MARCH 4, 2010
You can contact Marlene Graham at marlenegraham@earthlink.net
This morning I learned something important.
Do not drive around looking for a coffee shop. Especially if you find yourself looking eastward into a rising sun.
Collier was in school by five till seven and by eight I was still looking for a place. Now I did find some places that sort of qualify. There were two Einstein bagel places, a Skillets, a Blueberries (new breakfast place on 41), etc. but I want to start out this series with places that openly admit in their signage or reputation that they are mostly about coffee.
So the end result was that I went to a coffee place I was aware of but had never been to before within two miles of my office. Kind of a copout I suppose, but the fact is I had never been to Bad Ass Coffee on 3rd Street South before. I remember there was a little controversy played out in the media when they opened a year or more ago because of the name, but that was really all I knew about them. Again, since I don't really want to know tooo much about them so I don't find myself writing a LONG bad ass article, I just walked in and perused the atmosphere, didn't even read the story behind the creation of the company which is apparently a franchise that I couldn't help but notice was founded in 1989 because of the souvenir shirts hanging on the wall.
I didn't realize it until I was seated, but there was light jazz playing in the background which provided the main tonal backdrop to the television on the wall since the sound was turned down on Fox and Friends. It was funny that I was sitting there sipping on my coffee looking at the screen thinking that somehow I knew the female host of the show; but then I noticed the male host's name was Steve Doocy and realized, ironically, that in fact HE was the one I knew many years back (decades back -- yikes!) when we both worked in broadcasting in Wichita. Kansas. He was on a local PM magazine program when I worked in news at a different local station. Actually I should say I knew of him. Don't know if he ever knew me, though there was a photographer on that show that I would have really liked to have known. Vava Voom! Hmmm. Wonder what ever became of him. Hadn't thought of him in years until now. I would Google him if only I could remember his name.
Anyway I digress. And besides that, he is probably overweight and dumpy and in a dead-end job by now and I would hate to destroy the image that perhaps he is appearing on some sexy soap opera these days as the gorgeous older Latin leading man.
So back to the coffee shop, my small coffee, my seat pointed toward the television with the sound down, the jazz in the background, and the cute thatched roof decorative frame above the television as part of the Hawaiian Kona theme ....
Oh and there was another pervasive sound --- trickling water from a corner waterfall, framed by a palm tree, emblematic of the islands complete with one of those Hawaiian god statues rockily embedded.
Looking back toward the counter from my perch, I could still see the couple who had ordered ahead of me awaiting their "soy milk" something or other, one with a shot of something, the other with two shots of something. I don't know, somehow I got lost in the process of listening to the order spill out of her lips, mostly because I couldn't help but stare at her.
She has a name tag on for a specific business, and a full apron, but try as I might without my glasses I couldn't read the tag. She was thin as could be, with long stringy brown hair, glasses, and tattoos all over her forearms, probably all the way around. I couldn't make out what the tattoos were all about either, but I must say they seemed out of character for her exterior persona. She was with a wholesome-looking guy, country boy build, who did not have any apparent tattoos, though it was a cold day and they could have been covered up by his attire which was as "wholesome country boy" as his physique. When he paid for the two drinks, she thanked him and for the next few minutes his affectionate one-armed hug to her suddenly transformed into a full frontal hug to dancing her around the place planting a number of kisses on her face and lips. When they finally got their drinks they headed out to a car across the street with her in the driver's seat.
But back to my table. To the left was an older gentleman who seemed quite debonaire. To my right on a wicker couch, flanked by wicker chairs and a wicker coffee table, was a young good-looking fellow who stepped outside for a few minutes I believe to smoke a cigarette. I really wasn't going to talk to him because originally when I entered the shop he was so preoccupied with reading. When he returned from outside, he was more into his phone it seemed, so deciding I had to talk with someone before I left, I turned my attention to the older gentleman to ask if he had been at this coffee shop before. He said, "Yes" and so I wondered aloud if it was always so vacant in here, or if it packed up depending on the time of day. Frankly I tried to listen to his answer twice and still never figured out what he was saying to me and so I nodded and made a comment about the fact that I was starting a coffee shop blog in Naples. He didn't seem too interested, but then suddenly to my surprise the other guy -- the young one -- who was across the room on the other side asked me what my website was. I responded and so started our conversation.
I learned he was 23. He was from Indianapolis and went to school in Michigan for economics and literature. He didn't yet know what he wanted to do with his life and said he was on the "no plan" plan, though on this particular day he was biding his time waiting for his shift to begin at Tommy Bahamas where he works as a server. His name was Danny and he said that for the next few years his goal was to travel and enjoy life before getting too serious about anything. He wound up in Naples because he knew a girl who went back and forth, and he had decided to treat himself to a warm climate. He had also spent some time in Spain apparently for no other reason other than he always wanted to go. I have to say he seemed very clean-cut and status quo. Not the typical look you would expect from someone who thinks the way he does. I expect he will be quite successful in the future and when he is, I hope he remembers me! Might need to borrow some money down the road.
Oh and his last name was Murch, and his dad had just gone back to Indianapolis after a three-day visit with his son. Too bad it wasn't warm for him. Danny also said he liked writing -- though he preferred reading -- so I encouraged him to start an on-line diary to document his experiences over the next few years. He said that was probably a good idea, so we'll see if my comments actually impact his life in any way. Danny said Naples was okay, but when it's cold there isn't so much for him to do.
I get that. After all when it's cold here, Naples no "day at the beach" ... literally.
Well that's it for this episode. Gotta get to work, but stay tuned!
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