Another Awesome Weekend

This weekend I again went to my Temple of Solitude except for me it is a geological area of West Virginia. I met with some old friends and made a few new ones. Even though things have changed where it was that I grew up, some things will always remain the same. The smile on friends faces when they see you coming and the care you can hear in their voice when they ask how you are doing. These are the great things that a real friendship brings. I thank GOD that I have friends such as this.

I can’t wait until next weekend…..

Just Another Day

Well, another day down and one and a half to go. I am looking forward to returning to Canaan Valley for the weekend. It is my escape away from all the hustle and bustle here in the DC area. I would like to go to my home in Charleston, but a three hour drive verses a six hour drive to spend a couple days somewhere, I’ll take the three hours any day. Usually when I go to Charleston I spend at least five days; that is my minimum. Even though I will have to make a whirlwind trip in November for my youngest daughter’s 12th birthday’ that I cannot miss.

Today I received some bad news. I hear that Hypno Coffee is moving to Davis, WV. Actually this is closer to Canaan Valley, but I am from Thomas and Thomas and Davis have always been rivals. When I was a kid we use to hold football games that were Thomas against Davis. Even though we went to the same High School there was always that little bit in each of us that my town was better than yours. Oh well, I’ll still go there to get my Mocha even if it is going to be in Davis, WV.

Why do I have such a love for my new coffee shop? I guess it is due to my time spent in Afghanistan. When I was there I was stationed on a base with over 1000 other soldiers and contractors. One thousand personnel is not a lot if you are on reasonably sized post. ISAF Headquarters was maybe 2 acres if that. You barley had room to think, but it did have a good coffee shop. It was named the Gravel Pit and had some of the best Mocha and Espresso I have ever had. Well, Hypno Coffee’s Mocha is better. Going to the Gravel Pit to get my morning coffee was the only diversion I had that was even remotely familiar to being in the States.

Yes, Friday cannot get here fast enough….

Wonders of My Youth.

I had forgotten just how beautiful the part of West Virginia that I grew up in was. It had been over 25 years since I walked its streets and visited its stores. Of course all the ones there in my youth are gone. Now they are more for the tourist visiting from all over the world. I never knew that I lived in a historic town. But a town that was created in the late 1800s, I guess can be considered historic. When I lived there in the 70/80s the population was just under 1000. During the census of 2000 there were only 452 people living there. Today I would not know the number, but would suspect that it has dwindled even more. That is not to say that it is a ghost town. On any given weekend there are numerous tourists walking Front Street visiting the shops.

Of all the shops, one caught my interest for several reasons. It is a coffee shop, appropriately named Hypno Coffee, 9 East Front Street, Thomas, WV 26292. The proprietors’ are a young couple, who stirred from Florida. How they came to Thomas, WV I did not get to in my brief conversation with them. I did however fall in love their establishment. The thought of running a small intimate business, like a coffee shop, fills me with excitement. I love specialty coffees and the fact that it is in my home town, just feels good. I don’t know why, maybe it is because I am growing old and sentimental. I just like the place and plan on making it a regular stop in my travels to Thomas.

Twenty five years is a long time to be away from one’s home town. Actually, I had been through Thomas a few times earlier this year and visited some friends still living there a few years ago. But to really take the time to walk its streets and visit the stores, I had not done since the early eighties. In 1984 I enlisted into the United States Air Force and my 23 year military career began. After 5 years in the USAF, I joined the West Virginia Army National Guard where I served another 18 years. I retired in 2007, went to Afghanistan as a NATO contractor for a while and then to District of Columbia area as a Department of the Army contractor. I work for a company called, Tiber Creek Consulting as a Military Analyst. I own a house near Charleston, WV and I work in DC. So, I travel a lot to and fro. It is a 6 hour trip no matter the route, so I prefer what I call the middle route which takes me within 20 miles of my home town. It is also just a little over 3 hours to Canaan Valley, so here lately on the weekends I have been staying at a friend’s house in Timberline. This is a good place to meet my family and since we are so close to Thomas, I have been doing a little reminiscing.

I’ll be back in Thomas here soon learning about bats at the Thomas Community Center, which by the way is where I started 2d grade back in 1971. Maybe I’ll see you there?.....