I confess it. I am one of those who go to bars and cafes with my laptop. I settle in, open the monitor and start writing. I don’t hear annoying noise, but rather an ambient murmur that helps me concentrate, even inspires me (without having to ask the waiter for a glass of absinthe). And without the presence of the green fairy at the table, in fact, more alone than one, I concentrate on my world. The waiters already know me. There is no need to order the coffee with soy milk or the mini ham. Even when they charge me, I am the one who reminds them of the amount. Many times happiness is just this.
I hope that my morning cafeteria does not support the initiative of establishments that do not allow the use of laptops, even if only during peak occupancy hours. This week we learned that it is a growing trend in Valencia, but it has been practiced for years. We are in the era of prohibitions. Not in my bar. The premises, to prevent such respectable practices as teleworking, writing or reading, even disconnect the Wi-Fi or remove plugs.
But we are also in the era of self-centeredness. Therein lies the other part of the problem. It should not be difficult for us to use common sense and think that we cannot sit for more than an hour with a single cold coffee on the table. How many times have I ordered drinks that I didn’t consume to stay longer in that creative corner of the bar…
Let’s all be consistent. Neither restrictive nor selfish. I would gladly pay a small stay fee instead of ordering a fifth tea with lemon. It may not be the solution, but one should be found that benefits everyone. Let’s think about how many great works would have been left behind with this restrictive measure. Without going any further, the entire Harry Potter saga that J.K. Rowling wrote at The Elephant House in Edinburgh. More examples: Fernando Pessoa in A brasileira de Lisboa, James Joyce in Davy Barne’s in Dublin… Establishments that, by the way, now boast of these busy clients.
But as in everything, the law is made, the trap is made… if they ban laptops, I will continue with the cell phone and its mini keyboard. And, if it doesn’t work out, we will always have the notebook and pencil as before. Maybe thanks to bars we will recover handwriting. Every cloud has a silver lining.
