Good Graffiti

So Rockwood has a problem with graffiti, as most neighborhoods do anymore. I always feel badly for certain homeowners that get more than their fair share of it, and do their best to keep up with it. One of these homes is at 182nd and Yamhill where, unfortunately, their fence is a big canvas for all of those who want to leave their mark.

When I was stopped at the light there, I looked over to see that the owners apparently just painted over the gang graffiti again. But they are leaving one graffiti artist's words alone. The graffiti reads

"Tasha, I LOVE YOU -JSN"

I remember when those darn kids would write such things in bathroom stalls and on walls and we found it so bothersome and disrespectful. I looked at that fence and that graffiti actually brought a smile to my face. How times have changed!

So I almost want to start a graffiti war of sorts. Anywhere I see gang graffiti, I want to have a Valentine's day celebration and have everyone who loves someone go paint it on the fences. Paint right over the hateful garbage and preach Peace and Love - not WAR.

In today's world, would we accept graffiti if it was happy? The homeowner on 182nd and Yamhill has apparently chosen to. So, it's not right to deface another's property, but is there time for a new attitude and a LOVE gang?

JSN - I hope Tasha loves you too. And I hope that small message - though perhaps you should be fined for doing it - makes us think about some love amidst the hate of the gang markers.

Groundhog Day, Candlemas, Chandeleur Day

If I mention the date of February 2nd do you immediately recall that this is a holiday? I certainly wouldn't have, prior to opening Park Place Coffee. But then again, it is one of the many lessons I have learned by having a creperie.

It started when I received an email from Jeme Sutton, a French teacher at Reynolds High School, who asked if she could bring her students in to celebrate Chandeleur Day on February 2nd. This led me to research what this holiday was all about, and I found that of all of the holidays we celebrate, Chandeleur Day is most definitely an important holiday for me as it means "Crepe Day" in France! Chandeleur began as a religious holiday and is also called Candlemas which celebrates Mary and baby Jesus. Two less religious traditions grew from this holiday - crepe games and weather predictions.

It is a tradition in France to toss crepes high into the air and attempt to catch them with a pan/plate with your less favored hand while holding a coin in the other. If you can achieve the feat, good luck is prophecied to come your way.

It is also a day where the weather conditions predict the length of winter to come.(Sound familiar?)One of the sayings goes something like this: "Quand la Chandeleur est claire, l'hiver est par derrière; Chandeleur couverte, quarante jours de perte!" (If February 2 is clear, no more winter to fear; if the Chandeleur is overcast, forty days winter to last). (thanks to Genevieve Raze from Gresham High School for this information).

Thanks to these ladies who educate our local high school students on France and the culture, we will be celebrating "Crepe Day" at Park Place Coffee on February 2nd and throwing some crepes around along with some French phrases. We welcome others to join us.

So, you may notice between the date and the tradition, there seems to be connection to Groundhog Day? It is more than a coincidence for sure. Chandeleur Day assimilated into what we now consider a North American holiday, though it was through German influence. Go figure! Another demonstration of how our culture becomes enriched through our many associations! Here is the information on how Chandeleur Day has entered into our American Culture:

This prediction (Groundhog Day) owes its origin to the European tradition of Candlemas. There is an old European supposition that a sunny Candlemas day would lead the winter to last for 'another six weeks'. Also celebrated on February 2, the was used to commemorate the Purification of the Virgin Mary. Candles for sacred uses were blessed on this day. Gradually the traditions at this Candlemas came to associate with them different folklores. The German added the belief of an animal, initially a hedgehog, being frightened by his shadow on Candlemas would foretell that winter would last another six weeks. This belief was brought in America during the 18th Century by the German settlers. These settlers adopted the groundhog as their weather predictor.

The Groundhog Day came into being in North America during the late 1800s. Thanks to the combined effort of Clymer H. Freas, a newspaper editor, and W. Smith, an American Congressman and newspaper publisher. They organized and popularized a yearly festival in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, the State was populated predominantly by German settlers. The festival featured a groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil which used to foretell how long the winter would last. This very popular event is still being held and is called Groundhog Day. (source: theholidayspot.com)

That was last year

New Year's morning started out wrong. Upon arriving at work I found I had been robbed with a rock being thrown through the glass door at the shop. I had advertised an open house on New Year's and wasn't worried about crepe sales, but was planning to put out goodies and spend the day with my dear customers munching on chips and beef stick and playing Scrabble, Cribbage, Pictionary - you name it, with whoever wanted to join me. It was taking me back to the tradition of being a child where our house was a "hang out" with munchies about and all of the kids playing ping pong or whatever games while the adults played their pinochle.

Whoever broke into the place brought a new meaning to "open house." It was more like "open door." The Gresham P.D. came out, and I was so happy to find the officer on call was one of my dear customers. The GPD did a thorough review and report and went on their way. They tried to help me find a glass shop open New Year's Day, but that was close to impossible.

The winds were horrendous and blowing the front door open from the back - no way to invite customers in for a cozy day. Customers arrived throughout the day and expressed their disappointment that their New Year's plans were to hang out at Park Place and enjoy the day also.

My dear boyfriend and wonderful customer and friend, Kris, both worked hard to clean up glass and place it anew throughout the day while enduring plenty of cuts in the process. When I couldn't help with the glass, I cleaned and painted and organized and probably couldn't have gotten so much accomplished any other day.

So in 2007 (I am CONVINCED it happened before midnight) something bad happened. In 2008, I got some new paint on my cabinets, and some organizing done to start off a new year. Goodbye to 2007 where lessons were learned. Here's to 2008, when life will be great! (okay, it's corny but effective.)

What comes around, the next round

Christmas Eve was a great day at Park Place. I had the opportunity to wish many of my regular customers and friends a happy holiday before closing early. I let customers pick ornaments from the merchandising shelf to take with them, and that brought it's own joy. Some customers were very particular about the ornaments they picked, and had a story for why they picked them. One friend is a new grandpa, and took a "baby's first christmas" ornament. One customer was picking for his wife who is bedridden, and he wanted to make sure it was going to be something to brighten up her day - after he comes home from delivering meals on wheels. These ornaments were worth more to me when they went out the door for free then if they had sold on Christmas Eve.

Prior to closing, a group of about eight disc golfers came in and got hot drinks after playing their holiday rounds. After closing the cafe, I came back later to do some cleaning. As I glanced out the window I saw one of my regular customers out walking his dog, and the dog had a disc in his mouth. My customer (Steve) knocked on the door and showed me that the disc his dog had in his mouth had someone's name and phone number on it. I got the dog to drop the disc by offering him a dog treat, and told Steve I would call the number on the disc and get it to its owner. I assumed it was one of the disc golfers in earlier in the day.

Fast forward to the day after Christmas: One of my disc golfers came back in and I asked him if he knew the player whose name and number was on that disc. Yes, he did. He also knew that player had given that disc as a gift to Forest, another disc golfer who frequents the coffee shop.

Forest came in that afternoon and his eyes lit up when he saw the disc on the shelf. "Where'd you find my favorite disc?," he asked. I told him the story of Steve and his dog who returned the disc. Forest asked what Steve drinks when he comes in the cafe, and put the money on the counter. "Please tell Steve his next one is on me and thank him for getting this back to me."

Fast forward to the next morning - Steve comes in for his mocha and I explain the next round is on Forest, since Forest can happily play his "next round" with his favorite disc. Two customers who couldn't be more different who managed to somehow brighten one another's day...