To Everyone At Their Own Personal Joe Sippers….

Earlier this week, I was working in Effingham, IL. A small eastern Illinois town that looked similar to many of the small towns I grew up around in central Texas. A town square with a hardware store, grocer’s and auto mechanic who all somehow survived the Wal-Mart invasion. There was even a cannon as a monument to Civil War outside the courthouse. (Only, this one was used by the winning side.)

All in all, Effingham was not the type of place that many people would stop at unless it was for the gas and McDonald’s near the highway exit. (Don’t think it’s a complete slam, I grew up in a place like that. I love it, and think its one of the best places to be from. But it ain’t winning any popularity contest.) But there I found one of the coolest coffee shops outside Seattle.

Joe Sipper’s sits down the street from the old courthouse. Just over a year old, the furniture had yet to get the character that comes from knicks, scrapes, stains and paint chips from years of good use. But it was comfortable: solid wooden chairs, heave tables and open space. It was not the over-plushed sofas and hundred dollar folding chairs you get at a place that is trying to be from the set of Friend’s.

Joe Sipper’s has the expected games of Life, Trivial Pursuit and Balderdash; it even had the book shelve with all the right books no one ever read-Crime and Punishment, Ulysses, etc. However, I could tell it was not another cheap wanna-be by the bulletin board. It displayed local events: bands, art shows, high school sports and even church services. Joe Sipper’s was happy to be in Effingham, it’s cool was derived not hiding where it was. Instead of haveing the newest New York anti-folk singer’s CD playing, the radio turned out local classic rock. Instead of having reprints of art from the Met, local artists work on quail and barns hung on the walls.

I told the high school aged Barista and owner behind the bar what a cool place it was and how with all the art shows and bands it seemed like Effingham was a nice place to live.

The Barista disagreed. She wanted to move out and was probably counting the days until she could load up her car and be gone chasing her dreams.

I probably would have been that way if my parent’s hadn’t moved me to The Lou before High School. But as I get older, the more I realize the owner of Joe Sipper’s was onto something. We all have to be from somewhere and Effingham is as good as anywhere else, better than many. So, instead of running away from the small town to the big city, we need to enjoy what we have like the local bands, artists, church services and high school sports.