Well, last week I went to Shippensburg, PA, home of Shippensburg University, my old Alma Mater. That campus changes by the year it seems. There's a lot of construction underway, especially around the old CUB (the student union building). I remember that well from my stint there; the maze of half-finished hallways and vast mud puddles lingering in what was left of the Quad. Construction is a way of life on that campus. Someone in the library there complained to me that they had recently had a budget cutback, and as such the books available there probably wouldn't be very up to date. They did, however, seem to have enough cash on hand to put a Starbucks cafe inside and have laptop computer rentals. Oh, educational priorities!
All told though, it was a nice little trip back. I had limited time there to get my mission accomplished, so there was no time to seek out old professors, assuming there were any still around after seven years. My mission was to get some information on possible future employment avenues after I get my masters degree at a different place. The Alumni Office was a great deal of help, and they also let me page through some of the old yearbooks lining the office walls.
The frustration came primarily at the beginning of this trip. See, before I got onto the campus I wanted to see if there were any new coffeehouses in the Shippensburg area, reasoning that since it was a booming college town there must be a bunch springing up. There was only one.
First, what you must understand about Shippensburg (and the reason that I felt rather alone there) is that this is the heart of Tea Party country. In other words, health care and musical theater are out, guns and baseball caps are in.
Anyhow, I got to the coffeehouse called the Corner Cafe and it looked lovely. I got inside and it was even better; it was a nice new home that had simply been converted into a cafe, with a really modern and open feel. The coffee was decent, though a bit expensive at over two dollars for a medium regular! I was about to give this place a pretty good review. The problem came when I asked what I thought was merely a technical question. I asked "This isn't a Christian coffeehouse, right?" The girl at the counter said "Yes actually it is." Thus came the disappointment, because I have a policy against reviewing either chain coffeehouses like Starbucks, or coffeehouses affiliated with any religious group.
Now, why don't I review religious coffeehouses? Simple. The coffeehouse is a tradition of the Enlightenment era of the 17th and 18th centuries. It was where philosophers met to bring about changes in thinking and re-invent the future in a manner which would promote Humanistic progress. It was, and remains, a liberal institution. Not Nancy Pelosi liberal, but liberal in the original sense of the word. That is to say free thought and a respect for a melting pot of ideas. It's supposed to be a place of fundamental diversity, not a diversity of fundamentalisms. Religions, being for the most part ideological and faith based rather than rational institutions, tend to fly in the face of this progressive tradition (a tradition which I uphold as virtuous). So yeah, the review would have been good but for that one mitigating circumstance. If you're a serious Christian I actually recommend the place.
Well folks, tune in next week for what will hopefully be a solid review of a cafe either here in the 'Burg or down in Philadelphia. I have a few on my mind but can't really decide which to hit first! At least we know that in this corner of PA there are a wealth of these little bastions of conversation and caffeine. Until next time!
