A coffee shop largely serves as a center of social interaction. The small neighborhood coffee shop provides social seniors with a place to congregate, talk, write, read, entertain one another, or pass the time of day, or even do computer work with something called wireless, whether individually or in small groups of two or three sitting around a table. And this should be done in a comfortable environment. Is rap and grunge music blaring from the oversized speakers that line the ceiling corners really that relaxing for seniors? Is the hip-hop language yelled at each other by the sales clerks and baristas really what you want to hear?

A coffee shop is a business that primarily serves prepared coffee or other hot beverages. It shares some of the characteristics of a local bar, and some of the characteristics of a restaurant. As the name suggests, coffee shops focus on providing coffee and tea as well as light breakfast-type snacks. When did the coffee shop become a browsing area for artists and art patrons, and ranting parlors for political maniacs? When did it become a replica of a high school cafeteria?

In the 17th century, coffee appeared for the first time in Europe; coffeehouses were established and quickly became popular. Granted, coffee shops in the United States arose from the espresso- and pastry-centered coffeehouses of major U.S. cities, notably patronized by the beatnik customers of Greenwich Village and San Francisco's North Beach. Students sat around and listened to and read poetry. Sure, most seniors remember those days as fun trips to the other side of life. That was then, and this is now. This is the other side of life now for most seniors who have spent their lives in regimented job routines and uncomfortable working conditions. Now, fun and relaxation are the goals in life.

OK, what does a senior want in his/her coffee shop? The coffee menu is fine, and the selection of pastries is tasty-looking behind the glass showcases in these modern coffee shops. But when you have a coffee cup in one hand and a plate with a muffin in the other, you have to sit on a bench designed by a Spanish Inquisition team of stylists. It takes an Olympic gymnast to bend the body enough to descend to a chair or booth next to a Formica tabletop with yesterday's patrons' coffee stains still resting on top. The bench will be hardwood and the chairs will be hardwood or plastic seats. A small senior finds it hard to eat and drink products when they are at eye level on a table.

Comfortable, regular-sized upholstered chairs and coffee tables would help. Linen napkins instead of brown paper, and metal spoons instead of plastic. Background music with lyrics that can be understood and maybe familiar to the general population rather than a cult of young punksters would make the coffee shop environment more comfortable. And artwork and photos on the walls that make sense to well-traveled and highly-educated and experienced seniors would ease the pain of extra-hot coffee steamed to a scald, and muffins baked to a brick. Yes, seniors are dreamers, too.

And yes, you are probably saying that seniors should drink their coffee in an antique store or a museum. But this is the new world and coffee shops, that is, coffee houses are mostly near colleges and cater to the young. If you want comfort and coffee, then stay home, or build your own senior coffee house with all the frills and fancies -- at least that's what the young say now, but just wait!

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