E-R-I-N spells Erin

Erin's whole life revolved around letters and words - writing them, reading about them, thinking about them ... If someone talked about Florida, she didn't necessarily envision palm trees, beaches and coconuts, she just saw the letters F-L-O-R-I-D-A. She wondered if it was the same for everyone, if they saw words spelled out in their mind the way she did. It's always been that way for Erin ... words, nothing but words, all the time. Sometimes Erin worried that she might have hypergraphia just like one of her favorite artists, Vincent Van Gogh. But other times, she thought that it was just her hypochondria talking.

I dropped Erin at a brand new Dunkin Donuts, around the 1400 block of Powerline Road in the same plaza as a bingo hall and the now-defunct New Mermaid House Restaurant. I stopped there a few weeks ago for my free iced coffee on a Thursday and DD was closed. I assumed it was an old store that had gone the way of other businesses at this center. Tonight I was driving in that area and saw a big DD-now-open sign out by the road. I decided to stop in .... and all I can say is "Wow."

It's unlike any DD I have ever seen. This place not only has couches and chairs and nice tables, but there's Wi-Fi access and a little counter around back that I immediately scoped out as a good place to put a laptop and go to work. There are other spaces, but that little corner appeals to me. The only person in there using a laptop apparently thought the same thing, and looked pretty comfortable over there in my corner. But, you know, it's big enough for two. So if it turns out to be his corner, I'll slide way down to give him plenty of space. But seriously, I won't hang there all day, maybe just occasional afternoons. But if I were going to hang out at any DD all day, it'd be this one.

Get this: There's a huge conference room, with big comfy chairs ... There's even a big flat screen plasma TV (not that I'll watch TV, but in case others are interested). Even the ladies room was fancyish, with a tree in a pot in the corner ... that's where Erin is right now. Alright, I'll stop. But there was just something about seeing this fancy schmantzy Dunkin Donuts in the middle of this weird little shopping center that just made me smile. I'm really not sure why I felt so amused. Sometimes it's better not to question it.