A brief history

If you drive through downtown Concord between 7:00 and 8:00 am, you've possibly noticed us in the window of Ellie's coffee shop. We've been meeting almost every weekday morning for ten years or so. Actually Ellie's is the forth place we've met. The other three coffee shops closed down. It wasn't our fault! The core members of our group are Tom, Tim, Gordan, Howard, and myself (Mike). There are also some casual members that show up on a less than regular basis. I think they need to get their priorities in order. If you follow this blog, you will get to know us pretty well.

A while back, Tim gave me a book to read, called, "The Last Great Place". The book talks about the human need to interact with other people in a neutral setting. A place with the appeal of the bar in the TV show "Cheers" is a good example. For the five of us, "Ellie's is the "Last Great Place". During that one hour each day, we can relax, talk about whatever we want, greet friends and acquaintances, have a bite to eat, and mentally prepare for the day.

What do we talk about? Of course, a lot of the conversation is mundane and trivial, but there is also heated debate about almost every issue you can imagine. It won't take long for you to figure out the right from the left in our little group. I hope you follow our blog, send in comments, and, best of all join in.