People who want to be alone, but in the company of others

Even if we want to be by ourselves, totally alone, often we want that solitude while in the company of strangers. Coffee shops are havens for those who wish to be alone while in the company of others. I imagine, they are the ones with laptops open, newspapers or the utensils of pen and paper seated at a single table or their favorite cushioned corner chair, or simply sitting alone. There they become absorbed while the hours pass, or they rush in with their utensils to be undisturbed briefly while they spend time with their inner selves and a warm or cold coffee beverage.

Late Sunday evening on 4-July, I drove to a coffee shop thinking it might be closed. It is one of those places easily overlooked on a weekend due to the location, large lightly tinted windows and soft lights inside. There was one customer seated with a newspaper, three barista staff and quiet music. I ordered a small coffee quartered with milk and thick foam and chose a seat at a six-chair double table by a window that had a view of the main street. Cars were few--as it were 4-July and late Sunday evening. The coffee shop atmosphere was cozy and I produced pen and paper to paragraph something short. Within a span of no more than fifteen minutes a car slowed and pulled to the curve just outside the window where I sat and a couple came inside. Minutes later another car slowed with five girls inside taking view inside the coffee shop and they parked their car behind the car of the first couple. Next, a man came in through a side entrance with a newspaper under his arm and occupied a cushioned chair. And the visible bodies inside the shop caught the attention of a few other cars that slowed on the street looking inside the shop. Soon the five-chairs at the double table where I sat were politely asked for use at another table.

Whether alone as a group, alone as a couple, or individually alone, there is something fulfilling, shared and ethereal to be in the company of others.

Show a little compasssion for the unemployed -the jobless aid bill DENIED

I was disappointed by the recent filibuster in the U.S. Senate which caused the jobless aid bill to not pass. The bill would have allowed unemployment extensions through November to those unemployed for longer than six months. The irony is that the bill - if it were based on actual votes - did pass in the Senate, but due to an outdated parliamentary procedure--the “filibuster”--Democrats were short of the 60 votes required to overcome the Republican led filibuster. The vote was actually 57-41. Yes—57 votes Democrats, 41 votes Republican. The “filibuster” has long strayed from its intended purpose and its use in this instance did little for those in need.

I realize there are many fortunate Americans who decry "It is so wrong to give federal tax dollars to the unemployed", "what about the deficit, the economy" …and I have heard or read the many arguments against it. But the consequences of having a million or more individuals and families stripped of the temporary financial lifeline for basic survival would cause far more financial devastation to the economy. The economic situation at hand in American was not caused by the average citizen and it will not be solved by simply denying jobless aid funding to the unemployed.

Maybe the Words below Have MEANING For Those who Understand

"I doubt if there is one voice here that knows the nightmare of being without, to lose your job, your home, to be condemned for being long term unemployed. I wonder if there is one voice here that knows what it's like to have to sleep in a car that has run out of gas and to wake up to the nightmare of having that car broken into by someone who feels that you have more than them because you have a car, and to not even have a cell phone to call the police.

Once you lose that wonderful cushion and live the nightmare of being disconnected from this wonderful society and experience just how difficult it truly is to be hired by all those amazing Fast Food jobs and WalMart jobs and any other low paying job simply because you are on foot, without a phone, without a place to stay and you're looked at like garbage --THEN and ONLY THEN will you understand that nearly every voice on here is speaking from their lives IN PARADISE.

Be careful what you deny to others, you may one day need the same kindness, and PLEASE hope that someone, anyone will see you as a human being trying to climb back into the shoes of life, and not a worthless charity case."
(by Sandstorm)

A Lost Hour

There I was typing a few thoughts at 1:30 am. I didn't want to stay up too late so I wouldn't sleep late Sunday morning. I'm trying to start an early rising routine. Then I look at the laptop clock again and it says 3:00 am !!. What happened to 2:00 am. It was eliminated right before my eyes. How can we allow such things. I was pushed one hour ahead without the work to show for it. Now 4:00 am is less than a half hour away. I'm not ready for Daylight Savings Time. The sun is shining longer in the evenings, as the season dictates, must we have daylight until midnight.