Colorful characters fill this crew

Members of a coffee-drinking crew tend to wander in and out of the Kmart cafe between 8:30 and 10 a.m., Monday through Saturday. A variety of topics is discussed.

"Everybody wants to talk at once 'cause between us we've got hundreds of years of experience, so everybody wants to tell their story," Walter Hill said at Thursday's gathering. "The trouble is, we can never remember the names."

During the morning, various members of the group stop by, talk and drink some coffee, then head off again. Sometimes they come back for more coffee and companionship before the morning is over.

Others stay...