Dempsey's Deli

11319 Pinehurst
October 18, 1996

24-7 Seattle desires her
because she's well rounded,
but most importantly,
her heart is golden.

Between rush hours
when the baker isn't looking
she dresses up in party colors or simmering coconut
and dances the tango with the cream-filled eclairs.

Through the glass you could hear
the muffins clap and the croissants sing
as she transforms her tray
into a dance floor worthy of John Travolta.

As she cha-chas she won't worry about lay-offs
as much as small sizing.
As she waltzes she won't worry about out-of-town traffic
as much as competitive biscotti.

She's as common as the guitar,
as necessary as Pike Place Market.
She's Seattle's cosmopolitan, independent pastry
the 50-cent donut.

Java Club

7811 Aurora Avenue North
October 17, 1996

A new Seattle soap opera - As the Coffee Beans Grind
featuring in order of appearance:

A social worker and a juvenile offender;
Cynthia - barista, wears glittering earrings;
AA attendees;
A Woman - dark eyes, possibly of southern European ancestry, imperceptible accent from eastern United States. Stares a lot.
Various:
Muffin Delivery Person aka Hey, man, how's it going?
Instant Coffee Drinkers from Kalamazoo, Michigan
Police Officers

Scene I
3:00pm - raining outside as viewed through the front window.

A social worker and a juvenile offender comment about the black and white historic Seattle photographs hanging on the wall. Cynthia directs AA attendees to the backroom as she opens a new bag of Tim's Cascade Style potato chips. A Woman with a pen and pad of paper either stares at soap operas on the TV or the Various characters filing in and out of the back room

Scene 2
3:05pm - raining outside as viewed through the front window.

Cynthia and Hey, man, how's it going discuss the increase in espresso prices as three Instant Coffee Drinkers read about the miracle cures of lattes outlined in a brown, leather bound book with gold lettering, The East Coat Poet's Latte Recipes for Miracle Cures, they just bought at Magus Books. Cynthia prepares three mochas for them as she directs AA attendees to the back room. A Woman with a pen and pad of paper either stares at soap operas on the TV or the Various characters filing in and out of the back room.

Scene 3
3:15pm - raining outside as viewed through the front window.

Cynthia gossips with two Police Officers who thought they heard someone plot to overthrow Microsoft or plot a scandal featuring Paul Allen and Ken Behring. Cynthia directs AA attendees to the back room. A Woman with a pen and pad of paper either stares at the soap operas on the TV or the Various characters filing in and out of the back room.

Scene 4
3:30pm - raining outside as viewed through the front window.

Cynthia talks to A Woman about how the floating bridge floated away, and how the Hammering Man fell the day it was unveiled, and how the elevator to the top of the Space Needle was stuck halfway up to three hours, and how the Fremont Troll is hollow (after all it is a soap opera).

This day's episode of As the Coffee Beans Grind
is brought to you by the Summer of 1980
when Luke and Laura from General Hospital
captured my imagination as a hopeless romantic
and stifled my creativity as a playwrite.

Larry's

209 1st Avenue
October 16, 1996

It's ironic
that I sit in a bar at 10:30am
drinking a latte I paid for
with a coupon.

I hear small talk of regulars
or tourists eating breakfast.
I hear small talk between the bartender and a customer at the counter
like in movies or sitcoms
or other cities.

Baithouse Coffee Shop

5517 Seaview Avenue NW
October 13, 1996

I walk down steep steps to this diamond in the rough;
a room with a view of seagulls, sunsets, Shilshole Bay,
and a small town feeling like in The Shipping News¹.

A man interprets what a woman signs to the staff;
it's obvious from their responses
that they know each other.

This woman baked the biscotti and cookies for sale.
She licks her fingers as another man checking fishing nets
sits with an open bottle of beer.

Staff cook then eat what they want
as they look at the boats sailing to and from the Ballard Locks
possibly like their cousins in Nova Scotia
or their ancestors.

^{1 The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx}

15th Avenue Cafe

5905 - 15th NW
October 13, 1996

I rush
to catch a bus
so I can rush to a computer
to rush out applications
to the mail.

Oh no!
I miss my bus
so I can't rush
to the computer.
Instead I'll order a sandwich
and initiate small talk.

Should I be in a rush to find a job
when my finances are in the ditch,
but I enjoy myself so much?

YES!!!

I rush
to catch any bus
so I can rush to a computer
to rush out applications
to the mail.

Seacrest Boathouse

1660 Harbor Avenue SW
October 12, 1996

Autumn leaves in my
memories; an Autumn mist
covers Seattle

Celesto Espresso

963 Mercer Street and Boat Street
September 27, 1996

I notice her espresso cart is manufactured by Eclipse,
which reminds me of last night's lunar eclipse,
and I ask if she saw it.

Both of us saw it last night.
I was walking home from Simply Desserts.
She just bought something at the store.

She mentions that two boys stood out in front
enthusiastically encouraging people,
Look, look at the moon!