School year ended June 16th 2011. Summer vacation starts. And what a day it was yesterday at Paddy's. Early in the morning, we had a few regular AMS school girls come in. Very shyly and with all the grace in the world, they proffered us a plate full of treats.
"Mr Paddy, we baked these for you. Thank you very much for treating us so nicely and making us our drinks. We are going to miss you for the summer. Will you be here when our school starts again ? ". Needless to say, we were touched.
And shortly thereafter, some teachers came by with cookies for us, for helping them get through the year. Sadly it was tinged with the knowledge that we will not be seeing some of them. With the budget crisis, some of them have received pink slips.
Joy and sadness, co existing at Paddy's
Showing posts with label vault. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vault. Show all posts
Friday, June 17, 2011
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Tales from the Vault - A new beginning
Earlier on, we had mentioned this young lad. Imagine our surprise, when he shows up at Paddy's one day, with a nice young lady in tow. It was a shock on seeing him. He looked real good, had an air of confidence in him. The Army had taken care of a wayward soul.
We knew the young lady from her previous visits to the shop and we had reckoned the two were friends. To our utter pleasant shock, they inform us that they had recently got married in a civil ceremony while he was on leave. It was an emotional moment for all of us, because we were seeing the growth and maturity.
Turns out, apart from the marriage, the lad was in the process of reconciling with his parents. Pointed out to both of them, that they are not the brash young teenagers any more, who think they know the world. A simple word of Sorry will help in breaking the ice with his parents.
And lo and behold, a couple days later, his dad shows up, thanking us profusely for our assistance. All we did was talk patiently to the young boy, that's all. It was more his doing than anything else.
It is instances like these that make it worthwhile keeping the doors open.
We knew the young lady from her previous visits to the shop and we had reckoned the two were friends. To our utter pleasant shock, they inform us that they had recently got married in a civil ceremony while he was on leave. It was an emotional moment for all of us, because we were seeing the growth and maturity.
Turns out, apart from the marriage, the lad was in the process of reconciling with his parents. Pointed out to both of them, that they are not the brash young teenagers any more, who think they know the world. A simple word of Sorry will help in breaking the ice with his parents.
And lo and behold, a couple days later, his dad shows up, thanking us profusely for our assistance. All we did was talk patiently to the young boy, that's all. It was more his doing than anything else.
It is instances like these that make it worthwhile keeping the doors open.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Tales from the Vault
This was post the Bin Laden killing in Pakistan. Early in the morning, customer walks in, orders his drink. This being early in the morning, no other customers around. The conversation initiated by him as follows
Customer : Your country must be in mourning now
Me : Why
Customer : They killed Osama in your country
Me : No sir, that was in Pakistan, I am from India
Customer : Well, it is all the same
Me : (injecting levity and finding the conversation surreal), No sir, it is like we say, all Asians look alike
Customer : hey, those countries do not cause problems, your countries do
Me : That's not true sir. I think you are being misinformed and are being judgmental.
Customer : Well, whatever dude, just be glad we did not nuke your region out.
Me : Here is your drink Sir, have a nice day.
Needless to say, it was very disturbing and unnerving that such perceptions exist and countenance to that is met with stoic indifference. The irony of course, customer was young white male, driving a pickup truck. Now am I being stereotyping ?
Customer : Your country must be in mourning now
Me : Why
Customer : They killed Osama in your country
Me : No sir, that was in Pakistan, I am from India
Customer : Well, it is all the same
Me : (injecting levity and finding the conversation surreal), No sir, it is like we say, all Asians look alike
Customer : hey, those countries do not cause problems, your countries do
Me : That's not true sir. I think you are being misinformed and are being judgmental.
Customer : Well, whatever dude, just be glad we did not nuke your region out.
Me : Here is your drink Sir, have a nice day.
Needless to say, it was very disturbing and unnerving that such perceptions exist and countenance to that is met with stoic indifference. The irony of course, customer was young white male, driving a pickup truck. Now am I being stereotyping ?
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Tales from the Vault
We are a coffee house choc-ablock full of teenagers and young adults. And in our usual uninhibited fashion, we talk to them. There was this really nice young kid, going through a very stressful home situation.
Broken relationship with the family, lived on the streets, had a job but was wandering meaninglessly through life. We talked and counseled the young kid, pointing out the maze that can be the pathway of life. There are forks to be taken, dead ends reached, but through it all, never to get lost in the ultimate goal and that is to be a good human being.
Had not seen the young kid for a long time, then word reached us that the plunge was taken and the US Army had a new recruit. Every time when a call was made to friends, they were constantly reminded to come and thank us for showing a troubled youth the way of life. And every time the friends come and tell us, we cannot but get emotional.
Are we just a coffee house or are we more than that ?
Broken relationship with the family, lived on the streets, had a job but was wandering meaninglessly through life. We talked and counseled the young kid, pointing out the maze that can be the pathway of life. There are forks to be taken, dead ends reached, but through it all, never to get lost in the ultimate goal and that is to be a good human being.
Had not seen the young kid for a long time, then word reached us that the plunge was taken and the US Army had a new recruit. Every time when a call was made to friends, they were constantly reminded to come and thank us for showing a troubled youth the way of life. And every time the friends come and tell us, we cannot but get emotional.
Are we just a coffee house or are we more than that ?
Ills of the community
While we watch with pride the growth of the "coffee house" babies, what we also notice very sadly, is the rise in the ills of the teenage society.
We have seen a lot of teenage pregnancies, drug abuse and a monosyllabic withdrawal. To combat these and to spread awareness of the ills, we partner with the Filipino Youth Coaltion, have open mics, have the youth talk to the youth about the ills.
Have we been successful, we don't know ? But we have definitely learnt and are now aware that are organisations that deal with issues like this and we guide the youth towards them.
And we started, all we wanted was to brew coffee and tea. We have become a fabric of the community and we truly hope that this fabric is helping the community.
We have seen a lot of teenage pregnancies, drug abuse and a monosyllabic withdrawal. To combat these and to spread awareness of the ills, we partner with the Filipino Youth Coaltion, have open mics, have the youth talk to the youth about the ills.
Have we been successful, we don't know ? But we have definitely learnt and are now aware that are organisations that deal with issues like this and we guide the youth towards them.
And we started, all we wanted was to brew coffee and tea. We have become a fabric of the community and we truly hope that this fabric is helping the community.
Joy to behold
Not only have we seen relationships made, broken, brokered, but we have also been privileged in welcoming, what we call "coffee house babies". Parents would proudly walk in, announce that they are expecting. Next thing we know, they walk in with their little one.
And nothing gives us greatest pleasure in watching the growth of the little ones. From being carried around in a portable crib to a stroller to their first steps, and pretty soon, we see them going to Alvarado Elementary or Eastin and then they are in Alvarado Middle School.
Likewise, we have seen students graduate from the Middle School to Logan High to college and now entering the professional world. At each stage, we have been honoured to talk to them, marvel at their growth and guide them in their moments of bewilderment.
Does this make us a fossilized institution ?
And nothing gives us greatest pleasure in watching the growth of the little ones. From being carried around in a portable crib to a stroller to their first steps, and pretty soon, we see them going to Alvarado Elementary or Eastin and then they are in Alvarado Middle School.
Likewise, we have seen students graduate from the Middle School to Logan High to college and now entering the professional world. At each stage, we have been honoured to talk to them, marvel at their growth and guide them in their moments of bewilderment.
Does this make us a fossilized institution ?
Tales from the Vault
Elderly couple come in toting one laptop. Really nice elderly couple. Not sure if they were coming to Paddy's, pre or post doctor visit. Nevertheless, husband powers up the laptop, starts doing his work, wife busies herself reading the newspaper or what have you. Blissful peace reigns for a couple hours.
Then it is the wife's turn to use the laptop. Husband sits on the other recently vacated chair. Wife starts using the laptop and we start hearing sounds from her laptop use. Turns out she is busy playing games. After a bit, husband interjects her for something, gets yelled at, "Can't you see I am busy playing games ? " :) :) Brought a smile to our features, reminds us so much of our household. Wife yelling at us when we interject and interrupt her during her gaming activities. Deja vu. Relationship is the same everywhere.
Then it is the wife's turn to use the laptop. Husband sits on the other recently vacated chair. Wife starts using the laptop and we start hearing sounds from her laptop use. Turns out she is busy playing games. After a bit, husband interjects her for something, gets yelled at, "Can't you see I am busy playing games ? " :) :) Brought a smile to our features, reminds us so much of our household. Wife yelling at us when we interject and interrupt her during her gaming activities. Deja vu. Relationship is the same everywhere.
Tales from the Vault
We have seen quite a bit in our 8 years serving the community. There are some instances that stand out and without annoying or disturbing anyone, we will present the human face of the neighbourhood.
One memory that stands out vividly. Young man walks in, bleary eyed but happy, from welcoming their baby to this world. Some time later, our regular mid afternoon elderly customer walks in, alone and a bit down in the dumps. When I mentioned, the usual drinks Sir, he tears up, and says, Paddy, just one drink from now on. The missus passed away. Ah, circle of life.
One memory that stands out vividly. Young man walks in, bleary eyed but happy, from welcoming their baby to this world. Some time later, our regular mid afternoon elderly customer walks in, alone and a bit down in the dumps. When I mentioned, the usual drinks Sir, he tears up, and says, Paddy, just one drink from now on. The missus passed away. Ah, circle of life.
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