Breakfast at Common Grounds

Yesterday I treated myself to a morning walk up to Common Grounds for a bagel and coffee. I sat in the slightly quieter reading room which was completely empty when I arrived. I read a little poetry while I ate, and people started coming into the room in ones and twos.

I was distracted from my reading as the ones or twos gelled into a group, specifically, a group of runners having a running club meeting. There were a couple of men engaged in introducing themselves to each other with their running CVs. They'd both been members of the club for some time but with staggered periods of active participation. Their conversation was slow, interrupted by sips of coffee and the relaxed atmosphere.

After I was finished eating, I started in on the sketch of the lamp, but just after I began there was an influx of other running club members, and their table grew, was pushed together with another table, and chairs started being shifted to accommodate the new arrivals. I offered up my spare chair, and was kindly thanked.

I purposely took my time with my sketch because I was enjoying the eavesdropping opportunity. There were three men just over my shoulder, in particular, whose conversation I enjoyed. I don't know if they noticed my smirks and low chuckles when they cracked a joke, but I was having a lovely time.

It couldn't last forever, though, and new members arrived. One young lady was offered a seat but declined in favor of standing a bit longer—almost the entire group had, you guessed it, run to the meeting. But my sketch was finished, and it was inevitable that she would eventually want to sit down.

This is the natural ebb and flow of humanity. We are in a constant dance of arrival and departure, accompanied by intended and unintended interactions.

For my part, it was a lovely way to spend a part of my morning.

Thanks for stopping by!