“A Sunday  
well-spent  
brings a week  
of content.”
English Proverb

My Sunday was well-spent yesterday. This is not to say that other Sundays have been wasted, just that yesterday was one of the better ones. I woke up early, drove to San Francisco, and spent a good part of the day visiting with friends at Java Beach Café on Judah Street. Despite being somewhat overcast, the air temperature was noticeably warmer than a normal Sunset District morning.

So what, exactly, made the day so special? For starters, I ordered a breakfast burrito and hot chocolate. Then I met Marco and Carla, who were visiting The City from their home in Monterrey, Mexico. They were enjoying a breakfast burrito at a table next to me. At one point in our conversation, Carla asked me if I am still working or if I’m retired. I explained that I was an educator for many years and that now, in my retirement, I write. This caught her attention. Carla is a professor in the School of Education at a prestigious university in Monterrey. She prepares her students for careers in the teaching profession. I’m always amazed at the awesome people I meet at Java Beach.

After a while, Pat Maguire, the owner of Java Beach, walked in. We had a quick visit before he got his own breakfast burrito and took it to the back room to do some work. The flow of customers coming in the front door was non-stop.

My friend, Kalia, from Hawaii stopped by for a burrito, as well. We enjoyed a nice conversation, catching up on each other’s lives. It had been several months since we last ran into each other at the coffee shop. Then Beatrice, a neighbor who lives down the street, and her little dog, Buffy, dropped in for a visit. 

I had a nice chat with Luis. He works in the kitchen preparing all the meals, including all those amazing breakfast burritos. A short while later, Mike Flaherty walked through the front door. He’s a big guy, also a Sunset District native, who provided security for Pat when they had the grand opening of Java Beach back in 1993. He and Pat have been lifelong friends. I always enjoy my conversations with Mike.

A while later, Ted, the handyman, walked into Java Beach with his dog. Ted just happened to be at 7-11 around the corner from Java Beach after midnight one night when someone decided to throw a rock through the window of the coffee shop. Pat called him. In a stroke of luck, he had a board in the back of his truck which turned out to be the exact dimensions of the window frame. He secured the building for the night.

Just before I left Java Beach to return home, Tom arrived with his guitar. Tom was a window guy. The morning after Ted put the temporary fix on the broken window, Pat called Tom to see if he might be able to replace the window that day. It was a Sunday. Tom was standing in line at Java Beach when the call came in. Pat told him about the window. He acknowledged that he had seen it when he arrived. He told Pat that he had an extra window in his truck that he thought might fit in the frame. It did. Perfectly. In less than twelve hours, the repair job was done. 

Normally, I would have stayed to listen to Tom play and sing for a while, but I was ready to head home. Quite regularly, Tom sets up a chair outside the front door of the coffee shop and serenades anyone who will listen — and lots of people listen. He’s an accomplished musician. More often than not, a few other local musicians join him for an afternoon gig. The music is yet another feature that adds to the unique ambiance of Java Beach.

As I drove back to San José, the temperature outside slowly increased from 65º in The City to 89º in Cupertino. I spent the remainder of the afternoon reading in our patio.

Yes, my Sunday was well-spent, and yes, I feel quite content today.