First Days at Bruegger's Bagels

Obviously not taken today: Picture all in WHITE!

The Bruegger's Bagels in Hudson, Ohio, is in this building--enlarge the photo, and you'll see that it occupies the right part of the building (the western side). It's about a half-mile from our house, I guess (maybe less? GoogleMaps says it's .4 mi), a little farther for me than Hattie's was. That's all right. The walking does me good--though the mounds of snow and bitter temperatures the past couple of days have been an annoyance (I confess: I drove one day). You can also see that Mammoth Video was once there in the center of the building--Mammoth Video, now as extinct as its namesake.

Bruegger's is actually a pretty large space--deep rather than wide--and has several large booths and tables of various sizes. I try to arrive about 8 a.m., though they open at 5:30. (I'm no longer the early riser I once was.) I have noticed some "regulars" already--some of whom I've seen at other times in other coffee venues. Coffee allegiances shift. Or coffee places close.

I've been sitting the past couple of days in one of the booths. I don't know people well enough yet to determine if I've appropriated someone's spot. But I've detected no glares, felt no Bowie knives slipping between my ribs. So maybe I'm all right? I don't really care where I sit ... yet. I'm willing to move somewhere else ... so far. But soon that old territorial stuff will kick in (I can't help it: genes, you know?), and I will be the one glaring and Bowie-knifing if "my" booth is not available when I walk in.

Bruegger's has a New Year's deal for you. For $169 (that's right, $169!) you can buy a 2014-stamped travel-mug that will give you "free" coffee (and soda and tea) for the rest of the year. I thought about it for a couple of days, then pulled the trigger. I'm looking at my $169 mug right now. And doing a little math. Let's say that a cup of coffee is about $2 ... hmmmm, that means I will not break even until I have had 84.5 cups of coffee. If I go six days a week (as is my wont), that will take eighty-five Bruegger's days--about three months (can't forget the Sundays). That means I'll get about nine free months of beverages! My coffee today cost me $169. Tomorrow, just $84.50. The next day, $56.33. Won't take long ...

... unless ...

And here's what I told the young woman at the register the morning that she sold me my cup. "You know what's kind of creepy about this?"

She looked at me, figuring maybe I'm the creep? "No, sir."

"Bruegger's is betting I'm going to die in the next couple of months."

She stared at me--some sort of internal debate?  Do I laugh or call 911?