In December, I was awakened by the Fresno Fire Department at 3 a.m. with news that my office was on fire. When I arrived, I discovered only rubble. I have been out of my office since then, wandering from desk to desk, coffee shop to coffee shop, and from Uber to The Hashtag in downtown Fresno on Kern Street.
Collect Coffee Bar is my newest go-to place for a relaxing and productive moment of reflection and self-collection. Jamal Anabtawi sold Sara Jarrar a car and a conversation began which culminated in many conversations every day in a gathering place called Collect Coffee Bar.
Sometimes, I eat alone. When I do so, my options are broader, brighter, and easier. But I do not always eat alone. When I eat with others, it is not necessary for my health that I eat. I have other ways of getting nutrition, but it is more pleasant and more of a celebration if I can order and savor something from the menu.
You have heard of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Those are relatively new. They follow a long tradition from England for the day after Christmas called Boxing Day. These are all about commerce, consumerism, and bargains. What do you do after the pre-Christmas deals and before the after Christmas exchange? Someone asked and answered the question several years ago and created Giving Tuesday.
It was a great party. Thousands showed up. There were lots of smiles, laughs, and dollars being circulated. There was music on every corner. There was dancing in the street. Businesses were popping up in empty buildings. It was like a Saturday night in a busy and revitalized city. It was Saturday, October 21 in Fresno on Fulton Mall. For a few moments, I thought I was in San Jose, Los Angeles, or San Francisco.
A conversation with Mark and Wendy DeRaud is going to cross multiple disciplines with some unifying themes. They are thinking artists and artistic thinkers. They are educators. They are community builders.
What happens when you take the best locally roasted coffee with a story and weave it into a local ice cream story? You add a dash of Jeff and Amelia Bennett of Ampsersand Ice Cream and a pinch of Bryan and Kimberley Feil of Lanna Coffee and you get a big cup of deliciousness. In other words, you get the grand reopening of The Revue in the Tower by way of Mia Cuppa.
I have a range of feelings as I stroll through the Organic Stone Fruit Festival grounds. I think back to the number of times I have attended, the fruits I have tasted, the people I have met, and the first story I did on the experience some years ago. With that in mind, I decided not to give a comprehensive report. There was just too much to observe, digest, and regurgitate (to use and abuse a digestion theme). I decided to simply offer some impressions, observations, and reflections.
A little boy sits reading a book. As he reads birds emerge and take flight into the vastness of an unknown world.
He is unleashing his imaginations, allowing his thoughts to soar, releasing words, ideas, and images into a world of possibilities. His creative mind has met the creative mind of an author, story teller, or poet on the pages of that book in his hand and that meeting has changed the world.
It is the best job they ever had.
It is a fresh start.
It is a chance to add value to other people’s lives and put smiles on their faces.
It is a place to build hope and to facilitate community.
