Wednesday Freebie

alright. the first person who says to me, "i need a jolt of joe," gets one on the house... i mean really, no one says that anymore unless they just watched a bunch of movies from the 40's. and anyone who can name the legendary baseball ball player pictured above gets an extra punch on his/her card. here's a clue: he's named in a simon & garfunkel song.

Cloudy Days = 80s Music

don't know why it works out like this, but when the skies are overcast, i turn to 80s music. this action hasn't manifested itself at homer's yet, but i'm putting together a playlist for an afternoon when no one feels like walkin' on sunshine and we're all hungry like the wolf for a clear day.

Another Shot at Free

here's another chance for you to get a drink on the house. the first person to tell me (dave) that he/she is a "coffee achiever" gets a free drink at homer's today. also, if you can name one of the celebrities in the 1984 coffee achiever video, i'll give you an extra punch on your card.

Join the Coffee Achievers

coffee. is there anything it CAN'T do?

Houston, We Have Monkey Bars

this post has nothing to do with coffee, but everything to do with friends and community. grayson leweke (pictured above) helped me carry & reconstruct a set of monkey bars that needed a new home... that new home is my backyard. half a dozen customers and co-workers have already swung, hung, and climbed on this steel structure that was a fixture on playgrounds in the 1970's. it doesn't take much to make me happy.

Can You Feel the Love?

alright. i'm going out on a limb here. in a shameless effort to attract more readers to this blog, i'm giving a free drink to the first person who comes to homer's today, and says to me, "i can feel the love." that's it. that's all you have to do. feel the love, then say it. i'll pay for your drink. cheers.

Warm Enough for Shorts

i worked in shorts for the first time this year. i wasn't the first, though. grayson wore his shorts a couple of weeks ago. i always wait longer than others because it's hard to go back to pants after you've had the freedom of shorts. when it's warm enough for shorts, our customers start looking for cold drink alternatives to coffee. homer's has them: iced lattés, smoothies, shakes, malts, and much more.

The Gusty Future

early this morning i could tell the wind was blowing trees sideways outside. when i looked at the weather forecast, it called for warm & windy conditions until early afternoon. with this knowledge i predict the following at homer's: plastic chairs blown about, combed hair blown askew, and the sigh of relief when someone walks in the door to get a cup of coffee. happy st. patrick's day.

All Quiet on the Northwest Corner

friday afternoon there was a power outage at homer's, and all the other businesses near 80th and metcalf. apparently a transformer blew out. fortunately, it was a nice day, and we didn't need air conditioning or heat. nobody left homer's, a few people even came in and bought coffee... we had to use a calculator to figure in the tax... the phone rang a couple of times when people called to find out who was playing that night... 20 minutes later the power came back on and the fun was over.

"Remember That You Are Dust..."

"...and to dust you shall return." these are the words my pastor says to me as he makes the sign of the cross on my forehead every year at this time. jenny & i didn't observe ash wednesday until we attended the lutheran church. it's ALWAYS a sobering experience for me... the idea that we won't live forever, and that we should make the most of our time. it's cool when unnecessary distractions are suspended long enough for me to grasp that.

Sorry Dwayne

i'm one of those guys that still has a land line at home. this morning someone called and asked if i was "the kansas farmer." i don't have caller ID, but i assumed one of my friends was pranking me. i started laughing and answered "no, who's this?" he identified himself as dwayne, and told me what number he was trying to reach. it WAS my number, but i'm not the kansas farmer, so i told him he had the wrong number. i kept waiting for this person to start laughing and tell me who he really was. he never did. the only reason i'm posting this here is because i've met alot of people while working at homer's... and i really thought it was one of you.

Sleep, Work, Jam

like most tuesdays, i opened at homer's with grayson. he saw me walking to work and picked me up before i got to the vacant lot on 80th street. not too many people pull over for a pedestrian at 5:54 in the morning, but grayson is the exception. after my shift i went home where danny was parked outside, and waiting to record music. we've been playing/recording on tuesdays for awhile. one time grayson even dropped in to jam. i'm quietly storing our weekly upheavals on my website under the day of mars tab. i know i have a good job when my co-workers still want to hang out even after (or before) a shift at homer's.