I was kicked out of a mid-level diner. I won’t mention the name because I don’t see the need to get innocent people in trouble but I was asked to “move along”. To be completely transparent (funny how being transparent has become a good thing; it used to be that if someone was “transparent” it meant that they were see through. We’ve evolved into needing to be cling film), I was with a friend working and we had been there for a few hours, so I get it. I think what went wrong was the approach. It was rather abrupt and unwelcoming.
To be CLEAR: I’m not complaining about the need to clear tables. I totally get it. But it might have been nice to approach the situation with some tact. We had ordered food and we weren’t causing trouble and it wasn’t like people were waiting for a table.
“Hey, I hate to ask but there are people waiting for the table and you’re totally welcome but . . .” VS. “Hey, how’s it going? You need to move along. It’s Friday and we’re getting busy.”
I don’t believe in making a federal case out of stupid little things and this is one of those “life’s stupid little things”. But it got me thinking. Trying to find a quiet place to write is almost impossible now. A virus hit and we all did our best, I guess and honestly, compared to so many people, I don’t have a lot to complain about. That won’t stop me though, right?
Prior to shut downs, lockdowns, touch downs, ups and downs, feeling downs, and all the other downs I can’t think of right now, if you wanted to get out of your head for a little while, you could do that. Just drive down to a local coffee shop, order a cup and sit and think. For someone who writes, it’s important to get out of your head for a while and the environment counts. I took for granted that a comfortable little table and a cup of drip would just be there when I wanted to work.
So, now that things are opening up again, it takes two hours to find a place that you can sit down and order and if you find one, it’s limited seated so you have to run like hell as quick as you can and hope for the best.
As it turns out, even if you find a place to sit and write, you are likely to get kicked out. Fine. Okay. We have to be resourceful.
Journey to Write 