A brisk cool morning walk brought me to the Rush Rush this morning and what a surprise did my eyes perceive. The place was quiet with nothing but the silver haired crowd in attendance. And so here we all sit in our envelopes of nonchalance posing without a stage waiting for the youth to arrive. Big Jake is maintaining the good vibe of the Rush Rush’s ambiance with a friendly greeting to one and all. But this wizened group is a tough crowd having spanned several decades easily reaching back to Woodstock and soon we’ll be demanding more in the form of entertainment. Big Jake might just be getting off easy as he is fairly new to this shift but the standards are high here at Rush Rush #1 and an eye will be kept on him. One need to merely take a quick look around to see the level of sophistication of this crowd. Though the hair may be light each has their own cell phone. Right in front of me is the mandatory motorcyclist with his leathers showing. The black of the clothing and the silver hair do make for a nice contrast. The Birkenstock and all natural clothing segment is represented and here I sit with my laptop. Yes, though the years have come and gone the hipness still abounds, or so we would like to think. If Marshall McLuhan were to be mentioned this group of people would certainly know of whom you speak.

So as I sit here at the café now listening to YaYa, who has supplanted Big Jake, spread the word I can’t help but wonder what a Marshall McLuhan or one of his ilk would think of our latest improvements in mass communication. Something tells me that he would jump right in and be fascinated with it. But still something seems to be missing with all online communications. It is fun to check in online in the morning and to read about and hear from people, friends and strangers alike, around the world. But slowly a disconnect and maybe even a loneliness creeps in to my consciousness. What do these people smell like? Do they have lines on their faces from smiling or from frowning? How accurate are their pictures? And then there is the lady who wrote about losing one of her 2,000 plus subscribed friends. Who is she anyway? Can we all really be her friend? The meaning of this ever so basic word friend is being redefined right before our very eyes. Do we care or does it even matter? English is a living language after all and needs to change as the culture changes. Yes I thank Marshall McLuhan would like all of this. And yes, the technological changes are very powerful and cool. Just think, people like those in Haiti buried in the rubble of an earthquake can text for help and be rescued days after the event. That is a personal power beyond thought to those who lived before me. I applaud all of this but still nothing can replace a morning with YaYa, Big Jake, Big Tech, Sophia the Bulgar or others here at the café. Here I can see whether or not those wrinkles, if any, are from smiling or frowning. Here I don’t need to wonder if your picture is up to date or not; I get to see if you combed your hair. Here I get to mingle and meet with people from a base unselected by me. If there is a special interest group in a coffee shop it’s the coffee lovers group!

Maybe a Marshall McLuhan or Aldous Huxley or other thinkers wouldn’t like all of these changes or maybe it’s just the pace of the changes they wouldn’t like. No more casually sitting around the table exchanging stories ad lib for this present culture. The warm glow comes from the lcd display and not from the fires in the hearth. But how does the cultural folklore and knowledge get passed down unless from those of us sitting in the café checking the beauty of youth passing through the doors. If not for the meeting of people in person and an ongoing conversation how can such knowledge that the Baby Boomer Hippie generation’s ideas and thoughts were really the result of the Beat Generation’s efforts be passed on in places other than a research paper. It’s reminiscent to me of the days in college when surrounded by all of this knowledge that was only available in class or in the library or locked up elsewhere. The sharing of ideas with the academia was limited to those who could were either connected to or could speak the coded language of cliques. Give me George Carlin and his thoughts on joining groups and losing identities and how without the proper buzzwords you are forever locked out. The information age has done much to open up the access to much of this hidden knowledge but still you must know the secret words and where to ask. Remember the human is a pack animal and while we have a fascination and admiration for the loner or individual thinker seldom is there room made at the table for them.

And that is why we need cafés such as the Rush Rush where everyone is an individual. Let’s eat drink and be merry! And do as I plan to do which is to enjoy a cup of the good stuff with Griz Granola, who just arrived, and continue watching all of the pretty yayas pass through, and while dream of passing on the wisdom of the ages to any of these beauties some quiet evening. Ha! But a guy can dream can’t he? In the meantime a smile a day is the only way!

And don’t forget such little acts as these help uphold the Social Contract.

Gump’s Brother

Always do whatever’s next.

George Carlin

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 19th, 2010 at 10:45 am and is filed under 2010, Information, Januarry. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.