Civilization comes to Lynden

  Looking across the street, I noticed activity at the new Starbucks Coffee on the Guide Meridian. I panicked. I was sure I had missed their opening. I was devastated.
  I needn’t have worried. They were not due to officially open until the next morning. Relieved doesn’t quite describe my emotions upon discovering this. It was more akine to getting a second chance at life.
  What’s the big deal? It’s just another Starbucks -- one of 246 within a 50 mile radius of Lynden. But that’s just the point.
  Starbucks is a benchmark of civilization. What town in the Northwest deserves to grace the map without a Starbucks? However, when I told my sister I was getting up at the crack of dawn on Saturday morning in order to welcome them when they came to Lynden, she was a little confused.
  “Coffee is supposed to help you get up,” she said with conviction. “You don’t get up for the coffee.”
  I tried to explain to her that Starbucks is an event, something to celebrate. I don’t think she bought into my profound line of thought.
  Yeah, apparently some people just don’t get it.
  As we celebrate Lynden’s transcendence to a higher state, some -- like my sister -- might doubt this is even the case. They say Lynden has done just fine without Starbucks. They say we have been served just fine with our current array of brewing excellence. Besides, they say, Starbucks technically came to Lynden about six months ago when they opened a stand in Safeway.
  In my defense, let me first say that cheering for Starbucks should never denigrate the accomplishments of our fine local coffee establishments such as The Woods Coffee, Katz Coffee and perpetually open Cruisin Coffee. On the contrary, I cherish the place they have carved in my heart (and wallet). These fine entrepreneurs have certainly earned their place in Lynden.
  But I digress. No matter whom I patronize, there’s a reason I still call 12 ounces of drip coffee a “tall.” It’s a relationship more beautiful than Google and search engines (see above claim regarding the benchmarks of civilization).
  As to the Safeway argument, all I can say is that a stand in a grocery store is a dubious replacement for the Starbucks atmospheric experience.
  Saturday morning sprung on me like a thrill. I never stopped to think that all I might be accomplishing was to prove my level of eccentricity in a new venue.
  Nevertheless, walking in at exactly 5 a.m. Pacific Standard Time, I became the first paying customer of the Starbucks in Lynden.
  It was worth it I’m sure, and not just because the good folks on that first morning shift rewarded me with a $5 gift card (which I had used by the end of the day).
  It’s all about recognizing that (at least in theory), when it comes to Starbucks, there’s still no better coffee in town.