Coffee revisited

Gregory (right) and an old friend

Coffee is a comfortable subject.  Especially comfortable for those of us who live in Seattle, artisan coffee capital of the world.  And maybe it is because coffee is such a comfort food (food?) that an essay I wrote back in January 2013, "Sharing Coffee," has been one of my more popular posts over the years.

The photo accompanying that essay -- two steaming cups of coffee on a table, presumably accompanied by relaxed conversation -- is enough to make our Northwest Corner brain waves slide into a happy Alpha rhythm.  It may have been that photo rather than my actual topic that attracted readers.

But "Sharing Coffee" sprang from a meeting over coffee I'd just had with Gregory, a college sophomore and former neighbor I'd known and chatted with occasionally since his early teens, but hadn't seen in person since he'd abandoned Seattle for a university in New York City.  I used our meeting as a vehicle to praise the virtues of inter-generational friendships.

Whatever happened to Gregory?  Funny you should ask.  I had coffee with him again yesterday, in the University of Washington student union.  He's now a college graduate -- not from his original university in New York, but from Columbia College in Chicago, a school specializing in the performing arts and related disciplines.  A devoted fan of comedy in all forms since childhood, Gregory received his B.A. in Television Writing and Producing.  He's spent the last couple of months with his family in Seattle before heading south next week for an internship with a Hollywood organization.

I bragged in my 2013 essay about my ability to talk with a college student without talking down to him from the great heights of experience afforded by my advanced years.  The difference now is that he now knows many things about many things that I don't -- our talk yesterday was at least as much a learning experience for me as for him.

Gregory has completed a pilot screenplay for a 30 minute television series, an example of his writing that he can show future employers.  At my behest, he texted me a copy after our meeting.  It was extremely well written, and wildly funny.  Reading it, and talking to Gregory, reminds me that occupational paths in which I've never shown any particular interest -- and for which I certainly have no talent -- can be fascinating for the right person.

I'm looking forward to following this guy in his future career.  It will obviously be a career with many twists and turns -- the career paths available in my own profession are generally plodding and unimaginative by comparison.  So, yeah.  I hope to keep my eye on him. 

And share another cup of coffee in the not too distant future.