1.15.2009
Welcome, friends, to our first teatime together. I hope you find it comfortable here. Please, have a seat, and allow me to present the menu for this Thursday:
cafe au lait
sandwiche mixte
creme brulee
a bottle of Chateau Simone, Cotes-de-Provence, Rose 2005
You may smoke if you wish. We welcome dogs, so the smokers might want to use the ashtrays instead of the floorboards. Fine, fine.
It is... as always... early afternoon here, and while most of the other cafes are 'en siesta' before the dinner hour, you can assume that we will be open for tea, for talk, and for truth, in whatever clothes it may choose to wear.
Please, come in...
Ah, now that we are all here, the coats are up, and the doors closed... I suppose I can speak freely. As for myself, I spent the morning strolling the St. Michel. It was dismally cold, and I couldn't stop thinking about the birds I saw on Christmas morning, with Aubrey opening her presents under the tree, the sky the color of polished steel in the background, and all of us still rubbing our eyes and yawning, when suddenly a thousand white pelicans descend upon the bay behind the house, falling like snow onto the water. I was, in fact, lucky enough to get some video of this marvelous event, but I don't know how to upload it... maybe someone can enlighten me.
I see you are smiling. It is good creme brulee. Enjoy it, my friend. These are hard times, as you well know. I almost feel guilty opening this bottle of wine. Then again...
There were moments of Greatness in this Presidential campaign. And now, what Great Moment will Obama seize next? Or would you rather discuss the latest celebrity gossip? Then again, are you more interested in the economy, and if it might be time to invest in gold? Or, perhaps we should simply sit here this afternoon, just sit for a bit with nowhere to go and nothing else that needs saying, only to let the food and wine sink in gently, and watch all the strange faces pass us by.
A toute l'heure.
