Sometimes you just nail it. You create a memory that comes as close to the ideal as possible – maybe even the ideal. For me it was a cold and rainy day in California. I cannot remember the circumstances of the time away from work that allowed me to do this, but the fact that I could is all that is necessary to the memory.
It was a weekday. The family was content and taken care of – the kids in school, the wife taking a morning nap. And I had a good book (Red Star over China by Edgar Snow in beat-up paperback).
As I said, it was cold and rainy – which for the area (Monterey) probably meant winter – but more like a good autumn day in a lot of other places (to include the small Wisconsin town in which I grew up). So, I grabbed my book and headed out to find a peaceful place to read. After driving for a while I landed at a Pacific Grove coffee shop called “Juice ‘n Java.”
Now, Juice ‘n Java was unique in a few respects, but perhaps most in the sofas placed in proximity to a wonderful stone fireplace. And this was the mid-90s. There were no smartphones. There were no laptops. While I suppose I could’ve used a Walkman or something like it, that wasn’t really my thing at the time. It was just me, a book, a fire, a sofa, a cup of coffee. Some soft, light music in the background. Still early enough that it was after the morning rush but before a later crowd wandering in. No one else but the barista. The moment that has stuck with me for nearly a quarter-century. The moment I’ve searched for ever since.
Hoping to find it again someday.
