Well, yesterday. Or maybe the day before.
B-man got in there early, as usual.
I was looking for him, because he'd told me that a friend of his who works at the thrift shop was saving the Albertson's Monopoly coupons. I don't do that; I've been seeing them on the street for months. Our local lovely Albertson's checkers are weary of this game. Today, they gave out four-for-one.
Since I found out that B-man's friend (who is an acquaintance of mine as well, and a lovely smart bookish person) was into this marginal little lottery, I started saving them.
Went by the new coffee shop, Yellow Brix, still sporting its "Opening Soon!" banner. Saw B-man on the porch, eating a sandwich.
He invited me to stay. No, I said; I'm back from the grocery store, gotta get home with the food and put it in the fridge. When are they opening?
"What do you think I'm doing here?"
I pointed at the "Opening Soon" banner.
"They've got a tiger by the tail."
I gave him the good inch of coupons I'd collected from the Monopoly game. Promised to be back soon.
And I will. This is good. This could be the best thing since the book store.
It's a huge lot, with indoor and outdoor seating, good food (B-man sez so) and nice landscaping, umbrellas outdoor, and it's at a good intersection, right near two main Interstate highways going through town. (285 and 180).
It's hard to make a go of this sort of thing down here, so if you're in the neighborhood, give these people some love! They are planning to be open into the early-mid evenings, last I heard, which nobody ever does around here except for our few bars, and how boring.
I plan to hang out there myself. You can know me by my dark red bicycle with the white folding baskets and the yellow fenders. Or maybe you know what I look like already.
One way or the other, I'll be there. Gotta give these people some props, give 'em a chance. They've been working on putting this place in order for well over a year now, and they told the local newspaper they were looking for the sidewalk trade.
In Carlsbad? They think they can get that here?
They are braver than me. But sometimes things change.
I will, of course, run into all of the same people there, sooner or later, who have given me grief in the past.
And I will, equally of course, work on smoothing out the rough edges of all of us rocks in the box of monks, getting over it, and not getting in the way of this being a new place that we really all do need.
Especially the newbies; they need this. After hanging around Topix for some months, I've found a few people who actually are decent bloggers. They can come there too, I can meet them, they can meet me.
This town is SO lame in this department. I've watched good enterprises come and fail. This time, must be helpful and stalwart.
After 13 years in this town, I'm not a local by old-timer standards.
But I'm somebody.