I often walk over to Easton Hospital to do my regular bloodwork. Yesterday, I walked by the new GoodTimes coffee shop in the basement of the building at 20th and Fairview in Wilson Borough. I had noticed the work going on in the space over the summer before they opened and was very excited to see what actually opened in there.

Someone recommended them on a Facebook local group and I found their Instagram page. I learned they have an Aussie influence like my good friends at Pie + Tart and that they are open early mornings for the most part now. Which is great for me, because I am often out and about at 7 a.m. When Eva was young, this location was close to one of our favorite trees on 20th, across from the unused parking lot. I wonder what would have happened if this coffee shop existed when I was walking the neighborhood kids to (and from) elementary school twice a day.

This location is on what was our regular route, because I usually walked the kids down Ferry, to Ferry and 20th, where one of the neighborhood boys had a grandparent, up 20th to Lehigh, so that we would then walk past the hospital, and then the final block to the elementary school was up 21st. That way the kids, if they walked the route alone, could easily be found OR have a safe place to go in an emergency.

I have this fantasy now, of imagining myself carrying my own backpack and stopping at the coffee shop once I deposit the children at school. I could read a book, journal, or have my own quiet time…

But alas… the schoolchildren are all in their 20s now.

When I walked by this place yesterday, I saw a man standing outside with a reusable shopping bag at 6:57 a.m. I thought, “Wow! They have a line before they are even open.”

A woman came out, opened the door, and let him in.

Later that day, I was at the restaurant (wearing my super-awesome, blinking, floral crown because it was Glow-in-the-Dark night. It was around 8 p.m. I think. I was the person delivering food outside, which I normally don’t do. And honestly, I am still a little unnerved that I was put on this position for 5.5 hours with teenagers and young 20-somethings who lolly-gagged and made me do all the WALKING. I walked about 14,000 steps in less than four hours, OUTSIDE in TRAFFIC as someone with a mobility disability prone to falls. Why would you think it’s a good idea to send a fall risk unattended into a busy parking lot? For hours?)

A man in a black truck accepted his food from me and asked, “Hey! Did I see you this morning at my coffee shop?”

So we had a brief but pleasant conversation and now I’m supposed to stop in for a free coffee. I offered to bring him a free book.