I ducked into Elephant’s Deli for something to drink, and noticed that they had Coke Blak. I have been meaning to try it, so I grabbed a little 8 oz. bottle of the stuff. Then I got a Big Bowl with everything from The Whole Bowl. (Do you think my body is craving brown rice and beans after all the ribs I’ve been eating? It’s possible.)
I sat on the steps in Pioneer Courthouse Square, in the sun, and ate my lunch. The sun was hot on the back of my neck, and soon I could feel little trickles of sweat running past my ears, down my ribs, and at the backs of my knees. If I stayed there long enough, I would be soaked.
I finished lunch and opened the Coke Blak. Meh. It tastes like Coke with coffee syrup added. Not spectacular and a bit too sweet. If you want to try a close approximation, I think you could mix a regular Coke with a bottle of Bibicaffe´, and it would be close. Although probably not as sweet.
The fountain in the square generated enough white noise to drown out everything but the Trimet buses that roared by periodically. Unfortunately, it couldn’t drown out the smells around me. Between the hot grease smell coming from the hamburger cart and the cigarette smoke coming from everywhere, I got a bit queasy. Bleagh.
But I stayed there a while, and scribbled in my Moleskine. I’m trying to find the discipline to write in it more often. I don’t think that what I write is that important, necessarily. I just want to know that I’m putting pen to paper.
Once I was feeling good and hot, I decided to head back to the office. Of course, getting back to the office meant I had to dodge Mercy Corps volunteers and Petition Signature Gatherers, in addition to the usual panhandlers on every corner. Which is one of the reasons I don’t eat outside more often.