Another mind, another cup of coffee...

“You never know, what you don’t know. And it’s

certain that if you don’t lean in, you never will.”

– Anonymous

It started with a voicemail out of the blue saying I had crossed his mind. If I were still in town, how about getting together. After a return call or two and a text, we arranged to meet at a breakfast place on the East Side. This has been a habit over the years, meeting the unknown – big and small. It had been a while.

Josh is my young cousin by marriage. Behind his open expression and brown eyes, is a mind that is poking around with the interest of a young child. You know, all things requiring exploration. I got the feeling he was programming everything like a quiet, but powerful vacuum cleaner. We chatted for a couple of hours, each pushing and probing a little. The food was okay the conversation better.

Act two…

Saturday morning, we met again. This time in my part of town, at one of those small, but exotic coffee shops – Savaya Coffee Market. I might not be the sharpest tack in the box, but any liquid producing, caffeine dispensing business named ‘Savaya' in Tucson Arizona, and designated as a ‘Coffee Market,’ would definitely be a turn from the ubiquitous Northwest coast chains. Coffee shops, on the other hand, are by any other name…

Once Josh and I got past the ‘hi, how are you,’ and the newspaper reporting as to what was going on in our lives, we dug a little into the things we were interested in. We’re new at this, touching briefly on the ‘opinion pages’ of our lives. It was part of the process, best expressed by the Rogers and Hammerstein lyric, from “The King and I” (sung originally on Broadway by Margaret Landon):

It's a very ancient saying
But a true and honest thought
That if you become a teacher
By your pupils you'll be taught

As a teacher I've been learning
You'll forgive me if I boast
And I've now become an expert
On the subject I like most - Getting to know you

Somewhere in the past couple of years, Josh has discovered he is the one responsible for his own life. This has resulted in significant weight loss, increased physical fitness and healthy choices in the food he eats. He is a writer – prose, and poetry – a guitar player and apparently a writer of songs. The undercurrent of these actions in his life, a deep faith in God and belief in the importance of helping his fellow man.

He didn’t quote writers (though it’s clear he is well read), nor worked to impress his older cousin’s husband. He was free flowing, the way thoughtful people who have spent a lot more time on planet earth, express themselves. Kind of like ‘old money’ – no need to show off…keeping in neutral and going with the flow.

So, there we were, getting to know one another. As with our earlier breakfast, the conversation was good.

Our time together ended, it seemed, almost before it began. We agreed to meet again at a yet undetermined time and location. I walked away from that young man having experienced two of the things I love most about life:

- “…That if you become a teacher…By your pupils you'll be        taught.”

            - “…And I've now become an expert…On the subject I like                   most - Getting to know you.

I expect there will be much to learn…

ted