… That American Dream.
There is a coffee shop across the street from my community and for the past few months I have been going there, late in the afternoon, to work on my numerous projects. I go there because I find it easy to concentrate amongst the chatter of all the senior citizens meeting there for coffee and talking about the good old days. They know me there, not by name but by habits. I have my routine and they know what I want. One day I mistakenly asked for coffee and the guy behind the counter told me: you mean hot chocolate? I smiled and said: of course, hot chocolate.
Most of the patrons there also know me. A few minutes ago, an older man apologized for sitting in my spot. You know, there is only one plug in that place and I usually sit next to it to recharge my laptop. That older man looked at me and said: don’t worry I will be leaving soon. This kind of familiarity could have been unwelcomed if I had not realized that some of my projects were targeting the kind of people sitting right here with me in that coffee shop: the 55+ crowd. I chose this place to write because it is the meeting place for most of the senior citizens living in the area and there are thousands of them. Next week, I will be pitching my creativity workshop to the county library and they would be the perfect audience for it. Most of these people here have wondered what I am working on. Some have asked and soon they will get to know. Having my mother living with me for the past couple of years has thought me a thing or two about older people and although most of my projects are designed for a much younger crowd, I had to realize that if you want to do business in the Boca, Delray, Boynton Corridor, you cannot overlook the 55+ group…
They are about to close shop and I have to leave. I say goodbye to the lady behind the counter, she must be in her late 30’s, her name is Shamoli and she is from Calcutta, India. I told her about my blog and told her that I would mention her name. Every one of us has a story to tell, I wonder what her story is. One thing is for sure, we are both in the pursuit of that ever fleeting American dream. But, as Frank Sinatra used to say: this time, I will do it my way.
