Don Senneville and Jim White
Cruising the Coffee Row this week has been lonely. Okay, we get why a steaming cup of Joe may not fit 115 degrees on the patio, but even the 75 degree interiors of our local stops are thin, like Don’s coffee. Has everyone gone to Flagstaff? We feel deserted. Please get out there and support our special towns’ coffee gifts. We are sitting in an air conditioned truck with excellent ‘to-go’ dark roast drip coffees from Local Jonny’s listening to NPR (or was it FoxNewsRadio?) wondering where everyone is. We will keep looking and researching further.
Maybe they are at the lake.
We are now headed to Bartlett Lake Marina to check on our barista friend, Alabama, who is from Louisiana. We have not seen her since the big fires out there. She would have to have evacuated twice from the lake, and we want to hear details. Did she still serve coffee to her rescuers, did she leave the live bait behind…? So many questions. However, as we approach the Bartlett Lake turnoff we are stopped, as the Boulder Fire now has sparked and closed the Lake again. We fear for our barista friend. People are evacuating and the local Hotshots are on it. How about free coffee for all the firefighters saving the desert and our homes? By the way, we know what Army coffee is. We learned what Navy coffee is. Rain water and mesquite beans make Hohokam coffee.
But is there a firefighter coffee? We bet it’s not decaf.
Okay, very dangerous local fires, coffee bean recalls, 115 degrees –150 in cars — politics, gnats, road closures, and car sunshades are just a few of the factors that contribute to the summer irritations. Even a macchiato doesn’t do it. So to escape reality, we head to the Seed Cafe at Cirvana looking for divine guidance and a date ball. Here there are humans with no tans and no problems, even with the heat. Curious as we are, we engaged in conversations with a few of the paler quests. Most appear to live above the 40th parallel and work in “IT”. We immediately questioned them about IT and AI. After determining that they were indeed not artificially intelligent, we listened intently. Our experience was extremely informative and fascinating.
However, a day later, we have no idea what they said. This may require another date ball and more half ‘n’ half. All in all, it was good to have human contact again after the deserted coffee shops of Coffee Row. Empty patios and parking lots with no bumper stickers dot our towns. The 4-Way Stop is a piece of cake these days. No line at the Grotto.
We have had several inquiries as to the 1st Annual Sundial Dog Show, sponsored by The CUP. The Kid Judges are waiting to meet with the Mayor to set a date and get permission. More to follow. Also, our favorite Barista from the Village Creperie is on assignment to Scotland and England. She will report her coffee experience when she returns. We hope she does not become a tea drinker. We need some summertime humor. Please share, if you are still here.
Write us at The CUP, [email protected]
** “Where Have All The Average People Gone?” (Roger Miller, 1969)
