A family member recently sent me a story by email, “The Sparrow at Starbucks,” or “The song that silenced the cappuccino machine.” It’s written so touchingly, so smoothly, that I began to suspect it is fiction, so I went looking for verification.
Snopes.com doesn’t list it. TruthorFiction.com says it’s true, but for “proof” offers only the claim that it was published in a Christian magazine and mentions the author. Its links to both pieces of “evidence” are broken.
Ostensibly, the tale took place at a Starbucks in Manhattan, at 51st Street and Broadway. However, there is no Starbucks at that location. Die-hard believers might argue, “Well maybe there once was,” so I’m asking if any of you ever saw a Starbucks at that location. (And I’m checking with Starbucks.)
Here’s TruthorFiction’s version of the tale, if you’re interested.
Thank you for the address, Mark! I followed it up on Google Maps, and Street View definitely shows a Starbucks on that corner.
Just to be careful, I’ve also emailed Starbucks corporate office to see how long that store has existed, and I’ll call the store to see if they allow live music.
But it would certainly seem that there is little reason to doubt the story now.
Cheers!
Les
Yes, there is a location at 51st and Broadway, between Broadway and 7th Ave at
1656 Broadway
New York, NY 100196234
Thanks for the comment, Elena-Beth, and for providing the author’s contact info. I’ll send him a note. But I’m still hoping for a third party’s verification or denial. Seriously, what are the chances that the author would say, “Yeah, I made it all up” or be able to add verification that he didn’t? A third-party yeah or nay is what’s needed.
Why don’t you ask the author? All his contact info is on his website, which you can get to via this domain:
No news, Josh. But thanks for asking.
For anyone else who might read this post, my problem isn’t with inspirational stories; it’s with the whole “What are the odds? It must have been the hand of God” morale. Obviously, in a work of fiction, the odds are 100 percent that things will happen as the author needs them to happen. A fact that suggests a very different moral. . . .
What’d you find out? I found the same broken links to the story and no mention of this on Mr. Thomas’s website…