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Tony Chiodo's avatar

I bring my journal and a few interesting books to local cafes three or four times a week.

I walked into my first Cafe 50 years ago in 74. The Caffe Trieste in North Beach, San Francisco.

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Tony Chiodo's avatar

I remember seeing Gregory Corso one morning just stick your lighting like he does,,,but to tell you the truth I

ran into a lot more personas famosas at the Caffe Tazza in Taos NM, girlfriend and I opened in 83,, ran for a few years but had to close because of high rent, and during the interim became friends with Dennis Hopper who wanted to open a place in Ranchos de Taos, where he edited that horrible film

The Last Moviel, but it being Dennis Hopper

the whole thing fell through.

We eventually found a great little spot with an outdoor courtyard where we had poetry readings music and people like Mike Nichols read from his works.

The model Lauren Hutton and her Italian boyfriend would sum up on a motorcycle and spend hours sipping coffee and reading the New York times which we carried.

It was a very hang loose spot and my two daughters kind of grew up there.

Julia Roberts lived on the Mesa next to ours and she would come in every now and then and was exceedingly nice

The last celebrity I remember was Claudia Schiffer who was there to do a photo shoot in our adobe courtyard.

The cafe was an oasis of tranquility as was Taos, except during high season and late summer.

The name of our street was Kit Carson road naturally

Because he was buried a few hundred yards away in Carson Park. Adios amigos!

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Heather's avatar

Feel like I’m there in that coffee house with the author. Simple poem yet deeply human.

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Linda Loegel Hemby's avatar

You've captured the feel of the place beautifully.

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Alix's avatar

yep!

thank you Erik

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Luther Wallingford's avatar

Coffee and Cigarettes by Jim Jarmuch is all about this

Very cool post

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Rob McCabe's avatar

I love Coffee and Cigarettes. Very quirky film

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Deirdre Lewis's avatar

Love that photo.

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David Kirkby's avatar

Oh yes. Every cafe needs a poet at the corner table, scribbling away.

Sometimes it's me.

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Frederick Fullerton's avatar

The poem resonates with real and wannabe coffeehouse poets.

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Paul McCutchen's avatar

Reminds me of a little "meat and three" cafe in the small town I grew up close to. Husband and wife opened up every morning except Sunday at 6am and closed at 2pm. No phone so everyone that didn't want to be bothered would eat there. This was before cell phones.

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Howie Lisnoff's avatar

Nicely done! They want to pay exorbitant amounts for their coffee klatch musings.

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Rosemary DeSena's avatar

They want to and they do 😊

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DeeBeeDee's avatar

I wasn't aware of Albert.

Loved this poem so much. Its very atmospheric and as a people-watcher myself I could imagine him sitting there in a diner with his coffee, watching comings and goings and scribbling notes as he sat - and sat.

I'm in the UK so my diner is a cafe. (Are they one and rhe same? A big pond divides us.)

Was taught from an early age that "It's rude to stare," so my people-watching has to be subtle, almost surreptitious.

Oh dear. Now I have made my observation of others drinking tea sound a bit furtive, stalker-ish.

You introduced him a while ago (thank you) and as a result I bought the book.

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Kathleen Hobbs's avatar

That sounds like my kind of place.

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Marc Mannheimer's avatar

Totally relate

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Rosemary DeSena's avatar

Sounds like me!

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David Picariello's avatar

Warm wishes for Snow.

Blessings and warm wishes

DavPi3.14

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Chris Bodor's avatar

A slice of life.

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