The table where everyone comes to talk to me @Koffi Palm Springs
We’ve been together 58 years. We fight a lot. We resolve a lot. We travel and have fun together.
Manfred&Roma
My favorite coffee shop in Palm Springs California is Koffi….
There are 4 locations but Koffi North is my favorite. I call it my office. It’s where I perform my social experiments.
My routine: I first scan the garden area where the statue of Don Quixote stands keeping watch. I look to see if any of my friends are here. In particular, Joe and Dave.
I hadn’t seen Joe and Dave in awhile. The last time Joe had gotten out of the hospital and had a pacemaker placed. That was the time we chatted with the game maker from Monopoly. He had us play a card game called “Trump.”
If Joe and Dave aren’t around I walk in the Koffi shop. I buy my coffee : a 16 Oz bold hot black paired with a cup of ice. I then pour half and half into the ice and I sprinkle a ton of nutmeg on top. Nutmeg is a psychedelic. It helps with the experiments.
I find a table outside. Usually the one next to “Just Fabulous.” Slowly I pour the hot coffee into the half and half nutmeg ice concoction. It brings me pleasure to mix the hot with the cold. It’s a ritual I indulge in before my “magical” guests appears at my table.
Someone always… and I mean ALWAYS comes to ask if they can sit next to me. They say they won’t bother me. But that’s never true.
The conversations are always fascinating.
I’ve sat next to artists. Writers. Famous people. Not so famous people. It’s as if I’m interviewing them for my personal podcast.
Always be interested instead of interesting.
Dave from Joe&Dave my Koffi shop friends
“Can we sit next to you?” A woman asked as she parked her bike and waited for her husband.
Of course I said yes. it’s part of the experiment. It’s what I’m here to do.
Unfortunately, the convo started bad. She started talking about the “C” word. I quickly changed the subject.
And lyrically it shifted to politics. And I shifted it again. And finally … finally it was a conversation where we were in synch.
We chatted about travel. Bike riding. And then Manfred, Roma’s husband joined us and brought her a coffee and they shared a muffin. Roma gasped about all the paper products. She mumbled something about the environment and global warming .
“I was an opera singer. I studied in Florence, Italy. I loved to sing Puccini.” Roma quipped. Manfred was much more reserved.
“We were just in Paris. I ate croissants daily. The chocolate ones were my favorite.” Roma continued.
They told me about their life in Quebec. They are both in their mid 70’s. They’ve been together for 58 years. They ride their bikes and travel all over the world.
“We got stuck in New Zealand when the world was shutting down” Roma continued “ We had just been in Australia for the last month.”
Roma and Manfred seemed to be living the life that everyone only dreams of. They are traveling the world. Riding their bikes. Enjoying great food.
I asked Roma and Manfred how they’ve stayed together for 58 years. I asked them their secret. Roma playfully hit Manfred on the arm.
“We both fight a lot!” They looked at each other and started laughing. “We always come to some type of resolution.” Manfred added.
Both always said that they share similar interests. They both like to do the same things although they are both very different people. I guess that’s part of their secret sauce.
“Traveling and experiencing new and different places keeps our lives exciting!” They both added.
“We’ve been through many ups and downs. I had a heart attack and Manfred had cancer, we work through those issues in life together.” Roma added.
I guess growing together as a couple is the key. Helping each other through those rough patches. Those steep hills on your bike ride. Holding space for your mate during those tough times. Just being there. And of course resolving your shit.
That’s how we grow as humans. That’s how we evolve as souls. That’s how we get self realized.
I bid them both farewell as they got on their bikes and ride off into the desert on another adventure.
notoriouslysinglegirl 
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