Gone

The last tea room in town finally closed down and turned into a trendy little tourist bistro; I was sad when I had to pass that news on to my kid. Over the past twenty-odd years we shared a lot of lovely meals as well as teas there, including celebrating one of her birthdays while she was in high school. It was a little oasis of civilization and calm that we thought of as our special place, and I'm glad we had it as long as we did. Still, time moves on rather more quickly than I want it to these days, and takes away more happiness than it brings.

People today go to Starbucks, not tea rooms. They want big desserts, not little tea cakes. They drink designer coffees, not exotic brews. They work on their laptops and ignore each other instead of talking. Take it from me, that's a true shame.