2021-01-06 - Coffee Talk: Now What's Next?

Ignacio might need more sleep than he's getting but dutifully the author's here, early, sucking up coffee into his face like the goodly New York diaspora do. The coffee can is out and awaiting people's life questions to be tackled anonymously in the paper. Instead of writing though there is a text book. Coffee? Number three and there's some distraction today. At least the ice skating int he park cna be seen from here and people having an idly good time at that.

Instant coffee is not real coffee. Maybe this is why Ravn Abildgaard turns up, laptop under one arm, to do some of his grading here -- because his trailer's little kitchen does not have the facilities for making proper drip coffee. He strolls in, coat up around his ears, breath crystallising in front of his face, blowing on his hands as he put the laptop down and asks for a hazelnut roast; whatever the deal with him and the day manager is, this is the compromise they have settled. Black coffee, just black, is not going to happen. It's a matter of principle.

He drifts over to the Spaniard's table and plops down uninvited. "You want company. I am company. Perfect, isn't it?"

Ignacio warms a lopsided grin from his lethargy, "Yeah man. Always up for some. You, um, you need me to rescue you your coffee or you want to try to engage in your caffeinated battle of attrition today?" For whatever those reasons are the barista has it out for him. Hand wiping the sleep from his eye he says "How's the um... How's the capital C Cat doing?" Now that all the math there has been made and all.

"I'll drink this, then make you order the refill." Ravn winks. Then he cants his head slightly. "You mean Kitty? She's just a cat. Granted, a cat who's taken a long, hard look at the Veil and decided that she's the boss of me, but -- just a cat. She's got all of the attitude but none of the actual shine."

He looks around at the more or less empty coffee shop and then murmurs, "It's quiet in here today. I guess people are out skating and enjoying the weather. And here I am, disturbing you. But eh, grading is dull. Sitting home alone grading is even more dull."

Ignacio laughs, "Maaaan I dunno if 'enjoy' is the operative word but it's not a blizzard like last year so, ya know, I'll take it. Usually we don't get snow that sticks at all. It was... weird and unpleasant. Winter still talks to me but I've been working out how to make it..quieter I guess?" the pencil goes into the book and he sits back shaking his head. "Trying to figure out what to write right now and I keep running into 'well what next'? Where's teh town going? And I keep going back to teh machine we were trapped in and wondering, ya know, what's next for oer there and...what to dooooo about lunch, man."

"Where's the town going?" Ravn glances back at the street outside and the snow that falls and maybe even stays for a bit. The weather, so like that of his home country, is fickle and mostly wet. "That's a good question. I'm not even sure where I am going -- though I've applied to turn my tourist visa into a more permanent one, so I suppose I am not going anywhere in that sense."

He sips his coffee. "In a more general sense though? Not sure. I quit barbacking, I think I told you that. Took on some more tutoring. Went home for the holidays -- it felt like saying goodbye, to be honest. I might go back sometime to pick something up or just to see how things are doing, but I don't live there anymore. It's not home. Now I am trying to stick my nose to the ground a little, find out what I want to be doing here ten years from now, you know?"

"Crazy if we're being honest." The Spaniard grins shaking his head, "Yeah! You mentioned you were going to stop doing that and start out there on some personal discovery." There's a quiet and a deep breath with a bouncing nod of his head, "Hey, I get it. When I went back to New York last year I had to tell my parents, nah like... I'm moving out west. They didn't get it but over time they came to respect that. Now I'm here and this last year's been... kinda intense." There's a pause with a small smile, "It's like holding onto the side of the pool. Then we let go of the coping and we're treating water and there's no ground below us. IT's scary. No one wants to drown, but... but we're doing it and eventually we figure out where to swim to."

"I hope so," Ravn says with a small laugh. "So far I'm better at paddling than I am at actually getting anywhere. But I do have some vague ideas of what I want to be doing. I'm a lecturer who refuses to become a teacher. But I'm actually pretty decent at tutoring -- and this town, it feeds on people who are a little... off kilter. I see someone like Coach Kelly reaching out and raising some of those not so fortunate kids up and I ask myself -- why do we just accept that yeah, Gray Harbor has people whose little lives are going to be miserable, and then they become Veil chow? Clayton and I were talking about how the Veil uses those people who are a little damaged, a little broken, and how that the homeless people on the boardwalk are probably on a one-way route to the abbatoir. It's got to be possible to reach out -- I mean, we can't save anyone, but any one that we can lift up just a bit is a win, right?"

"Eh, maybe the Revisionist can make a better story for some of them than the lot they got handed. That's not going to fix systemic issues that created that need in the first place, granted, but it's a thought." Fingers push back through his hair and he considers a few things. "Wonder if we can help them. They need, step one, someone to treat them with care like they are not invisible or a project. They're people. Sometimes bad shit happens. Maybe as a guy who started over trying to live on his merit and a guy that has had to get past a lot of dependencies? Maybe we can create something that can help. Thoughts on this?"

"I am thinking that if I can teach veterans with PTSD to focus and help them get a bachelor's, then maybe I can also help a homeless guy write a proper job application or get him through community college." Ravn nods slightly. "I'm no expert but, I think that at least for some of them, it might be a matter of having somewhere to sit and access to the right information -- textbooks and tutors are expensive, and commitment is hard for some of those blokes. I think I'd like to get involved with something like that on the side, yes. Make a difference, instead of just talking about it."

Ignacio tilts his head considering this and, with infectiously optimistic half smile, agrees, "I think you can too. But speaking of which Next month is kinda a thing for me aaaand I thought if you wanted to help me celebrate it I was gonna get together with Itzhak. Jam a bit. I'm not great but we have fun. Barn's heated. You can meat the cat." Picking up his coffee for a sip he point out, "Because we too get to celebrate our small rocks we've climbed over. Some of the guys there are homeless from circumstance, others/ Because the system's just unfair. I'm wondering if we can't find some ability around here to help folks out with trade skills. Like... opportunity and training. People want to throw cash at the problem but like... they need legit help and if we listen they will tell us what they need. More often than not it's a place to start."

Ravn rests one leg over the other and curls the fingers of both gloved hands around his coffee cup. "Well, that's part of it. I can do that, technically -- throw cash at the problem. But I'm not sure that really does much besides buy me a clean social conscience? Might be better to perhaps find out what's needed and then think about how to make it happen. Opportunity and training sounds good, but also the very basic things like how to write a job application -- and indeed, how to read a contract."

With a smile he adds aside, "I'll definitely come watch you and Rosencrantz play. I'd gnaw my leg off to go there if you chained me down somewhere else. What are we celebrating in particular?"

"Or even offer services that'll do this. I'm telling you if we start networking folks we can help create a change in perception to open up chances." There's a pause with a faintly smug satisfaction in saying "It'll make the Veil itch, I'm certain of it but I'm working out ideas for this too." There's a thoughtful quirk of his brow as he makes a list of the ideas Ravn's throwing in to the pot and adding those to the list. A pause and the small smile returns, proud but not boastful. Whelmed is a pretty good word for right now. "Next month will be one year after that bus almost killed me and... one total year I'll be clean off opioids. Kinda got mad addicted during all my surgeries. Had a couple accidents here. And finally came to grips with... that's not the guy I wanna be. I didn't see myself that way but, ya know, I'd ask people to lie. Did things that hurt them in the end and really let them down and... I don't wanna be that guy. So February will be my birthday and one year."

"Sounds like something worth celebrating to me." Ravn gives the other man a nod of approval; addiction is no small thing and neither is beating it. "And you're right. The Veil will flip its lid if we manage to make actual ripples in the food tank. That's what those people are -- the ones who have the shine but no connections or money. The crazies. The boardwalk mumblers and people who hear voices and live under bridges. I want to run the statistics sometime but I'm pretty sure we'll find that Gray Harbor not only attracts homeless so-called crazy people, but that most of the ones it attracts end up missing here. I ran some numbers with Clayton just before Christmas, and there's a clear and strong trend towards a certain kind of people being drawn here. Those with resources and surplus become like us -- citizens with strange experiences. And then there's the rest. The Veil will definitely notice. But I suppose it also begs the question of where and what -- do you think there's any place in town that can basically supply coffee, warmth, and a place to sit while trying to learn?"

Ignacio scoffs and holds up his thumb and two fingers. "The Veil's tried to assassinate me three times. It tells me I'm on the right track and maybe? Maybe that message to try and to get people to hope is louder than I realize. Also... tells me regardless of how bad it wants to try to break me this is something I have to do. I think... it's okay to be afraid just not to not help people that need it because of it, ya know? ANd I don't know. I mean it's a big ask of Eleanor but.. we should maybe look into what we can do. And network. We're good talking to people."

Ravn grins lightly. "No, you are good at talking to people. Eleanor is the owner here, yes? That's a possibility, at least until we find somewhere that we might be able to store things at. Depending on what we end up actually doing, we may need some space. Textbooks, things like that -- take up space. I think perhaps somewhere with a door that can be closed -- I know that if I were some homeless bloke looking like it, I don't think I'd want to sit on display so that the well-off patrons could come watch me learning like some kind of zoo animal."

Ignacio laughs and sighs, "Alright, maybe. Sure. And yeah Ellie owns the coffee shop. She's pretty great." There's a sigh and he slouches in the chair trying to get comfortable again. Having Spirit used to glue all his bones together doesn't mean that he still can't feel that they needed to be in the first place; especially when the damp sets in.

"Man I wish Elias's book shop was still open. It was pretty great for that Tables and stuff upstairs. Neat space. I love refurbished old buildings. he'd have been on board. What I WISH we had here was the setup like we used to have back in Harlem. There was this place, a restaurant. Lunch shop that took in folks who were trying to re-start their lives ya know. Maybe homeless, or tryin to get clean, or ex-cons or whatever. Offer em a damn job at a fair wage and teach them how to care for a trade and a business. Something to invest themselves in so they can get on to doing what they feel they wanted to in life ya know? Have meetings in the morning. We talked a bit about that in my group. nice folks and like... honestly? "

The eyebrow goes up with a shake of his head, "August should have fired me for some shit over a year ago. I never stole anything but uhhhh... let's... just say I put him through some shit. He, um, he didn't give up on me and eventually? I didn't either and I'd really... I'd like to do that for someone else. How to convince folks though?"

"That actually sounds... Like you're a step ahead of me but pretty much where I was going to end up too," Ravn agrees. "I come from a social democratic country, you know that -- but even with our social safety nets, we still believe in raising people up to help themselves, not just pacifying them on welfare. Making people independent and able to take agency of their lives back has to be the goal here."

He cants his head slightly. "I'm not practically inclined, at all. But if we can draw up a business plan, find some suitable location, map out our idea -- we could probably do this. Finances wouldn't be the biggest challenge, within reasonable limits -- getting the Veil to not screw us over would be largest hurdle, since we'd be threatening the food supply."

"Well the good news is it's not a race which is probably good for me. I dunno I'll ever get anywhere in a hurry." Iggy's still working through that one with humor. Lips press together and he considers this 'business plan' and nods slowly. "That.. I think we can do. We know enough business owners that they might be cool giving an opinion on." He pauses, agreeing, "They... won't. Not...insurmountably." Eyebrows go up and his attention lifts from his notes to Ravn, "Yeah. That's it exactly. We should probably make a business contingency plan to account for that too."

"I don't suppose that this town has another book shop than the one you mentioned closing? A book shop with some extra space for a study area would be -- pretty much ideal, I think. Somewhere people can make coffee, and perhaps grab a shower. I don't think we should try to set up an actual shelter -- that's too big a step. The faster we move, the harder the part of the Veil that considers you to be the enemy will respond." Ravn steeples his fingers under his chin, probably unaware of how much this gesture makes him look like a disapproving schoolteacher -- or a mastermind villain from a bad movie.

"In Denmark we have a sort of semi-volunteer educational system for adults that I'm not sure you have here -- community college might be the closest thing. Many courses are free -- taught by volunteers. Maybe this is the kind of route we want to go? A sort of backroom community centre, on the down low, one step at a time so that perhaps we slide under the radar somewhat? What we can actually offer would depend on whom we can convince to volunteer, obviously."

The Dane straightens up. "But maybe I'm getting ahead of myself. We should sit down sometime soon and draw up a serious business plan. Find a local lawyer -- one who knows about the Veil complications would be preferable."

Ignacio considers this "A shower'd be cool. Maybe we can work out a deal with the laundromat and/or people who do have these utilities if we can't find a place. That said I don't think we're going to be able to do this alone, but if we don't have to? All the better. I'm thinking we look for the space and get costs. Then we see what it has to work with and after that? Shit, let's have a little town meeting and bring this up to other persons and see if they'd be willing to participate. Maybe even a pay it forward system at a couple of the shops, here, elsewhere where people can just future-buy someone a cup of coffee just as a thanks. I think this is doable."