most basic form so that the true flavors of the drink might be relished, the rising youth of our post-modern society realize that coffee is best prepared when the taste of the bean is overwhelmed by various artificial flavors and sugars—undoubtedly cancerous but utterly unimportant. These developing connoisseurs of high society, with all their charm and intelligence, make it clear that Starbucks is the only cafe from which anyone who is anyone must buy one’s coffee. Starbucks, truly a place for the cultural and coffee elite, consistently attracts three intriguingly eccentric and completely loyal customers of both sharp wit and fine intellect: the female Women’s Studies major, the flagrant homosexual male, and the out-of-place conservative.

Leaving her place of employment, Lehane took in a deep breath, driving towards Pike Market. Lehane thought about the day, about everything going on around her. Nathaniel coming back, Chris coming back, her father died, and, her brother doing something that he shouldn't have done. It was all piling up inside needing to break out or something along those lines. Parking her car, she got out and walked the mile to Pike's Market. Pike's Market wasn't just known for its Wharf; It was one of the most historical parts of Downtown Seattle, Washington. That and the Space Needle, but Pike's that was the place all the tourists went. Not just to watch the cargo ships come in, or the fisherman bringing in their hauls, but it was a family environment. It was a place

One main focus of this story is about class and social structure. The elderly woman, Miss Strangeworth, was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. Her grandfather had built the first house on the street she has lived during her lifetime and she feels as though the town belongs to her. Her dominance in the community is portrayed through objects like her house, her roses, her mindset, and the letters she writes for others. This is important because it shows the upper class Caucasians in the south views and

Decisions, decisions, decisions!!! No matter how old we are, where we live, from what religion, socio-economic background, race, or what we do in life, we face life-changing decisions every day. This is quite true for the short stories Good People by David Foster Wallace, Sonny’s Blues by James Baldwin, and Ballad of Birmingham by Dudley Randall. Decisions can sometimes cause us happiness but in these stories, decisions cause these characters mostly grief, stress, regrets, and wishing the decisions were made differently. Decisions, which comes often times from weaknesses, are the major character flaw that bring persons in these stories down, creating a tragedy in their lives that probably haunt them in some way, fashion, or form forever.

Although there was the familiar, homey feeling of peace, there was also a sense of apprehension that would not go away. Muriel headed towards Sister Leta, the cook who was busy toasting homemade wheat bread and percolating the coffee. Muriel started serving coffee and toast to those who wanted it. There was no current information at this point about what had occurred, or to explain the light, yet there was growing concern. Even though there was coffee to be served, tables to be set up, and spoons and napkins to set out, the reporter side of Muriel came out, as she searched for anybody who might have information about what was going on. She loved to dig for information, and this was a night to dig.

Connecting this lovely novel to the real world was something very easy to do. Throughout the novel, there are many different references to real life. Particularly the book’s reference to Starbucks, but along with that, there are many intangible connections that can be made as well. In example, there are many relatable relationships that are made, and pertinent personalities that are portrayed through the characters. Primarily, the number one connection that most everyone would be able to make in their own lives: Starbucks. Yes, the coffee shop where one would order their iced latte or black coffee to give them that energetic start to the day. In the novel, Starbucks is where the main characters (Lea and Gabe) tend to run into each other quite

I can always look forward to starting my day off, with a steaming cup of coffee, I love that even if it 's a cold, dark, and gloomy day outside, a big cup of coffee can get me through the day. I could go on and on about my appreciation and fondness over the drink itself, but I won’t. However, I would like to share with you a remarkable phenomenon that I’ve come to notice, it is other people sharing this experience, this love for coffee, and they do it all across the globe in shops known as “cafes,” or “coffee shops.” And this is exactly what Howard Schultz (The CEO