I woke early amidst a strange dream, shook myself of it, washed my face and shaved and walked down to the coffee shop.
Michelle. No Pete because it’s Friday, when he works at Lowe’s – “How Lowe can ya go?” he always says.
Michelle arrived to find the dishwasher broken, and so everybody else was getting a paper cup, but if I wanted a coffee mug, there were a couple of clean ones left. I accepted.
A couple of others trickled in, then the woman who lives upstairs from the coffeehouse and always comes down in her bathrobe to grab hers and go, arrived.
So I asked her and Michelle for a dream analysis. She proposed I ask ChatGPT. Nearly broke my heart in half. So, I mock-yelled out, “Oh I get it, no, I understand, no more human contact. Thought I’d come down to the coffee shop and get some perspectives on my dream, but we don’t do that anymore.”
Then we all discussed the idea that my dream was likely an internal expression of insecurity about what it is I am doing at this stage of my life. It was very early, but then suddenly four guys carrying crowbars, wearing neon yellow vests and sweatshirts announcing they were members of various steelworkers unions, arrived.
They were ordering coffee and when Michelle asked one of their member if he wanted room, he said no, he wanted his black, even though his mother told him drinking it black meant, “You will never find love.” Which was – wow.
I commented that seemed a little harsh, but that as a black coffee drinker for 30 years, he should respond to her, “That’s why I carry the mints.” Jeez, ma.
Meanwhile their colleague had noticed the pastries. “You don’t want no bread?” He asked the tall, younger man who had ordered coffee before him and stepped away. He pointed at the cabinet, “They got bread.” Michelle paused at the register to await his reply. The guy took a deep breath, swiveled back around and asked, “Is it vegan?”
It was 7:15 in the morning, place couldn’t have been quieter. Michelle literally initially laughed out loud. “What?” But then replied that no, the pastries weren’t vegan, but there was a hummus wrap that was. The guy responded that was too heavy and we all moved on. Three more steelworkers arrived. They were doing a demo/clean-up of material down the street.
But yeah, that was the story this morning, of the seven steelworkers – one a vegan and one who’ll never find love – as observed by an aging, insecure writist.
