There was an antiwar
demonstration going full swing when I pulled into Davis
Square to meet Mark for a caffeinated evening. We used to
hang out and drink coffee in Harvard Square decades ago,
but Harvard Square has become unbelievably boring. I
think it was the Abercrombie & Fitch or maybe the
Pacific Sunwear store that finally convinced me the only
difference between Harvard Square and a mall is umm...
oh... Harvard I guess. I told Mark that ever since
McIntyre
and Moore had moved to
Davis Square there was no reason except possibly the
Algiers special mint tea and the Brattle to go into
Harvard Square. So we agreed to meet at the Someday
(which apparently has an infrequently updated
online
journal), which is much
bigger and hipper than it used to be when it was in the
teeny tiny space right next to the Somerville
Theater.
I thawed my fingers on the
cappuccino glass - the Someday serves their espresso
drinks in glasses rather than mugs, hence the book title
Glass,
Paper, Beans - and
watched 20-somethings wearing black suits and waving
American flags come and go between the demonstration on
the plaza and the warmth of the cafe until Mark arrived.
We discussed art and politics and the doom of InfiniBand
and how much fun it is to hang out and drink coffee on a
Friday night even though I, for one, am far too old to do
that. Young people came and went. The antiwar
demonstration ended. We talked about whether Dubya or
anyone in Washington knew or cared what anybody in Davis
Square or anywhere in the northeast thinks about war
against Iraq.
We finished round one of caffeine
and headed to House of Tibet Kitchen in Teele Square for
momos. For a change I had tenchur momos, which are
stuffed with spicy tofu and spinach, instead of tsel
momos, which are stuffed with potato and vegetables. Mark
had the momo combo plate so it was an all momo event. The
people watching was entertaining too.
Round two of caffeine was at
Diesel. I'd been wanting to go there since it started
showing up in the Phoenix's ten best list of coffee shops
every year. Nancy and I had walked by it on the way
to/from McIntyre
and Moore but since we had
sworn off coffee at night we never tried it. But I miss
the old days of coffee-drinking 'til the wee hours and
discussing "what is art" so tonight's expedition was
deliberately planned to include caffeine and to include
Diesel. We managed to get a table with a good view of the
pool tables after standing and juggling our coffee for a
few minutes. The place was packed. Two adorable baby
dykes were playing at the pool table closest to us and
two bearded paunchy guys at the other table. The girls
took hardly any time between shots but the guys studied
every shot from every angle for ages. It was fun to watch
the different styles. The people watching was great at
Diesel with all the cute dykes... At least I got a kick
out of it.
Fully caffeinated, we stopped in
for a 10 minute browse at McIntyre
and Moore. We closed the
place. Mark went wild with art books and I found a copy
of Spring in Washington, a birding classic that
I've been looking for. The cashier fell off her chair
when I arrived at the register with Spring in Washington.
Actually, a wheel broke off the chair and crashed into
the wall with a thud. The cashier was unharmed. I was
startled but my heart rate soon returned to normal while
she looked over Spring in Washington with much
interest. Turns out she's a birder and had just gotten
new binoculars and a bird book for Christmas. She spoke
enthusiastically of the red-breasted mergansers in Fort
Point Channel. She mentioned having frozen herself at
Mount Auburn earlier in the week without having found any
birds. I told her to save Mount Auburn for spring and
concentrate on ducks for the winter. She seemed to take
my advice to heart. That maybe the first time anyone
wearing a pink snowsuit ever took me
seriously.
