Mim's Cafe. 10:20 am on a Saturday.

"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" [Mary Oliver]

“Go straight,” GPS tells me, but the road is blocked off due to construction. I turn and a few seconds later she announces, “You have arrived!” I find a place to turn in the direction of the cafe and use the break at a stop sign to pull up Mim’s Cafe again. It’s a good thing, too. These streets aren’t as straightforward as I anticipated. As I wind my way through different neighborhoods, I enjoy the unique homes and forget that I’m running late, until I arrive for the second time and have to park on a busy side street.

Parking secured, I grab my purse, my traveler’s notebook, and my water bottle and walk over to the building. Outside, facing the street that’s under construction, is a wooden gazebo, and gathered on one side is a group of musicians. They sit in a circle, playing stringed instruments. Cases are scattered around on unused tables, the railings on the gazebo, and the ground. I glance around and find my friend, Anna.

She stands when I approach the table, gives me a hug, and introduces me to her new friends, the two other women at the table. We sit down and listen to the music. The group consists of mostly men, but a few women. There’s a mix of young and old. Some wear baseball caps and sun hats. There’s a golden retriever resting by one of the chairs. Most of the musicians play the violin but some have guitars and does one have a banjo? None of them have music. A member of the group starts to play and the others join in: some already know the song and others figure it out as they listen to it. The sun dapples through the greenery that wraps around the sides and the slatted roof of the gazebo.

A couple sits at another table. She’s dressed in all black and has tattoos on her arms. He’s dressed in lighter colors, also with tattoos. A bright yellow notebook sits on the table in front of them. I wonder who it belongs to. If they’re an artist or a writer. Or both.

One of our table mates leaves and shortly after the other one finds her friend in the group of musicians and says goodbye. That’s when we see Sarah. 

A sparrow joins the three of us, sitting on a chair, and walking across our table to see if we have anything to offer. We don’t. It flies away but keeps coming back to check-in. Just in case.

It’s a hot day, but we’re shaded from the sun, and periodically a breeze rushes past us, the greenery dancing in the breeze.

There’s movement at the table with the couple and I see that he’s picked up the notebook. He opens it and begins to draw.

A new song starts and one of the men starts to sing along.

After chatting for a while we pull out our books to read the poems we brought to share. As we read and discuss, the musicians begin to break up, but a small group remains.

I love how the greenery looks and want to take a picture, but I don’t want to be rude and decide to wait until we’re done.

There’s more of a breeze as an older woman with fluffy grey hair and a younger man continue to play.

It reaches the time when Anna needs to leave so we all stand up and say goodbye. Anna and Sarah rush off to take the dirty cups back to the cafe and I grab my things, about to follow.

Wait! The picture!

I take a photo of the greenery that’s over the musicians and notice them chuckle.

As I meet up with Anna and Sarah at the door of the cafe to say one final goodbye I wonder if the musicians thought I took a picture of them.

The side street is almost empty now.

PS - I also wrote some thoughts about one of the poems we read that day: The Summer Day by Mary Oliver.