Today the smell of coffee slingshot me back to 2002. I am 17 and working as a barista at the local coffee house. Walking to the sink after measuring out the next day’s coffee I bring my hands to my nose and breath deep. Tanzanian Peaberry, mmmm… my favorite. Washing my hands I have the distinct feeling that I don’t belong here in this moment. Not an unusual feeling since my life the past 4 years has been anything but consistent.
I turn around and survey the condition of the shop. Its noon and our lunchtime regulars are few. George with Teddy his giant white pyrenees waiting patiently outside, Paul the mild mannered schizophrenic that looks disturbingly like the lead singer of Maroon 5, and a college couple who appear to be tearfully breaking up in the corner, a typical afternoon crowd. The room is decked out head to toe in 60’s décor courtesy of the owner’s hippie style. Everything seems in order, the orange shag couch, velvet beech scene, mod flea market café chairs, and the Janis Joplin poster, are all in their designated spots. Still, I can’t shake the feeling.
I squint to see if my perception will change. I shut my eyes and when I open them I’m back at my desk, coffee mug burning in my hand. I blink five or six times in hopes that what just happened was real and that I have discovered some untapped supernatural power. I want desperately to crawl back into that memory, to return to that time of my life. This thought surprises me. I however do not have the power to travel though time. I take a sip of my instant now luke-warm coffee and continue working.
http://www.aranae.com/moonflight/virtual.htm
Nostalgia stuck, yes that me laughing in the corner.
2 comments:
It's funny how sometimes a smell can transport you to another place in time. And also funny how sometimes you feel nostalgia for a point in your life when you didn't realize you were happy.
I think you're more of a writer than you lead on. Loved this post! Reminded me of my Starbucks days... which I'm NOT nostalgic for. At all.
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