People Watching: There Were Feathers in His Hat

Yesterday, I woke up feeling empty, drained and cranky.  These days happen.  Sometimes, you just have to give yourself permission to be in a bad mood. 

I resigned myself to feeling out-of-sorts but decided my soul could use an iced coffee.  Yes, I will let myself wallow in a bad mood for a few hours; but, there's no need to be completely miserable.

I stopped at a chain coffee shop close to my house.  It was about 90 degrees outside, and patrons had already claimed all of the indoor tables.  As I was doctoring my coffee with milk, a patron abandoned her table.  The air conditioning was strong, and I had my journal in my purse.  The Universe had spoken.  I would sit and write for a few minutes.

So I sat, wrote and sipped my iced coffee.  Then, the Universe sent me this man:

I quietly thanked the Universe and felt my bad mood start to evaporate.  I love people watching, and this man was beyond fantastic.  Even though it was 90 degrees outside, he was wearing overalls and a pumpkin orange shirt.  He had an American flag sticking out of his backpack.  And there were several feathers in his hat:

Feather Man was the Mayor of the coffee shop.  He knew everyone.  He talked to everyone.  He was cheerful, witty, personable and well-liked.

As he made the rounds of the coffee shop, he stopped at my table and gave me a white flower.  As he offered me the flower, he said, “I thought you could use this flower.”

Why yes, Feather Man, I could use your white flower.  It was exactly what I needed to dispel my evil mood.  The Feather Man and I discussed the way I hold my pen (it's unorthodox), and then he moved on to another patron’s table to debate the virtues of being a secretary versus an archaeologist.

Thank you, Universe.  The next time I'm in a bad mood, I know the remedy: iced coffee and people watching.