Before this time a year ago, I could easily grab a coffee and find someplace to drink it. Usually, that place would be any park bench or while walking down the street. If the weather was not the finest, then I would just sit inside wherever I found my drink and snack.
Covid made something as simple as having a weekend treat . . . complicated. Cafes are off limits except as a place you stand while waiting for your order. There are still other people around, so walking unmasked down the sidewalk is a jerk move and potentially unsafe for me and others. This meant finding a bench that nobody else was near, which has not been a challenge from about October through the present.
But, there are days when it rains.
This highlights what many have already known: there are not a ton of public places to loiter while staying relatively dry and also staying far enough away from other people. Even if a place with an ample awning is closed, it feels like you’re on the verge of being kicked out at any moment. This leaves a couple options in downtown: the stage in Bushnell Park and on the playground under one of the structures designed to look like nearby attractions. I chose the latter, as that was a spot nobody else was using.
It’s not that I can’t read the signs. I know that I am too old to be on any of the playground equipment. But damn if I was going to eat my scone out in the open during a downpour or wait for home when it would be cold. Because the rain was not blowing sideways, I could stand under the little roof, put my umbrella down, and take a few minutes to relax far, far away from other people and eat my breakfast. It wasn’t breakfast at Tiffany’s, but it was a change of scenery and what passes as luxury these days.
I was thinking I really solved a problem. Nobody was around, and because it was raining, nobody would be seeking out the playground.
False!
As I took my last bite, the best family ever showed up, unloaded kids from the car, and in the middle of a rain storm, came over to the playground. I surrendered the area before they arrived, but watched for a few minutes. The kids were gleeful to be using the playground. They did not have to compete with others to use the space. Nobody seemed bothered by the weather. Their timing was perfect and it was a great thing to see.
