Coffee, friends and new-found freedom

I had a most interesting experience this morning. I exercise 3 mornings a week at a senior facility about 5 miles from my townhouse. I usually stop at my sister’s for coffee and conversation, but since she was out of town, I went directly to my other favorite place -- Starbucks.

After ordering my tall latte and a scone (after all, I did exercise) I was sitting alone, writing a grocery list, enjoying myself when two African American ladies walked past me and took another table across the room, and then they ordered. After picking up their goodies, they passed my table again and the younger of the two stopped and spoke to me.


My mouth was full and I was afraid I didn’t respond properly, but I did mumble that I was "just fine,” my usual response. So when I was ready to leave, I looked for the trash can closest to their table so I would have a purpose to speak to them again...


After introducing myself and saying how nice it was to have a stranger speak to me, they graciously asked me to be seated.

In my sometimes overly chatty manner, I gave them a brief history of myself, and then asked the young lady called “Gee” only one “Gee” not “Gee Gee”. Where she worked, and she said she had had a long career at Qwest, but had just retired ... their request, not hers.

But the freedom did give her a chance to do a little traveling, and she just returned from a trip to Washington, D.C. to visit a friend who was employed in the Bush Administration. It was Gee’s first visit to our Nation’s Capitol, and she was privileged to have a very special tour of the monuments, Arlington and the Capitol. She had a lot to say about patriotism, and how beautiful and impressive the monuments were.


I told both of them of my experiences in D.C. and how I never tire of going there. She told me of the newest museum, one she hadn’t had a chance to visit this trip…the ”Newseum”, which of course gave me the opportunity to enlightened them about how Joan and I had been there last May and how much we enjoyed the tour and especially being on the terrace on the 6th floor to view the magnificent view of the Capitol and all the museums and how proud we were to be Americans. They both agreed.

Gee’s friend seemed to enjoy our conversation and told us she is ready to make that trip with Gee. We visited a long time.

What a lovely encounter I had on Saturday, the day after Independence Day. A Perfect Moment? I think so!!!

Joyce, Aurora, Colorado