On a Chapter’s Pause

So…

The decision I’ve both been yearning for and dreading has finally been made.  It was one of those that I had been pondering for months, reading the signposts, and genuinely wrestling with the decision, wanting so bad to make it at the right time, for the right reasons.

But then a minor medical incident started forcing my hand, where some bizarre occurrence with a tooth’s root and the wall of my sinus membrane prohibited me from lifting heavy objects, among other commonplace activities such as blowing up a balloon, blowing my nose, and picking up my kids for the entire summer.  I’ve definitely stayed away from the balloons, but I’m willing to blow out my sinus in exchange for picking my kids up, hugging them tightly, and wrestling with them on the floor.

Which probably contributes to my constant pain in the area; a trade-off I will make a hundred times out of a hundred.

So, reluctantly perhaps, and certainly under predictions I would never have conjured, we are taking a hiatus from Market Night for the summer certainly, and possibly longer, perhaps even indefinitely.

If I’m honest, we’re all a little glad to have a break; we’ve been at it for almost two years straight now, with perhaps a total of three nights off for varying reasons.  I know the crew certainly is glad to have the freedom that comes with the unexpected relief from a longstanding commitment.

And it has been that commitment that has been the most beautiful thing, and the thing that I focus on in this moment of mixed emotions for me.  For when a group of people join in a cause, amazing things happen, and it is nothing short of a miracle that the gang has made it this far with almost no burnout to speak of.  It is clear that their commitment lies far deeper than a personal commitment to me and my desires to get this company off the ground; their passionate embrace of the mission of Wild Goose is what has produced absolute beauty.  It is this passionate embrace that has kept Sean driving out from Riverside every night, staying late to help us load up after a busy night, even though he has to be at work at 7am the next day; Jeremiah coming straight from a day’s work to load and unload the equipment as we arrive at the Market; Mark dedicating hours learning the craft of being a great barista; Joe giving heart and soul and innumerable hours to the work that takes place behind the scenes, from the booth ambiance to the signs to priceless logistical advice; my wife filling in the many (and I do mean many) gaps that I leave behind in my wake.

They all have been to Joseph’s Storehouse, and they all know that the pain, the inconvenience, and the labor that we do for the sake of Wild Goose translates directly to food on someone’s table.  Regularly.

They all see that the fatigue we feel on a Thursday night, doing hours upon hours of hard work without any compensation whatsoever pales in comparison with the stress of the families here in town who don’t know whether they will be able to make their rent payment on any given month, whether dad will have work this week or not, and just how much food little junior will get to eat this night.

Things like this help us all to see things a little differently, which is precisely why we have all been to Joseph’s Storehouse.  There is something about seeing others who have so little, and not only being moved to compassion, but being moved to action, that compels these guys to follow some crazy guy in his mission to build a better coffee company.

It truly is a remarkable thing when people put their creative energies into a cause they believe in; I hope this is only the beginning of a very large movement of people in this country who take their beliefs and put hands and feet to them, regardless of the personal sacrifice.

Because it is worth it.  One hundred times out of a hundred.

And so, one might naturally ask whether we will continue with the Market.  And the answer is, I honestly don’t know.  And that, if I’m honest with myself, invokes a flood of fearful emotions: what will people think, will they think we’re quitters? will we even be missed? will Wild Goose fizzle out quietly like a well-shaken but neglected soda?

But when I confront those fears, I feel a remarkable peace about it.  For Wild Goose is not Market Night.  It never has been.  Wild Goose is a mission, a cause, and a conviction.  And it is shared by many.

We have always existed to use coffee as a vehicle for doing good in the local and global community, and I am proud to reflect on the impact Wild Goose has made to date.  An impact that has provided for over 17,000lbs of food in a very short amount of time, along with help for a university vegetable garden, and some water filters for tsunami victims in Myanmar (our first project).

And the exciting news is that this is only the beginning of the impact Wild Goose will have.

There, I said it.

We are in the process, right now, of purchasing a commercial-sized coffee roaster that will allow us to roast and distribute coffee, up to 10,000lbs per month.  That’s 50,000lbs of food, every month, for the fine folks in our community.  And that’s just the start.  If we’re doing that kind of volume, we’ll have a little extra to do more, much more.

And when I think about this, I admit that it will be a long road until we’re supplying enough cafes, restaurants, churches, and offices to be roasting at capacity, but it is a road that I can see a path down, and the path is exciting and good.  It’s not a paved path, it’s not a well-maintained path, for when has comfort ever really produced character?

But it is a path, and it will be our path.

So, instead of focusing our labor on setting up a portable espresso booth each and every Thursday night this summer, we will be spending our time completing the transaction for this roaster, finding the right warehouse to put it in, and getting accounts.

People will still be able to get our coffee, roasted fresh, on the shelves at Olive Avenue Market here in town.  We’ll still send out our email newsletter with updates on our progress.  We may even still find a way to use the Gooseword on Twitter, for free stuff periodically.

We certainly aren’t going away!  It’s more like we’re in the beginning part of a really good book, and we’re pausing for reflection before we pick it up again.  And when we do pick it up again, it may look different to us, it may look similar, but its story will continue.

And it will continue in ways that are unexpected, glorious, and wonderfully philanthropic.  And it will continue as a story that is played out by committed characters, all of us sharing a role, whether those roasting the coffee, or those purchasing it and enjoying it; we will all share in the journey that is Wild Goose Coffee, using our love for coffee and our love for doing good, grinding them together and pouring them into a most delicious cup…

Advertisement