My son likes to write. He’s very serious about it and his ideas even astound me. Much like his mother, he finds it difficult to concentrate at home and it sometimes leaves him without inspiration. I suggested we find some time and do what I used to do – sit in a coffee shop and write whatever comes to mind.
And that’s exactly what we did. Sitting with Harrison in the front window watching the Danforth, listening to Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison and Johnny Cash, he wolfs down a completely delicious gluten-free peanut butter cookie and sips on a ‘Dirt ‘n’ Worms’ hot chocolate.
I give him my laptop and pull out my notebook, intending on trying to rekindle the creative juices that seem to run so freely through my son. I sip on a chai latte that consists of steamed tea and not the overly sweet syrup I’m accustomed to from other establishments. It has a lovely little leaf design made from caramel on top of the steamed milk – just sweet enough.
While Harrison is writing feverishly (he seems to have found that inspiration he couldn’t at home), I stop to look around. Classic comic book prints such as Little Lulu and Nutsy Squirrel line the wall by the entrance. Robot action figures make frequent appearances, with their likenesses even drawn on the bathroom mirror. It’s simple decor – deep browns and dark reds, accentuating coffee-cream walls – plain wooden tables with simple silver chairs near the back with two leather armchairs in front of a fireplace near the front. The counter in the window looks a log cutting that is simply lacquered. It’s wonderful and comfortable. Within a half an hour, Harrison has comfortably written several paragraphs of inspiration and I have already ordered a second incredible peanut-butter cookie and a nice medium-roast coffee – quite delicious. The wonderful women at the counter today are Cayley and Markie. They’re extremely friendly and have genuine smiles on their faces the entire time we are there. I’m so impressed, I have to tell them. It seems to me, at first, that I have totally forgotten to rekindle my inspiration and try to write alongside my son. And then, it dawns on me, I know what to write about…
Red Rocket Coffee’s newest site is at 1364 Danforth Ave., just a few blocks east of Greenwood. They are on Facebook and Twitter and are absolutely my new favourite.
Thank you, Cayley and Markie, for a wonderful experience for Harrison and me today.
Originally published on April 15, 2012 at blogloudly.com (now defunct)
