Morning coffee...

I decided to take my morning coffee at the Starbucks on S Campbell in Springfield this morning.  I did finish off the iced coffee in the 'fridge with a little cream and chocolate before taking a shower and getting on the road. It's a beautiful morning for a ride, but will be much hotter later in the day.
Of course, the heat doesn't bother me too much and I often ride on hot, sunny days.

Starbucks is really buzzing with activity this morning. As always, there are a few people with laptops or tablets out, but there are many more people that have chosen this as their morning meeting place and are talking -- some with loud voices and great animation.
For me, it's kind of like being around people without having to interact with anyone. That may just be an introvert's way of feeling connected to humanity without having to actually deal with people.

Just an observation --
I've never really thought of coffee as a health food or part of a healthy lifestyle, but the demographic of people making their way through Starbucks is definitely more fit and more slender than the general population of Southwest Missouri.

Sorry about the mental interruption.
Now, where was I?
Oh yeah...

I've actually noticed that I tend to let people slide when it comes to most things nowadays. I don't know if my patience has grown or my expectations of humanity have diminished. I suspect it's the latter. It may be that I've finally realized that getting mad only serves to hurt me and really doesn't matter to anyone else. Being thought of as the grumpy old man isn't exactly something that appeals to me. I'm not sure that it bothers me a great deal, but ... well, you know...

I used to watch morning cable news shows while drinking my coffee at home. Since we dropped our cable contract and picked up SlingTV, I've been doing more reading for news. I think I'm spending less time on the computer and on my phone apps. Maybe not, but it feels like it. Sometime ago, I disabled most notifications to my phone and that has helped. A guy can only watch so many funny pet videos or read so much political crap before really trashing his mind.

I think I'll finish my coffee (venti 5-shot Americano) and hit the road.
Be safe out there.
And watch for us retired guys on our motorcycles!

John <><