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The Cafe Life

June 7, 2014 By Kimberly Kradel 2 Comments

Sitting at my regular table in the back of the back room at my evening cafe in Berkeley, I can look out the front wall of windows to the donut shop across the street. In the window of the donut shop is a sign made of led lights that gives the lottery prize amounts for the upcoming big games. Tonight’s PowerBall pot is full of $221 million dollars.

As I sit at my table at the cafe, I should maybe be doing other things, but I’m thinking beautiful thoughts about what I would do if I woke up tomorrow and was magically turned into a princess worth quite a bit of money. I always think that I would be pragmatic about owning that much green paper and do very wise and altruistic things with it, not only for myself, but for others as well. I would bank a lot of it and put myself on a budget. Most of all I would remember who my friends are, and who my friends aren’t. I think it’s a bit dangerous to say what I would actually do with that much coin. People might hold me to it. But I do have a plan …

* * * * *

[bctt tweet=”I spend a lot of time in cafes. It’s a way of life, a way of living, a way of viewing and observing the world as it moves about. Cafes are on my list of things to do as I travel the world. “]

I spend a lot of time in cafes. It’s a way of life, a way of living, a way of viewing and observing the world as it moves about. Cafes are on my list of things to do as I travel the world. Sitting in them for hours on end gives an introduction into the culture of a place – through food, and through drink, and through community. Cafes are where you can hear the local neighborhood gossip and find out what’s what.

Hanging out in this one for months at a time has embedded me into the community. I eavesdrop on the tutors who help their students through their daily lessons. I watch movies on my laptop, read a book every now and then, I write, I work, sketch in my journal, eat dinner with a friend from time to time, celebrate birthdays, watch the men knit and spin yarn in their knitting group, the gamers play board games, the psychics give readings, and I wave to the other regulars as they pass by looking for a table – forgetting names but remembering faces.

It’s a life, this cafe – any cafe is a living thing.

Every neighborhood should have at least one, don’t you think?

Filed Under: Berkeley, Culture, Travel with a Twist Tagged With: cafe life, cafes, lottery

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. melaney davis-mcshan says

    November 14, 2014 at 7:51 pm

    I really enjoyed reading this piece about the cafe life. I imagine what it is like when you post on Facebook, but this piece really took me there. Yes, I think every town should have a cafe. I have wanted someone to open an internet cafe here in my town, but none of my friends take the bait when I mention it and I don’t have the money nor can I justify it after going to school for almost 15 years. But I can dream that cafe life and maybe pretend from another spot that is in my life’s path.

    Thanks again for a piece that for me was so much more than a diary entry, blog post, or whatever it is you call this.

    Reply
  2. Kimberly Kradel says

    November 14, 2014 at 8:03 pm

    Thank you, Melaney!

    I wrote it for you!

    Reply

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