A Time of Habits

In small towns we become accustomed a regular motion in our travels. A habit of tracks. Go here. Go there. We often don’t see or even notice what’s in between our habitual travel points, even when it changes dramatically. I thought of this the other day when I was in Nacusp, a little town on Arrow Lake in the BC interior.

Seeking a Freshies sort of place for breakfast, I walked in the health food store and asked the woman working behind the counter where I could find a good cup of coffee and muffin.

She mentioned the new chef at the Leonard Hotel, a hotel restaurant more in keeping with my grandparents tastes and the Kuskanax Motel, a Best Western stucco sort of looks-like-all-the-rest across the street. Neither held any appeal. Far from home, I wanted a Freshies sort of place. A little hippie burg like Nacusp ought to have a local organic coffee and muffin joint.

So I wandered down the street wondering what to do?

A couple blocks down, a woman walks out of corner shop carrying a cup of coffee. Seeing that, I promptly said to myself, “That’s what I do.�

It was a coffee shop, bakery and U-Brew. Great coffee. Great muffins. And it was early, so I didn’t try the other brews.  A handful of tables, a couple of comfortable overstuffed chairs, a great couch, and internet access. A steady stream of folks coming in, joking, chatting, then leaving with coffee and sometimes a muffin or sweet.

As I answered emails and wrote, I thought of the woman who gave me two choices and totally missed this little place. A place of the sort I described and she was not even aware sat a couple blocks down.

And I thought back to the May long weekend. Freshies closed for their staff gathering. The Tea House folks ran off to the island. And Mug Shots closed Sunday and Monday. The Fernie Shirt Company became only place for a morning coffee out. (I walk to the downtown, so I don’t know about Jamoca’s habit that weekend) If everyone else hadn’t closed, a bunch of folks (myself included) never would have wandered into the Shirt Company wondering if they were still pumping coffee on the corner and, half awake, happy they continued with good old Kicking Horse coffee to boot.

Today, take the time to look. To see. What’s new. Even better yet, take a chance. Drop your regular spot for the day and try another. Risk it. Like, what is the risk? Discovering something new? Some risk that.

Step it out. Move on.