Starbuck's

Much of Gregory O'Hearn's life is quite predictable. He has many favorites: a favorite tie, a favorite shirt, a favorite suit jacket, a favorite computer software development company, a favorite beverage, a favorite chair in the house, a favorite latte, and a favorite spot in the corner of the Starbucks near his home. The latter location is where I can see him from where I sit in that same Starbucks-in an upholstered loveseat against the wall near the window. He comes here everyday with nobody to meet and just expects to have a latte with no sugar or whipped cream and type numbers into his financial spreadsheets. I've seen him faithfully here every single day since he got that job at the investment firm off the highway in Saugus. He never misses an opportunity of any sort, but especially never misses an opportunity for a latte in his favorite chair in Starbucks. There was one day a woman in her early twenties was sitting in "his" chair in the corner studying. He kindly asked her with a smile if she was planning on staying much longer. Apparently she wasn't so he was able to sit down quickly and not waste much time at all. Besides that, his experience here has been seamlessly predictable and fully controllable in his mind. Of course, he wouldn't use those words.
Today he is wearing his favorite tie, shirt, suit jacket, he is drinking his favorite latte and he is sitting in his favorite Starbucks chair. I am particularly excited about today because I want to see what Gregory O'Hearn will do. Yes, I have my antagonists who tell me I hope for nothing and he is too stuck to entertain anything that would affect his schedule. I will say, however, that I still have that hope today. Tomorrow I may not, but today I do. There are only so many possible seating arrangements in Starbucks and there are others who are faithful daily attendees who do not have the kind of seating preferences of our Gregory O'Hearn. Statistics have informed me it is inevitable that sometime soon the saving combination will be attained and Gregory O'Hearn will be given what we call a "second chance".