That Cup of Coffee

Tuesday, mid-October and the chilly winds have intensified since the other day when the temperature hit just below 80.

The garage is swept by the gusts and the change in the season is underway.

The summer is a distant memory, as if it never happened. “Isn’t that like life though?” My father used to say with a laugh.

I never really understood what he meant until way after he passed away. Now, I get it. “I get it, Pop.”

I walk my usual route to the elevated platform on Avenue P. I see the usual people on the way. A school kid being walked by who I assume is his mother. Backpack on, falling slightly as he holds a drink in one hand and his mom’s hand with the other.

A middle aged lady, “she seems middle aged…jeez that makes me old aged.” I see her each day and I always nod a greeting and she ignores it. It became an inner joke to me.

I see the Orthodox Jews carrying their bag with their shawl and tefillin, walking quickly towards the shul on Ocean Parkway and Avenue P.

I pass a restaurant with its “C rating” hidden in a window that cannot be easily seen. I pass a fledgling business, a cafeteria with signs telling people to come in and enjoy a hot meal or a fresh cup of coffee. Me, I haven’t even had my coffee yet.

A Spanish lady, under 5 feet tall, standing with two big liquid dispensers. One with “Cafe con leche,” the other with something called, “atole.” In front of her is a sign with the words, “Tamales” on it.

I make it to the corner and an older looking man, “at this point I don’t even know who is older or younger than myself.” Each day he is carrying boxes to the basement door on the sidewalk, smoking a cigarette and talking in Arabic on the phone through a headset. Either that or he is talking to himself.

I walk up the stairs and I hear a train rumbling towards my station. “If I run, I could possibly make it.” I pass on the running and watch as I get to the platform and the train leaves the station.

I stand waiting, the next train is due in 6 minutes, and I watch as the sun is lighting up the sky, a school of birds swimming in the light, and the lights on the platform begin to turn off.

A train rolls into the station.

Another morning, just another morning.