On "Free Coffee" by Bernard Kronik (436 words) ***

This is a simple piece, about the cost of free stuff. It works well because of the details it presents, and it's overarching concern--can this really be free? I know, I have questions like that myself sometimes, and sometimes I won't take something because I know there's got to be a catch. Sometimes, there is. Sometimes, there isn't. And sometimes there isn't, but it ends up costing anyway. That's what Kronik manages to convey here at Verb Sap.