Guess who ate at the Abita Springs cafe today?

Good grief man!! Are you prepared for that!?!??! BE CAREFUL MAN!!!!!

 

Don't worry, The Abita Pharmacy is around the corner.
I'm much easier to take in small doses... much like...



:wink::wink::wink: :hihi:

 

Crip will want to hear stories about that one.


also i didn't know that abita cafe was your place. i have not had a chance to go but heard wonderful things about it. next time we're in mandeville to visit the fam, we'll have to go.

 

A while back, (five or six months ago) a group from Habitat for Humanity came by and ate lunch. They are building a group of houses nearby and the leaders/supervisors are regulars for lunch... a real nice bunch of people. They get volunteers coming through for a couple of weeks at a time and they are usually people who need housing and are working for sweat equity or they are college kids from all over America.

Well one day they came in and after they ate their lunches, I came out to the table and asked how everything was and if I could do anything else for them. This cute young girl was there and I had to ask her where she went to school and she said she wasn't in school. I told her that I thought she reminded me of Julia Roberts. She laughed and said she hears that on a regular basis and smiled.

(I know this kind of sounds like a cheesy pick up line, But no one took it that way because I'm 54 years old and she was so young.)

Anyway, she introduced herself as Allison Becker. This went way over my head because I don't have cable or satellite TV at my house and haven't paid any attention to MTV since the days of the cars and Toni Basil. I had no idea who she was and she actually kind of appreciated it. She was very gracious and came in the kitchen afterwards to thank us for lunch. I had a high school assistant cook that day and he looked and didn't say anything. When she left, The kid said "Who's that?" I told him " Allison, one of the habitat volunteers." He said "Becker?" and I said "I think so."

He kind of freaked out and told me who she was. He was really impressed. I just thought she was a nice young girl...Who knew?

It turns out that MTV was doing a remote series of broadcasts that week from one of the Biloxi casinos and a bunch of the VJs and producers were volunteering with Habitat. One of the older guys at the table had introduced himself as one of the directors for MTV. That Sunday I made it a point to watch MTV and sure enough ... it was her.

 

You might not have known her, but I'll bet you'd have remembered her! :hihi:.

 

Occasionally, some local musical artists play at the cafe and it's always a pleasure for the customers. Sunday, this up and coming singer/songwriter played for us on the porch...Alexis Marceaux. She's a real prodigy and I'm sure people will be hearing about her more because she has a beautiful voice as well as a talent for songwriting. Here are a couple of videos of her performing. If you like her and want to support up and coming local talent by purchasing her CD, please let me know and I'll arrange for that. She's selling her CD at the cafe for only $10.

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rx53SPU4TrQ[/media]

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcQ9D8hJsAk[/media]

 

Most of my customers are regulars and they're more like friends than aquaintences. That's what's great about the South. Some of my customers are even like family. One of my customers in particular is like a brother to me. I know he loves me like a brother and is always helping out. He's a manager for a company that does floors in places like Rouses supermarkets, and so he often comes by after we close and does the floors.. strip, wax, buff, etc. I can never pay him because he feels that the cafe is like a home, and he wants to contribute to the success of the place.

He does this because he's a Jewish person from New York and came here for a management position via Florida. He somehow believed in the Gospel and converted to Christianity but hooked up with some churches that he felt something was wrong with. One in particular was overtly materialistic and he knew that this was contrary to the way the scriptures portray a normal Christian life. Anyway, he told me that he was eating in the cafe and was praying for guidance because he was confused. At that time, a group of men with bibles under their arms from the Wednesday morning bible study that's held at the cafe began to leave after the study was over. He met some of the men and began to participate in fellowship with this group of conservative, mainstream, inter denominational, men and he flourished spiritually.

We had plans to service the floor today after we closed. We just closed for the day, and I got a phone call from one of the bible study guys that informed me that he just died this morning from a heart attack at 50 yrs old.

I have a lot of mixed emotions right now because I lost a brother, but I know, without a doubt, that he is with the Lord and is now resting in Heaven.

Rest in Peace Bernie Goldberg. We'll see you later bro.

 

I'm sorry to hear about your friend. I have one special friend who is more like a sister to me, than a friend. I would hate to lose her.