COFFEE AND INK (Diane Chartrand)

It was now January, and the weather had turned cold, so I headed to the local Tim Horton’s to get a much-needed coffee and something to eat.

The crowded tables were filled with several customers slowly sipping coffee and writing something in a notebook with a Paper-Mate style pen.

I was now curious about what kind of things they might be writing in their notebooks, but I hadn’t yet gotten up the courage to ask.

Finally, not able to wait any longer, I walked over to a woman who looked about thirty with short blonde hair and dressed in attire for an office and said, “If I’m not being too nosey, would you be willing to tell me what you’re writing about in your notebook?”

The woman looked up at me and said, “Sure. It’s just my journal, and every day when I have my coffee break, I sit here quietly and write about all the things that happened yesterday.”

“So why do you come here to write instead of at home after work?”

“Well, life is pretty busy at my house during the evenings as I have five children and a husband who needs my attention more,” the woman replied.

“Well, thank you for talking with me,” I said, returning to my seat where I had left my coffee and notebook.

That was interesting. Now, I’m even more curious about several others, especially the men, as I don’t believe they would be writing journal entries.

I sat and wrote in my notebook about my talk with the woman, then decided there seemed to be more to this concept. I got up after gaining enough courage to talk to one of the men in the room.

I approached a man with silver streaks in his short, nicely groomed hair and said, “Excuse me, but could I be so bold as to ask what you’re writing about in your notebook?”

He looked at me with a large grin on his face and said, “I’m writing a letter to my wife, who is away on a business trip in Japan for the month.”

Curious now, I asked, “Why don’t you just e-mail your wife or talk to her on the phone?”

“I find it more intriguing to write long letters to her, being able to share all my love in a manner she can see over and over as many times as she wants instead of just a quick casual moment in life,” he replied.

“That’s an interesting way to put it,” I thanked him for his time and honesty.

Returning back to my table I took a sip of my coffee, which had now turned cold. I concluded that people had found a unique way to share their coffee with their ink.

For me, this would be a great way to write down short stories or ideas that I could use to develop a complete story for a book. The bonus is that I get to have coffee and a quiet place to enjoy doing it.

For all who are stuck with their writing or just want to journal or write letters to others, I recommend buying a small notebook and a Paper-Mate type pen and getting to work. I guarantee it will be a rewarding experience.