The Café - Best Job

From December of 2000 til May of 2005 I worked at a little café. The first few months kinda stunk because the original crew were a bunch of young hipsters who listened to dreadful music and had no charisma or sense of decency. Except for Danny. Danny was a sweetheart through and through. Once Peter Parker came on board the café took a turn for the better and slowly but surely, those evil little bastards moved on and Parker and I ruled the café's roost.

Here are some random pics of my favourite co-workers in no particular order.

Me and Peter Parker. Ah, the early years. This photo was taken Easter Sunday in 2001. We were so young! Peter had started working after I had been there a few months and I was the one who served as trainer. That meant that he was trained well and knew what he was doing (unlike some other people we worked with who really didn't put their heart into it). Years later Parker, who was very anxious with new people and new situations, said he liked me immediately because I was wearing a Ferris Bueller t-shirt. He had to quit the café for little while when he needed part time work with benefits, which our café did not offer. As soon as we did, I called him and back he came! Saturday nights working with Parker were the best days of the week.

 

Bishop, Me, Parker, and Ms. Aaliyah - one of my many wonderful customers!

Bishop and Dave Vaughn

Blaine goofing off with me in the back kitchen. No surprise.

Anne! Our resident Brit and a total doll. She started out as a cashier and worked her way over to the café, where we became fast friends - still are!

The extraordinary Bob Minnick. Also known as the Maestro of Magazines. This man is without question the sweetest, nicest man to ever exist.

Fresh faced Jackie Riches. What a wonderful edition to the café. She brightened every single day with her warmth and humour.

Mmmm....Jason Blum...what a handsome and loveable fella. Always reminded me of Metallica bassist Jason Newsted.

Here's our Kat, now married to fellow co-worker, Fink, and mother to the divine Miss Evangeline Marie. But I knew her when she was young and just out of high school. (She is still one of my closest friends!)

Bishop and Rama Bauer on one of Rama's many "last days". That man was forever leaving us to go back to school up in North Jersey, only to return each Christmas and summer. Rama and I also worked together in The Aisles for a bit a few years later.

Fink, Joey, Rusty, and April. Rusty started out in the café then moved on over to the bookstore. But he forever had a place in the café's heart. Fink and Joey were also bookstore peeps, but managed to stop over for snacks and chit chat. Miss April was a book girl who always came over at the end of the night to help sweep the café floor and lend a hand.

Me with another awesome customer who worked at Zany Brainy down the way from the café and became a great friend of mine. We later worked together at The Aisles with Rama. Kristin moved on to greener pastures and is now a kick ass hairstylist in the Big Apple and living one hell of a beautiful life!

Ah, Jenny Foulk. What a truly exceptional woman. For the few years that we were friends, she was my closest confidant and I miss our friendship dearly. I get updates now and then from Bishop and I'm so pleased to hear that she is doing well and now the mother of two little ones!

Justin with Susanah sitting on the wall where us bad kids would smoke. These two became fast friends when Justin served as the trainer. But who couldn't absolutely adore Sue? She was genuine and fun and silly and so sweet she'd give you a toothache. Justin was the quintessential gentleman with extraordinary manners and the looks of a romance novel model. One day Jenny brought in an old high school yearbook and we got a chance to see our Justin before he had those luscious blonde locks. We all preferred his bad ass look to the clean cut version of his youth.

Dave Vaughn...what a gorgeous stack of pancakes he was...hilarious, handsome, generous, and totally looks like a combination of Charley Boorman and Donal Logue. He began in the bookstore (if I remember right) and then jumped to the music department. He was always willing to help us out in the café when we got busy and he eventually saw the light and became the café supervisor. Wherever Dave is, I hope he's super happy and living a beautiful life filled with tuba playing.

I know I posted this pic a while back, but I love it. Skippy was a crazy customer who fit right in with all of us lunatics. (Believe me, the café had its share of lunatics. Both employees and customers.) He loved Hunter Thompson and Camus' The Stranger and went to school in Pittsburgh. Sometimes when things were rough in the café, it was the customers who made it all worth while. We had the best of the best.

Allison!! Every Wednesday morning we used to take our break together and do the People magazine crossword puzzle. Allison had worked in the bookstore for about ten years and like so many other incredible coworkers, she never shied away from helping out when things got hectic in the café.

Danny. He was one of the first people I worked with who really made me feel at home. He was still in high school but he was not pretentious or unkind. Ever. I still have the pink bead bracelet he gave me.

Toward the end of my time at the café I met Wayne Scott, cousin of Jen Foulk who worked both in the bookstore and in the café. His baked ziti was second to none and eventually he started joining us at Bishop and Pax's for Sunday nights. I loved working with him because he was never, ever in a mood other than total joy and happiness.

And here we all are on my last day. That's Dave Gorgone on my right. He was a total slob in the café and had a voice like a freakin' bullhorn, but man, oh man, was he a delight to work with. He loved Tom Waits, so we hit it off right from the get-go. My favourite memory of Dave was when I was sitting off to the side on my break and a mother and her little girl came up to the counter. Most straight, single men are crap with kids. Not Dave. "Hey there, Princess," he said and received a response of, "I'm five and I'm real strong." He chuckled, gave them their drinks and said, "Have a nice evening, ma'am, and I'll see ya later, muscles!" It was so cute and that little girl beamed back at Dave. She was so happy that he didn't think she was a wimpy kid.
Next to me is Peter Parker, then Lisa K. who, like April, would stop at the café during closing time and help me get things cleaned up. She was sort of shy and on the quiet side, but if you could get her to laugh, she had the prettiest smile ever. Then there's Fink and his bride, Kat. Fink is holding my old Spongebob cell phone where Blaine was standing by. Then Rama and April rounded out the last day group. The café served up the most magnificent group of people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing and working along side. Best job ever.