Linden Street Coffee House

THE GHOST POST - Chapter III: Who Turned On The Blender???

Only  Inspector Gadget or Spidey could stretch the 15 feet from the desk at Linden Street Coffee house to the smoothie counter (that's where our blender is).  Erich and Patricia sure can't.  But that's where they were the day the blender turned on by itself ... at the desk ... 15 feet away from the blender!

I came into the coffee house one day through the back door.  Erich and Patricia were standing at the desk talking, and they looked at me with a strange "how do I say this" look.  I just asked what was up and they kept looking at me as though - sorry for this - I were a ghost.  Then Patricia said, "We were over here by the desk a few minutes ago, and the blender started up.  We didn't touch it, we weren't even close to it, it just started running!"  Erich, who is normally level-headed, calm in the face of crises, and logical to the point of Vulcanistic, simply said, "I have to admit it was a little strange.  The blender just started blending."

The photo to your right shows (l to r) Patricia with her mean, military look, then Erich with his wonderful smile, and Jeremiah - they're in front of the smoothie counter on one of our busier days.  The counter is trashed with orange and pineapple juices, milk, chocolate, strawberries, and blender parts.  Ahh, those were the carefree, happy days before the blender was possessed.  You can see how comfortable they all are with their backs to the counter.  Not anymore ... bwahahahaha.

Now, maybe it's because we have a new Vita-Mix blender, but our blender hasn't turned itself on lately.  Maybe Our Ghost hasn't figured out which button to push, or maybe it's just waiting for the right time.  Either way, for the time being anyway, Our Ghost has "blended in" with the scenery at Linden Street Coffee House.  Come back soon for Chapter IV of the GHOST POST:  A Serenade For Patricia.

THE GHOST POST - Chapter II: The Open and Shut Case of the Freezer Door

Okay, so you're back to read more about Our Ghost.  If you missed The GHOST POST - Chapter I, just scroll below so you can start from the top!

Two weeks ago, my husband, Mike, and I went to the basement storeroom to put some things away.  The door to our upright freezer was WIDE OPEN.  Not a good thing when you're the one paying the utility bill.  We calmly asked Kaitlyn (she was working at the time) if she had been in the freezer lately, and she said, "No." 

We figured the door hadn't suctioned properly the last time someone closed it, so we went through the whole how-to-close-the-door-of-the-freezer-so-it-stays-shut routine with Kaitlyn.  She was bored, but politely said "thanks" and went back to work, but not before telling us that she had also heard was she thought was a bat flying around in the back room of the basement.  We chalked it up to late night jitters.  Silly us.

Four days later, I went downstairs at 6 a.m. (before anyone else came in to work) to do some inventory checks and, lo and behold, the freezer door was, yes, WIDE OPEN.  I would love to be able to tell you at this point that someone left it open the night before, but no.  Everything was still frozen and there was no condensation, so the door had only been open a short while ... while no one was there.

Yes, it's freaky and it's kooky, mysterious and spooky.  In fact, it's altogether ooky. 

Oh!  About the photo accompanying this article.  That's Tyson (he's 6'7" and plays basketball for Graceland University) and Sharon (she's, well, shorter than Tyson).  This picture has nothing to do with Our Ghost, but I love the photo so here it is.

Stay tuned for Chapter III of The GHOST POST:  Who Turned on the Blender???

The GHOST POST - Chapter I: Footsteps Without Feet

If you had told me three years ago that I'd be writing about ghosts - and not laughing - I would have, well, laughed.  But here I am writing about The Ghost of Linden Street Coffee House. 

When my husband and I first bought Linden Street Coffee House in February 2004, no one told us about The Ghost of Linden Street Coffee House ... hereafter called The Ghost of LSCH, or just Our Ghost.  Our Ghost is the real thing, complete with creaking floors, childlike singing, mysterious activities, and mischievous pranks.

So today we bring you GHOST POST Chapter I:  Footsteps Without Feet

The first time I met Our Ghost it was early afternoon, which is usually a quiet time at the coffee house.  Now, you have to understand that the building where our coffee house is located is about 100 years old.  We still have the original wood floors and some of the original interior brick walls.  It's quite beautiful, but old.  We really can hear the old floor creak ... sometimes when we're in the basement storeroom the only way we know a customer has come in is because we hear the floor above groaning!

So it's early afternoon, I'm the only one in the building, and I hear footsteps crossing the old dining room floor ... they stop at the cash register counter ... I go to the counter ... there is no one there!  (Take a look at the picture ... the green counter on the right is where Our Ghost's footsteps stopped.)

I chalk up the "footsteps" to my imagination and go on with my work.

Later that afternoon, Katie comes in to work and I say, "Katie, the weirdest thing happened to me today."  (Note:  I have mentioned nothing nothing nothing to anyone about my Ghost encounter.)  She smiles and says, "Oh, you met Our Ghost!"

Apparently, Our Ghost has introduced herself to several Linden Street Coffee House folks, and that day she was polite enough to introduce herself to me. 

Stay tuned for Chapter II:  The Open and Shut Case of the Freezer Door