New Year Surprise

When the familiar no longer is.

Last Wednesday I was surprised by how bright and open the area in front of the coffee house I have been stopping by before heading the rest of the way to the med school suddenly became. At first, I thought it had gone out of business, but the two outdoor tables with two chairs apiece were still there. So what was missing? Ah, the potted plants were gone, so too was the A frame sign and vintage bicycle.

Similar inside, brighter and more open but missing plants. Also gone was the Covid barrier that went back up some time ago after previously being taken down. The three people who have worked there for all the years I patronized their store were also absent, in their place were 5 or 6 wearing a new version of uniform for that chain of coffee house.

I believe the three who used to work there were a family. The older two I am sure are married, the manager was constantly finding fault with the women of the same generation. I cannot fathom anyone but a spouse putting up with it. He reminded me of my preexwife. The younger woman appeared to be their daughter. Did the old couple retire or were they forced out, I do not know. Not sure how I feel about this, but it doesn’t matter what I think or feel about it. This is the coffee house I have written many of my posts at before heading in to work.

There are currently 5 behind the counter, 3 men, all of whom are masked, and two women who are maskless. The manager is coughing up a storm and reminded me of one of my many complaints about others masking; he is not covering his mouth nor even turning away, apparently trusting the mask to stop his ejecta from spreading. Masks do not have this ability. Thus we have another way in which the reality of their use is the opposite from supposed, one of the “perverse effects” mentioned repeatedly in a 2017 European report on flu pandemic countermeasures for that area of the world.