Caribou Coffee

This morning I had two fairs at Aurora Central Catholic and Marmion Academy and just visited South Elgin High School. I was excited to see my sister-in-law's boyfriend at South Elgin H.S., where he teaches physics. It is always fun to see people you know in different places.
I have titled this post Caribou Coffee for a couple reasons. The first is pretty straightforward. I am sitting in a Caribou Coffee shop writing this. A laptop's location is always a viable candidate for a blog post's title. Today location wins out.
My second (and more interesting)reason is offered up by a friend of mine named Paul Frank. Yes, his name is actually Paul Frank and no, he has never designed any clothes. Paul is a friend of mine who also attended Valpo. He came to campus from Maple Grove and studied civil engineering, in case you are wondering. Paul is a fun guy who gets along with most everyone. Never seems to be too angry or wroth with anyone and is always pretty easy going. This makes him very easy to like. However, there are moments when Paul shows great rises in emotion. These moments are usually spaced out and lie dormant within his routinely easygoing nature, but every once in a while they emerge as Paul shows unprecedented amounts of excitement over things that seem seemingly small and ordinary. Paul is known to get energized about all things Swedish, trains, winter and, as pertains to this blog, he has an enduring love for Caribou Coffee.
I have a couple of distinct memories from my undergraduate years at Valpo of different excursions with Paul. We were traveling away from Valpo (there is no Caribou Coffee shop in Valpo) and he remained relatively quiet throughout our travels. Then suddenly, at the sight of a branch of his beloved coffee franchise, he would erupt in a fury of conversation about the delicious nature of Caribou Coffee. Carribou Coffee gave our silent friend voice; his dormant heart joy. It was glorious.
This subject may seem to be a trivial and unimportant point of my Valpo experience, but I assure you it is not. You see, Paul's love for Caribou Coffee made my Valpo experience unique. Not Paul's loves alone, but a combination of unique loves and perspectives from students all over coming together on Valpo's campus and bring them to one campus and academic experience. Paul's love for Caribou is mirrored by Ryan's love for Hamburger Helper (Ft. Wayne), Darryl's love for Van Wilder (Colorado), Holly's love for her free bicycle (California), Shaun's love for Jimmy John's (St. Louis), etc. Students come to Valpo from all over the U.S. and all over the world to share their loves for coffee, food, ideas, music, dance, athletics, and many other aspects of their lives. They influence one another and help one another see other ways of doing things. Together they form a community and this community benefits all who are a part of it.
Thus, I must thank Paul and all my other friends for making my Valpo experience unique. If anyone is wondering, I favor white chocolate mocha's...