Mid-morning K and I took our newspaper and walked the one block to our neighborhood Starbucks where we got a coffee and an outdoor table and settled in for an hour. Before long several gentlemen, nicely groomed and casually dressed, pulled up a table not far away and began conversing. In a few minutes another few showed up and joined them, then a few more, then.... until a total of about 12 assembled.
They spoke in a foreign language that sounded to my untrained ear like a middle-eastern tongue. Many drank strong espresso and smoked those vile little cigar/cigarettes. Every few minutes one or another would take a phone call, walk a few steps away from the table, then would call a few of his friends over to apparently see a text message, then go back and share it with the entire group. No smiling, I don't think it was a joke-of-the-day type of text. Their discussion was very serious and very animated.
In my imagination I visualized this group was a government-in-exile, plotting with rebels back in their middle-eastern homeland to overthrow their evil dictator and re-assume their rightful place in history. I even visualised a coup d'etat underway right then, with these guys getting updates from their fellow conspirators back home on the progress of the revolution. Or maybe the evil dictator was getting whacked right then while they sat there and sipped their espresso. (Anyone heard anything about an evil middle-eastern dictator getting whacked yesterday?)
That, or they were discussing the latest bocce ball tournament results (or whatever they play in the mid-east). I dunno. I like my first theory better.
Interesting.
S
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