The Einstein's Phenomenon

A few years ago, Wayne began having coffee at a Mequon Einstein's with a group of what we fondly refer to as "old guys" though they aren't all "old" and they aren't all "guys."  I  "joined" when I moved to Mequon.  It's a loosely organized, ever changing group of men and women who gather, some every morning, between 6:30 and 9 a.m.  It's a time for conversation on a multitude of topics, a little genial arguing, and a time for catching up on everyones' lives. 

We didn't realize that this is a phenomenon that happens all over the U.S. and in other countries too.  We did know that one of the regulars meets with another group at a McDonald's a couple of times a week.  He's a regular at two "old guys" places!

We didn't discover how universal this is until one morning we dropped into another Einstein's in Livermore,  California (called Noah in California), and found the same big table with a group of "old guys" gathered having coffee.  It was a huge deja vu  moment, since the people there could have been the people in Mequon!  Our daughter-in-law blinked and said "Wow, are we in Mequon?"  Since our first visit, we have returned to this same Noah and have been welcomed by that group as if we were a regular part of it even though months go by in between visits!  The same thing happens in Mequon with some people dropping in only once or twice a year and still being part of the group.

Since then, we have found similar groups all over the U.S., gathering in McDonald's at a long table, at Einstein's and Noah's and other traditional coffee shops.  We even discovered groups gathering in McDonald's in Germany and the Netherlands.  A friend from the Mequon Einstein's group, who moved some time ago to Las Vegas, coffees with a similar group at an Einstein's in Vegas.

We've found it to be a rather fine phenomenon; maybe others won't think it unusual, but until you have been a part of a regular group and then stumble into one in a totally different place and find it to be just like your home group, you won't know what a "phenom" it really is.

We look forward to going on Sunday mornings and sometimes other days of the week, and love the fact that, no matter where we are, we can find a group of "old guys" and feel like we are at home.