Corning, NY: Home of the best iced coffee in the world

If you’re ever driving down I-86 in Western New York, take the time to detour into Corning and stop by a little coffee shop on Main Street called Soulful Cup, home of the greatest coffee drink known to man: Soulful Cup’s iced Crème Brulee coffee.

I had my second Crème Brulee coffee yesterday when my wife and daughter and I arrived in town for a wedding. The first time I had such a drink was the weekend I met the bride and groom – Sharon and George – and two other friends, Brian and Sara, who would had a major impact on my life.

I was in Corning with Jamie and Shannon on the final extended tour for the Righteous Insanity touring group. We did an acting workshop in the morning with a writing workshop in the afternoon. Normally, I would have eaten lunch with our hosts or the church staff members while the other team members sat with students. This day, however, I sat with George and Sara… and life was never the same since.

We hit it off as a group with the pair. We managed to get them invited along to dinner that night, after which we went to that wondrous coffee shop. It was there we met Brian, and the following day at church we met Sharon. Matter of fact, we sort of ditched our hosts for the last meal before we left town because we were having too much fun with our new friends.

I’ve kept in touch with the four of them the last several years. They’ve been an amazing sounding board for jokes, script ideas, story ideas, and websites beyond Righteous Insanity. George and Brian were even in my wedding.

I’ve been so blessed to have these crazy New Yorkers as friends… and it wouldn’t have happened without me stepping out of my comfort zone that day.

We all face a choice, as leaders or just church members, to sit silently and only shake hands, or to really take a moment to get to know someone else. The easy thing to do is to sit back and be silent. But shyness will never bless you the way opening up to others will.