Coffee, Tea or Me?

If you are reading on a smartphone, use landscape / hold phone sideways. 

Coffee, Tea or Me? is a book of purported memoirs by the fictitious stewardesses Trudy Baker and Rachel Jones first published in 1967. Written by Donald Bain, he said, "I wrote it in 1966 while working in public relations for American Airlines, and it went on to spawn an entire genre of wacky comedies. The books sold in the millions, and became my annuity for almost 17 years."

The book was originally written to emphasize the "sexy" parts of the job, during the golden age of airline travel. 

Times change. That is possibly the biggest understatement, ever. In the sixties and seventies, the general public may have thought that being an airline stewardess was an exciting job, but in reality, stewardesses worked long hours for little pay and were subject to sexism and discrimination. Fast forward to today, and we see flight attendants being assaulted in the air. In 2021, the Federal Aviation Administration received 5,114 reports of unruly passengers. 

My brain went down this rabbit hole because of "Coffee" and how the local Coffee Shop in BOONTON USA has moved to a bigger, better, cooler location. So many things have changed forever, because of technology, because of changes in society, and certainly because of the pandemic. 

It has been a LONG TIME since the golden age of airline travel. And now, the local Coffee Shop has become the office, the meeting place, the community center of well, the community. 

There was great anticipation in BOONTON USA for the "new and improved Boonton Coffee Co. to reopen at their new location, just a few steps up MAIN STREET BOONTON. And that made me pause. We (well, me) did not or would not get so excited about a local Pizzeria or Barber Shop or "any" shop moving up the street to a bigger, new location. It would not make the news. It would not be such a big deal. But the move of Boonton Coffee Co. to a new bigger location became big news - in Morris County New Jersey. 

I guess the lesson of today's blog is all about how things make you FEEL. In business, anyway. In the 60s and 70s, if you said out loud "Airline Stewardess" it made you feel a certain way. Did the TV show Friends change coffee shops forever? In every episode, the gang somehow always ends up getting the same set of chairs, and the couch. Yeah, in New York City's Greenwich Village. Right.....

Anyway, personally, I am very excited about the New and Improved Boonton Coffee Co. A much bigger space, which now serves - wine! And cheeses, and foods and all kinds of cool Coffee Swag. In the heart of Morris County New Jersey - one of the most populated counties in THE COUNTRY, in the heart of BOONTON USA. Somehow those who live in and around the 07005 zip code now feel an ownership, and a sense of pride, and excitement about their local community. In my own mind's eye, I can see us hosting our monthly BoontonWorks.com events at Boonton Coffee Co., where the coffee is on me. 

OK, land the plane, Tom... (see what I did there?)

There are many places to get "coffee" in BOONTON USA, and certainly thousands in Morris County. Starbucks, Dunkin' and only Google knows how many diners. But Boonton Coffee Co. has become a feeling, an emotional oasis. The Company became a Community. 

If you can get your own company or business (including an online business) to become part of the community, where the customers - the people - feel a sense of ownership - where the community becomes a stakeholder in your business - yeah, you won.