Please Lower the Price

This story reported in today's edition of the San Jose Mercury:

Patrons at a Starbucks in San Francisco almost got an afternoon jolt Monday -- but police defused a makeshift bomb in the bathroom without causing any harm.

About 1:15 p.m., an employee at the store, 1401 Van Ness Ave., found a "suspicious device" in the unisex bathroom and called police.

When the bomb squad unit arrived, officers determined the device was an explosive and evacuated nearly 100 people from the coffee shop and a multi-unit apartment complex above it.

The device was disabled an hour later, San Francisco police Sgt. Neville Gittens said. "If it had gone off, it could have caused serious damage and injury," Gittens said.(Emphasis added.)

We're happy to know there were no injuries. But have you ever had coffee at Starbucks? We have. Did you know they have pricing for coffee that is out of this world? Do you know there is a special language that one must use in order to buy a cup of coffee at Starbucks? There's something about ordering "just a cup of coffee" at Starbucks that makes me feel utterly stupid! What happened to small, medium, and large? What happened to with or without cream and sugar? Why must I order "tall"? What is a frappe? Why must I pay so much for coffee at Starbucks? Do I sound "unsophisterated"-- rube-like? Well when it comes to ordering and paying for "just a cup of coffee" I prefer to simplify my java.

I think the message in the explosive device being placed in the restroom of the store is quite simple. Drop all the pretense. Drop the affectations. DROP THE PRICE FOR A CUP OF COFFEE!