At the moment I am sitting in the Montecito Coffee Bean. I've just completed several applications for internships and a junior engineer position so I might take a break and share a story.
When I first arrived the only table available was the one bearing this sticker: "Please offer this table to our customers with disabilities." Although most of the other tables are arranged to accommodate four people, it is the only single table that four people can sit around. I never really want to take this table but, not seeing any handicapped customers, figured it would be safe for a while.
Coffee Bean being a busy spot, it wasn't long before an elderly gentlemen approached me and asked if he could share. His skin looked not withered, but as though he had spent the last eighty years in southern California. He had white hair and was wearing a moss green sweater. In his left hand was a small coffee and in his right he carried a white plate with an old-fashioned donut in the center. He moved as softly as he spoke.
He finished his donut without a word and then sat for a few more minutes, clearly enjoying his coffee and the activity of the coffee shop. Engaged as I was in the task at hand, I almost forgot he was there.
When he made to leave he turned to me and, speaking barely above a whisper, wished me the best of luck in whatever I was engaged in, waving a hand at my computer. I thanked him and confessed that I was job hunting and appreciated all the luck I could get. To this he added "Double good luck then." He laughed inaudibly and added that he didn't even own a computer. This didn't trouble him, what did, was that no one answers the phone anymore. Apparently he has difficulty navigating the automated voice directories.
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