the 63rd week

our campsite at Koomer Ridge

Labor Day. I slept listening to the rains, and Blake, Isaac & I woke early and decided to do coffee and breakfast at The Anchor before the sun fully rose. I love early morning coffee on rainy days. The morning  was spent reading Rebels & Redcoats, a makeshift companion to Shaara's The Glorious Revolution. Rebels & Redcoats is an older book, published in 1957, and it's a phenomenal retelling of the war, a narrative history infused with letters, diary entries, and later recollections of those who lived and fought it. n Andy & I met up with Eric & Tiffany at the Hilltop. I got a traditional cappuccino followed by a chocolate chai, my staple drink back in the days of O.T. History with Danny Dyke and cigar smokin' at Mount Echo. Ams, Blake and I spent the evening over at Brandy & Amos': we ordered pizza, watched "King of the Hill," played Call of Duty, and Amos cut my hair and clipped my ear. "You're the first person I've made bleed!" he exclaimed. I unknowingly had a mullet that needed to be cut.

Tuesday. I slept listening to the rain and hail and woke to a muggy, hazy day. Hurricane Isaac brought rains and then followed it up with sweltering heat and humidity; I just want it to end! Amos & I opened 600. T.M. is an absolute cluster-fuck at this point. Brandon simply doesn't care anymore, and he hates that fact, it goes against the grain of his entire being. Amos is just waiting for the best opportunity to piss off the owner and walk out. Tiffany begged me to stick around for a bit longer. I've no immediate plans to leave: despite all the stress and frustration, it's kinda fun watching the president single-handedly tear down his little "coffee empire". Amos & I went to his place after work and played some MW3, and I went to The Anchor for  bit before making pesto pasta back home with Andy & Mo. We tried making homemade garlic bread but burnt them to a crisp and set off the fire alarm; Chef Waugh came to our rescue, bearing a gift of white wine. Amos and Brandy came over, and we crowded Blake's room playing Mad Libs and coloring dinosaur pictures. 

Wednesday. I opened with Jake, and it was a crazy day with a $500 catering order with no tip. We hired a catering director, some chick named Mears, and I think she'll do all right. Brandon agrees. Isaac offered Amos store management at Carew; "Hell no!" he exclaimed. The day's craziness was made crazier by the fact that with Andy gone from Chiquita, the president's sent two of our best baristas--Sarah & James--over there to fill the gap. Thus he cut 600 (the only profitable store) two people to keep Chiquita (the most unprofitable store) afloat. I spent my afternoon reading Rebels & Redcoats at The Anchor: it's so damned good! Storms tore through, bringing cooler air and washing away the humidity, and the rain fell so hard it sounded like the diner's windows would burst, and the roof leaked and the thunder boomed like cannon. Fitting for reading about the defense of Sullivan Island at Charleston. I enjoyed eggs, toast, and cereal for dinner and went on a late-night drive before winding down with some white wine and Revolutionary War history on the front porch. Also, Andy got a new gig as a manager at Q'doba (sp?) down Glenway. Pretty awesome.

Thursday. Tiffany & I opened, it's always fun to team up with her. It doesn't happen too much, since she's full-time baker and all. After work I packed my bags and went to The Anchor to drink countless cups of coffee and read Rebels & Redcoats: I'm "caught up" to my place in Shaara's The Glorious Cause (i.e., I've reached the battles of Trenton and, subsequently, Princeton), and now I'm moving backwards yet again with a non-fiction narrative history of the Revolution from a political/cultural perspective, and I'm going to read all three books in tandem for a better understanding and appreciation of the fascinating events. The 700-page book is called The Glorious Cause, not to be confused with Shaara's book of the same name. Yes, I'm a nerd. I enjoyed a dinner of eggs & toast at the diner, and then Dad picked me up back home and we headed south to Red River Gorge for two days and nights in the beautiful outdoors. We stayed in a cabin with Joe & Cindy, their daughter Sarah, and a few other folk from Southwest Church. There was a little dog named Molly who had no teeth, and her tongue hangs out from the side of her mouth all the time, and she's pretty cute.

Friday. Dad & I woke early, and after coffee we left the cabin and staked out our tent at a campground called Koomer Ridge. We got an isolated spot tucked deep into the woods. We spent the day hiking: Chimney Top, Natural Bridge, Needle's Eye Staircase and Devil's Gulch. We were beat by the time we got back to camp, and we made a fire and roasted brats and drank beer and reminisced on the olden days at Southwest Church.

Saturday. Rain fell all night and all morning, but we donned ponchos and went hiking anyways after a campfire breakfast of scrambled eggs, sausage, and coffee on the perculator. We admired the views at Sky Bridge and did some free climbing at Gray's Arch. After striking the tent we grabbed pizza and Ale8 at Miguel's Pizza, a must for any solid Red River trip, and then we headed back to Ohio. He dropped me off and I cleaned up, spent some time hanging out with Blake, went to The Anchor, and then headed up to Dayton to spend some quiet writing and thinking out on the patio in the dead of night with Sky curled up at my feet. I love the countryside, the wilderness, could definitely call such a place home someday. That is, perhaps, why I find Alaska so drawing: it's all of that, except on steroids. Also, I got to talk with Rob out in Portland for a bit, it was good to hear his voice and equally good to know things are going amazing for him and Mandy out there.

Sunday. I went by the Centerville Starbucks for an iced soy pumpkin spice latte, my own way of kicking into autumn. The Saturday rains brought quite a cold front in, and I shivered in my shorts and t-shirt. I picked up some breakfast burritos for lunch and joined Mom & Dad for church at Southwest. This was the second sermon on baptism, and it was interesting; I don't know where I stand on the subject, it's a difficult one with lots of different angles, but that's a post for another time. After lunch I spent the day doing laundry, and then I went to The Anchor before heading over to the Loth House to play video games and hang out with Amos. On a sadder note, Ams officially moved out today, and the Claypole House is emptier yet again. Andy will be gone soonish, and then Blake & I will say our goodbyes. The end of an era.