You’ve Got Mail

My wife and I enjoy watching comedies on Netflix from time to time. The other night, we watched an old movie, You’ve Got Mail (watch it here on YouTube for free), starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. I’m sure many of you have seen it. It starts with these two having an online romance, unaware they’re business rivals. She owns a small children’s bookstore, and he is in the business of running small bookstores out.

Throughout the movie, I found myself reminiscing about the times I would sit at a local Starbucks and write my blog. It was the perfect environment for a wannabe writer like me. The sounds of people ordering their drinks, baristas clanging their coffee-making tools, and the magnificent scent of coffee made my writing task a pleasure. It was the perfect atmosphere, believe it or not.

When I discovered that my favorite bookstore, Barnes & Noble, had a Starbucks, I became overly excited and couldn’t imagine anything in the world being better than this! Coffee and books! The perfect combination. I would grab a stack of books and peruse them over coffee, snacking on a warm muffin or a wonderful chocolate-chip cookie. What can be better than that?

One of the things I truly miss is meeting my brother at B&N and having some bro-time, talking about books while slurping our favorite coffee (dark roast for me, medium for him). We would talk about life and the stupid stuff we’ve done over the years, and laugh our asses off. Those bro days are deeply etched in my mind today. I truly miss those days.

My wife and I are retired now and live in the Highlands of Panama. We are happy and content here, living among fantastic neighbors and a small town full of wonderful little coffee shops, but no bookstores. I’ve learned to love Kindle and Apple Books for my reading. I’ll order a real paperback from Amazon on occasion. You’ve Got Mail brought back so many great memories. Memories that I will always cherish.