A Quiet Evening.

c. David Grim (taken 8/6/10)

With an extremely busy week ahead of me, I figured I'd go out Saturday night and take in the sights. As always, I went through the local channels to find out what was available in the form of weekend entertainment. It usually takes me the better part of an hour to sort through the offerings. I check the local newspaper's events, the alternative newsweekly, my friend Rick's blog, and thisishappening (although that site seems to feature less listings over the past year or so). I'm not much interested in music or sports events, so that narrows the search dramatically.

Although there were a few things happening in the city's art scene last night, nothing was so compelling that I couldn't miss it. I was mildly tempted to go to an opening at Unsmoke Systems, but Braddock is a neighborhood that is such a pain to drive to (even though, as the crow flies, it's really not that far away) that I just ended up taking a pass. I went up to Lili Coffee*Shop instead, and got my standard iced Americano with caramel syrup.

On Friday night, the owners of the shop coordinated an impromptu barbecue to honor PARKing Day. They were grilling up burgers and sausages and there was a flatbed on Dobson with bands performing out in the open air. It was a festive atmosphere, even if I did arrive too late for the free food. So I guess I wasn't that surprised (or disheartened) to find the place completely empty the next night. In fact, I was selfishly pleased to have it all to myself. Rob was slinging coffee, and he had a chance to sit down and chat for awhile.

Usually I am only at Lili during the day, so it was novel to see the place all clean and lit up at night, with the streetlights outside shining through the high, expansive windows. The slats of the original hard wood floor were gorgeous in their beat-up grace. The chairs and tables looked elegantly old-fashioned, and the old-timey instrumentals playing quietly in the background enhanced the out-of-time ambiance which I was gloatingly soaking in. I kept hoping that no one would come in to break the spell, and I wasn't disappointed.

I really felt like I could be in another city, having stumbled on a quiet, pleasant spot to spend a couple of unhurried hours. Once again, I recommend you stop in for a bit... this time at night.