I need to make a point to get out more as I generally meet very interesting people. I had a morning coffee meeting with a friend at Hyde Perks in the north end. Miscommunication on the location left me sitting alone at a sidewalk table, a man asked if I needed the extra chair and as I was expecting company I said yes but offered him the seat in the interim. Odd that we both were meeting with those who failed to arrive. Tom was a very engaging fellow. We began our conversation talking about what we could be doing if we were not there. Tom mentioned his love of fishing and his desire to be on the Southfork of the Boise River. Not being an avid angler I could report having a fly fishing brother aa well as a son in law who consistently catch and release large fish. We moved on to talk about Silver Creek near Sun Valley. Maybe I should take up this sport as it seems to bring great joy and camaraderie. We exchanged a few personal details that led to us to realize we were both retired but active. Tom has been in Idaho for 8 years after retiring as a Los Angeles Homicide detective. His experience in what had to be a dangerous and challenging 30 year career, developed a non judgmental and introspective view of the world. He mentioned he had learned a lot from his counseling sessions around traumatic circumstances in his work. Instead of a cynical human he is a person who is genuinely interested in those he meets. We both kept checking our phones expecting to hear why we had been stood up. We were both surprised we had comfortably talked for 45 minutes and could have continued.
Tom’s son is an entrepreneur. He began working at 15 in a coffee roasting company and found his passion. He learned how to roast coffee and eventually opened his own coffee cart that is a fixture at State and Fifth near the Capitol. I am told the coffee blends are unique and he has built a solid following. He has exciting avenues opening up at the ripe old age of 19. Check out the website and the coffee at Idaho Jasper Coffee.
Tom and I commiserated about the state of our political malaise and disfunction, lack of leadership and apathy or inaction by many of us who have concerns for the future of our country. Abraham Lincoln gave us good insight “Elections belong to the people. It’s their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters.”
Enjoy the longest day of the year. Mike