"A mocha with a shot of cinnamon"

This may seem to be a bit of a pointless post after not posting for a month, but…

Today I decided to go out to lunch down in Old Town. Walking back to my car, which I parked all the way across downtown from where I was eating, I decided to stop in at Starry Night and grab a cup of something to fire me up for another Symphony Hour cramming session.

Starry Night is the kind of place that always makes me feel wonderful when I walk in. I’ve been a fairly regular customer there since I was in high school. The quality of the coffee, espresso and food there are practically unmatched.

I walked up to the counter and gave my order to the barista.

“A mocha with a shot of cinnamon.”

This has been my special drink for many years. I first ordered this drink at a coffee shop in St. Louis called Pony Espresso which is sadly no longer open. It was a cold day in December, finals week of my freshman year of college. At the time, I was into drinking various espresso drinks with a shot of whatever syrup struck my fancy at the moment. After ordering the drink, I remember the barista commenting that it sounded like a good drink for a cold day.

I don’t order this drink often. In fact, I order it quite rarely. The time and place have to be just right for this combination to work. It doesn’t take the bad days and make them good, and it doesn’t take the good days and make them better. Regardless of how the day is going, what this drink does is make everything right. Not just seem right, but be right.

That’s how I felt as I walked back to my car this afternoon. The wind was blowing, the sky was clear. I was wrapped in a wool coat and my purple scarf. I sipped my mocha with cinnamon and at that instant…

Everything was right.