Chaos Judgement

It’s a cold rainy morning but that does not stop people from coming to eat the homemade goodies and drink coffee at the little coffee shop.  It’s a different environment today, people are wearing sweats and jackets and instead of getting tea getting hot coffee. The shop is chilled with the cool air coming in from the door that is open and the ceiling fans being on. It smells like fresh brewed coffee and waffles with the slight hint of the incents. I love this time of year, I sit inside with the rest of the customers that do not want to get their computers wet or just do not like the rain. It is busy as usual this time with all sorts of customers.  Instead of just college students like normal it is elderly people, people that look to be in their forties, and the usual college kids finishing up last minute homework.

A mother and daughter walk in as I am getting settled and are oddly wearing shorts with jackets. The mother sits her daughter at a table and goes back up to the counter. The daughter is very energetic she is probably about eight. She entertains herself with two stuffed animals that are both wolves while the mother is ordering their meal and drinks. Her mother returns with a coffee that is spilling all over the place and the daughter is reputedly asking what she has in her hands. Their order is called and both are having a blueberry muffin that the shop makes by hand.

The daughter pickers hers apart without really eating any of it and the mother finishes hers off. With nothing for the daughter to do she is complaining about wanting to leave because she is bored. The mother ignores her and tries to finish her coffee. Finally getting tired of the daughter complaining she drinks her coffee and starts to pack things up. The daughter is flopping around trying to get her jacket on while holding her stuffed animals and yelling that she loves the rain and hopes it is still raning. The elderly people sit and watch this chaos tell the mother grabs the stuffed wolves and helps her put her jacket on. 

The daughter insists on helping her mother put the pates away and causes even more racket to go on. Everyone in the shop jumps, stops talking to look over at the commotion that is going on in the dish pit in the corner. With an embarrassed look on her face the mother grabs the rest of her things apologizes and takes her daughter out the door. When they are gone the old women that sat next to them started gossiping about the daughter being so out of control. Them being gone for a few minutes now the shop is back to the quit with nothing but small chatter and oldies on the radio.

Red and Green Oldies

I pull in the parking lot and realize it is rather empty this is unusable for a place like this. I walk into the building with the familiar warming smell but today it is really hot. The workers are behind the counter with four fans blowing on them cleaning up the place. When I get my pirate duck for my meal all I notice is the three customers inside, all doing homework. I grab my drink and walk to the patio where I normally sit, the original version of Tiny Dancer plays over the speakers.

One table sits out side, a table of two girls about my age. By their conversation I do not think they are from New Mexico, they discuss how the people from New Mexico can eat red and green chili. The girl with blond and blue hair tells the other girl in green shorts that red or green was the first question her professor asked today and she thought it was Christmas related.  

While I think I am the only one that knows the song Tiny Dancer, green shorts starts singing it. They get another joiner and she is a student also. I cannot help but to hear their loud conversation that the joiner is a nursing student. The nursing student and green shorts discuss getting into the nursing program while they get up to grab another coffee. Blue hair stays out side doing things on her computer. The two return and the conversation gets loud again. They make this assignment easy.

The place gets a little busier but it is too hot for most people to sit on the patio. Green shorts sing the oldies that play over the speakers while nursing student and blue hair do homework. The conversation switches over as “I don’t want to lose your love tonight” by the Outfield comes on the radio. They all sing the first verse then talk about how they no longer play their instruments since they moved out here.  This leads to them helping each other with homework because the nursing student already took the class they were doing the homework for.

They sit through a couple more songs while finishing their homework. Once they are done they all start putting their things away and plan to come back at the same time tomorrow. The three get on their bikes and ride off in different directions. I finish my food and the patio of the quite coffee shop is empty.

Insideout With a Book

With the wonderful smell of incense and coffee while soothing music plays over the intercom people keeping pouring in. It is two in the afternoon on a Friday and clouds fill the sky with a nice breeze cooling the air. In side there is women gossiping and drinking various kinds of tea. Outside where I sit is nice and calm with birds also spectating the customers that sit on the patio.

The majority of the customers outside are older men caring on conversations while having some coffee and a good laugh. She stands out being the exception of the little old women sitting alone on the patio.

 As she sits with her book in one hand and a fork in the other she is enjoying the world of her book and the taste of the sandwich. She does not have much to say as she is constantly getting up and going inside, only to come out with something small every time.

She is peaceful as she shares her bread crumbs with the small observant birds. She looks up occasionally, seeming to be after every other page, at the elderly man sitting alone at the table across from her. They strike eye contact once and she puts her glasses down and goes back inside. This time she returns to her book and meal with a refill on her coffee in her green cup.

Engulfed in her book I believe the birds have received more of the sandwich than she has. She then realizes the food is gone and her cup is still half full.  She puts her glasses back in their case and goes inside once more this time to put her plate away. While I watched her put her things into her bag and sit to enjoy the rest of her coffee I envied her.  To watch her be in her own world with the book taking her there, with nothing more than a cup of coffee and a good meal she was in heaven.

She stayed at her table to finish her beverage and once it was gone she grabbed her bag took the cup inside and walked to her car with her book in her hand and a warming smile on her face.  Her day being as simple as it was had been a success.