I enjoy writing about all the interesting people that I meet in Coco's. Not everyone wants to share their story. Yesterday I had a young man come in that had a two hour wait for the train. He bought coffee. He mentioned there is nothing downtown to do while he waits for the train. I agreed. Wish there was something but there really is nothing! I try to start a conversation. Where you from, what do you do. He answered the questions, grew up in New York, lives in Seattle, parents live in Bloomington, he was just in a nearby town visiting a friend. Conversation stops. Done.
We are looking at a long period of silence. I have a book to read. My time will be filled. I poured some coffee and started reading. No conversation was exchange for well over an hour. He is sighing. Looking at his phone. I want to say, if you were a reader, you would have something to do. We would also have something to talk about. Instead, he is bored. He gets up, buys some candy, thanks me for letting him wait for the train. Mentions the train is on-time. Heads over to the depot. Which is not really a depot. Just a place that used to be a depot and is now a museum that is never open. I think the poor guy waited outside about 45 more minutes before the train showed up.
So, Arizona, just goes to show you, interesting people with amazing stories do not always walk in the door to Coco's. Makes for a more interesting day and blog entry when the people with great stories come in!!
Friday, December 20, 2013
Friday, December 6, 2013
Patrick
I was vacuuming and glanced up. I see a man walking towards the shop from the train. He is dressed in a sweatshirt and sweatpants. He is carrying a box with a handle. He came in and asked if there was a pay phone around. Ding, Ding! I think I know where this is going. I tell him he can use my phone. He said it was long distance. I said it did not matter. He calls his Mom. He said I got off the train in Dwight instead of going all the way to Chicago. It seemed like it made more sense. He talks to his Mom. Talks to someone else. Says, love you. Can't wait to see you.
He gets off the phone and gets a soda. I ask if it has been a while since he saw his family. He said four years. I ask where he was he said Springfield. I took a wild guess and asked if he was incarcerated. He was. He said he was with a friend that committed armed robbery. He did not know the friend was going to do it. He said he was with the wrong person that day. He never made an excuse for what he did. He said prison was the best thing that happened to him. He learned to appreciate life. He learned that he needed to make changes.
Don't waste your time telling me I need to be careful. Patrick was harmless. All he wanted to do was see his daughter. She was 9 when he went in. He now has a teen-ager. I told him to sit down and stay warm until his family arrived. I spent two hours talking to him.
About 10 minutes into our conversation I asked him if he was a reader. There was something about him that made me think he was. He said it is his passion. It is how he survived. He talked about God and where he was meant to be in life. I said Patrick God put you here today. I told him about reading being a huge part of my life. That I love to talk books. That I did book club and was called The Page Turner. He said is reading your super power. I said it sure is. Patrick said he was to stay on that train to Chicago. But he did not want to spend four hours in the city. He made the decision at the last minute to get out here. He started smiling. He said it feels good to know at this moment I am meant to be right here. Patrick told me his favorite books is Les Miserables. He asked if I read it and I said no. He started telling me the story. Tears ran down his face as he talked about it. He said he read it over and over. He gave me his copy. He loved the book so much and gave it to me. I wanted to give him The Shack but did not have it with me. I wrote the name down and he said he would read it.
Patrick said most prisoners find God. Patrick said God was never lost, people are. He was raised in a religious family. He said in prison he studied all kinds of religion. He read psychology books. Any book he could get his hands on. Patrick said he had God in his life, he just did not listen to him.
He talked a little about his life. He said his life plan was to join the military, become a Navy Seal, go into intelligence, get a degree. His little brother was playing with a gun one day and shot his best friend accidentally. The friend was killed. His brother went to a juvenile jail. Patrick lived in the South side of Chicago. He was shot in the head in retaliation. He spent 3 months in a coma. When he came out of it there was no chance of entering the military because of health issues. He had epilepsy and had loss so much weight and muscle tone from being in a coma so long. But he said that was not what caused him to be with the wrong person.
Patrick said he always had to be on the go. He held a full-time job. When he was not working he had to be doing something all the time. He said he could not stop and enjoy life. That is what put him with the wrong person. Do I think he was giving me a line? Who knows. Does not matter to me.
While Patrick was in prison his Grandpa and his Dad both died. He talked about how guilty he felt knowing he caused them so much pain by going to prison.
We talked books. We talked TV. I said I was a reality TV junkie. He said please tell me you do not watch Honey BooBoo. I was proud to say I do not. We talked family. He had watched a reality show about schizophrenia last week. I watched the same program. I was doing some work and he said, it is so quiet. I missed the quiet. He was in a dorm style prison. He said 15 people to a room. The noise never stopped. He talked about how horrible the food was. There were days he did not eat. He said the food was just to fill people up cheaply. He could not wait to eat healthy again. Except he said he would probably stop at McDonald's as soon as he could. His meal tonight would probably be a home cooked steak.
He saw his family drive by and park the car. He walked outside. I went to the window to watch. His daughter came running and threw herself into his arms. Talk about some hugging. They had not seen each other for two years. He came back in and bought her a soda and some bread. We shook hands. I tried to get him to take his book. He refused. I gave him The End Of Life Book Club. He kept saying to his daughter, I can't believe I can hug you. Look at you. You are so beautiful. You are so tall.
Just an ordinary day. Getting things cleaned up for our Christmas Parade. In walks Patrick and my day took on new meaning. Seems like God likes to remind me that I am where I should be.
He gets off the phone and gets a soda. I ask if it has been a while since he saw his family. He said four years. I ask where he was he said Springfield. I took a wild guess and asked if he was incarcerated. He was. He said he was with a friend that committed armed robbery. He did not know the friend was going to do it. He said he was with the wrong person that day. He never made an excuse for what he did. He said prison was the best thing that happened to him. He learned to appreciate life. He learned that he needed to make changes.
Don't waste your time telling me I need to be careful. Patrick was harmless. All he wanted to do was see his daughter. She was 9 when he went in. He now has a teen-ager. I told him to sit down and stay warm until his family arrived. I spent two hours talking to him.
About 10 minutes into our conversation I asked him if he was a reader. There was something about him that made me think he was. He said it is his passion. It is how he survived. He talked about God and where he was meant to be in life. I said Patrick God put you here today. I told him about reading being a huge part of my life. That I love to talk books. That I did book club and was called The Page Turner. He said is reading your super power. I said it sure is. Patrick said he was to stay on that train to Chicago. But he did not want to spend four hours in the city. He made the decision at the last minute to get out here. He started smiling. He said it feels good to know at this moment I am meant to be right here. Patrick told me his favorite books is Les Miserables. He asked if I read it and I said no. He started telling me the story. Tears ran down his face as he talked about it. He said he read it over and over. He gave me his copy. He loved the book so much and gave it to me. I wanted to give him The Shack but did not have it with me. I wrote the name down and he said he would read it.
Patrick said most prisoners find God. Patrick said God was never lost, people are. He was raised in a religious family. He said in prison he studied all kinds of religion. He read psychology books. Any book he could get his hands on. Patrick said he had God in his life, he just did not listen to him.
He talked a little about his life. He said his life plan was to join the military, become a Navy Seal, go into intelligence, get a degree. His little brother was playing with a gun one day and shot his best friend accidentally. The friend was killed. His brother went to a juvenile jail. Patrick lived in the South side of Chicago. He was shot in the head in retaliation. He spent 3 months in a coma. When he came out of it there was no chance of entering the military because of health issues. He had epilepsy and had loss so much weight and muscle tone from being in a coma so long. But he said that was not what caused him to be with the wrong person.
Patrick said he always had to be on the go. He held a full-time job. When he was not working he had to be doing something all the time. He said he could not stop and enjoy life. That is what put him with the wrong person. Do I think he was giving me a line? Who knows. Does not matter to me.
While Patrick was in prison his Grandpa and his Dad both died. He talked about how guilty he felt knowing he caused them so much pain by going to prison.
We talked books. We talked TV. I said I was a reality TV junkie. He said please tell me you do not watch Honey BooBoo. I was proud to say I do not. We talked family. He had watched a reality show about schizophrenia last week. I watched the same program. I was doing some work and he said, it is so quiet. I missed the quiet. He was in a dorm style prison. He said 15 people to a room. The noise never stopped. He talked about how horrible the food was. There were days he did not eat. He said the food was just to fill people up cheaply. He could not wait to eat healthy again. Except he said he would probably stop at McDonald's as soon as he could. His meal tonight would probably be a home cooked steak.
He saw his family drive by and park the car. He walked outside. I went to the window to watch. His daughter came running and threw herself into his arms. Talk about some hugging. They had not seen each other for two years. He came back in and bought her a soda and some bread. We shook hands. I tried to get him to take his book. He refused. I gave him The End Of Life Book Club. He kept saying to his daughter, I can't believe I can hug you. Look at you. You are so beautiful. You are so tall.
Just an ordinary day. Getting things cleaned up for our Christmas Parade. In walks Patrick and my day took on new meaning. Seems like God likes to remind me that I am where I should be.
Thursday, December 5, 2013
Ho, Ho, Ho
I went to our local box store. I found a couple of red plates on clearance, bought those. I can always use plastic plates. I found this white tray, with handles, on sale for half price. I bought some cupcake holders that were a Christmas design. I also purchased some tiny clear plastic bowls. I can always use these again. The lady will return the tray, bowls, and grabbers. I had the red tissue paper and curling ribbon. Those were for pops of color.
I cut the fudge and put out the dark chocolate she specifically asked for. I cut the sea salt caramels. Thinking a person would be more inclined to try a little piece more than the large caramel. (This is my way of trying to hook them on the crack, I mean caramels.) After those were put on the tray I wanted to add some pops of color. I went with some cherry balls, Christmas Gummis, and spearmint leaves. I carry Cappuccino Jelly Bellys. Thought those would work well on a dessert tray. Added some cinnamon Jelly Bellys for color. I put several peppermints on the tray to be festive.
To advertise my business I could put some business cards with the tray and add a description of what the candy was. I spent too much time searching for a document I could download and use as a candy menu. Looking for things on the internet can suck hours out of a day. I felt like I really nailed it all. I spent about four hours getting everything just so! I was asked to deliver it, so I did. Unfortunately, the person I was taking it to was not in his office. So I gave it to a staff person. It was a let down. I wanted to hear someone rave about how adorable it was. The idea was to get it out there to business people what I can do for them. I hope the tray made a good impression. I hope some extra sales come my way!
Tomorrow is the big Christmas Parade. Our little village puts on a cute parade. Last year we had the most beautiful snow princess of all time. Well, she is my granddaughter I might be partial to her. As seems to be the standard it is going to be freezing tomorrow. I hope that helps Coco's. I printed off quite a few coloring pictures for the kids. I will have hot cocoa. I am bringing in some extra chairs. Taking out some tables. Tru Stories is trying to wrangle some sweet children to sing Christmas Songs outside our sweet shops. Today I spent forever looking for gift certificate templates. Printed some of those off. Hope to sell some tomorrow night. I want to target high school age kids. Made up some certificates for them. Having my niece randomly give them to people at school. Ho, Ho, Ho, looking for a Merry Week-End and a very profitable year!
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Shop Small Business Saturday
There are well know shopping days around Thanksgiving. Black Friday, Cyber Monday, everyone has heard of them. Saturday was a new day that is being marketed around the country. It was, Small Business Saturday. Everyone was asked to visit a local business and buy one thing. In small businesses one sale means something. There were a few people that took that to heart. I had a big day on Saturday. Four people came into the shop specifically to support the cause. There were more people in Cocos, but four came knowing it was Small Business Saturday. Four people trying to make a difference. My shop was not the only place they went. In our Village there are only 2 retails shops downtown. TWO!! It should be easy for people to commit to coming to the shops. There are also two small box stores and a hardware store on the edge of town. I shop local as much as possible. I dislike leaving town now. I do not have much available time to go shopping.
If you live in a small town, make an effort. Walk into the stores. See if you can make a difference. If you talk to people in my village they will say we need more retail shops. We need to get businesses downtown. In order to keep businesses the locals need to make an effort to visit these shops. Not just once. On a regular basis. Small Business Saturday is over. That does not mean you can't go into a small business and help the cause. Your business can be the difference between staying open or closing. Every business lost in a small town matters. People do not want to move to a place that does not have shops. Shop Local, Shop Small Businesses. Help make it a Merry Christmas.
If you live in a small town, make an effort. Walk into the stores. See if you can make a difference. If you talk to people in my village they will say we need more retail shops. We need to get businesses downtown. In order to keep businesses the locals need to make an effort to visit these shops. Not just once. On a regular basis. Small Business Saturday is over. That does not mean you can't go into a small business and help the cause. Your business can be the difference between staying open or closing. Every business lost in a small town matters. People do not want to move to a place that does not have shops. Shop Local, Shop Small Businesses. Help make it a Merry Christmas.
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