Thursday, June 11, 2015

A Wonderful Treat

The Little One and I had planned today to head over to Kaiser Permanente where she had an appointment and I had to pick up prescriptions.  We knew there was a little coffee shop in between buildings so we also planned to grab coffee just before heading to our obligations.
As we walk up towards our destination, we see rows of canopies and I crack a joke to my sister about this being some sort of farmer's market.  She responds with, "Oh yeah, like once a week they do a farmer's market to promote eating well".  I know Kaiser does radio commercials about "thriving" and "being well" but I never knew that there was a weekly farmer's market.  There was probably about 20-25 vendor stalls with fresh fruits and vegetables, pastries, flowers, honey, and oils.  We had to be careful because I saw a seafood stall but the kid is horribly allergic so I didn't go near it.
We made our way to the coffee stand, Pastries by Edie Express.  This is a company that has a chain of shops and has a smaller version at this Kaiser campus.  We ordered our drinks; the kid got a double chocolate mocha frap with a chocolate croissant on the side, and I got a white chocolate raspberry mocha.  Both drinks were terrific.  The last time I had a raspberry mocha was at It's a Grind in Moorpark.  This was not as sweet as the one in Moorpark, which made it better.  Just the right amount of mixed flavors, not too foamy or sugary.  Delicious!
Behind the coffee stand was a wonderful treat.  It was a group of handicapped people who preform together as a bell choir.  They were wonderful!  Beautiful renditions of Somewhere Over the Rainbow and Take Me Out to the Ballgame, and Edelweiss on the bells throughout the corridors.
As I waited for the Little One to finish her appointment, I found a quiet bench to the side to enjoy the bells choir and take in the smells of the fruits and flowers.  It must have been a popular bench because a woman sat down next to me for about three minutes, then left and that's when an old man came up and asked if anyone was coming back.  I said no, so he sat down.
As I enjoyed my coffee, this old man proceeded to tell me his whole life story.  Born and raised in New York, met his wife at 19 years old, and knew Gary Marshall.  For 20 minutes he told me everything, from dirty Jewish jokes to what his first car was, to how he is of Puerto Rican decent where his grandma used to call him by a nickname that basically translated to Eugene.  It seemed like he just wanted someone to talk to while he waited for his wife and daughter to finish their appointment.  He was a nice guy but it was weird to have this stranger talk to me about his life and include Yiddish slang about inappropriate things.  I doubt I will have a filter at his age so I'm in no position to judge.  It was entertaining for sure.
Finally the Little One came out and I said goodbye to my new friend.  The overcast afternoon was also a treat, knowing that high temps are on their way.






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