Schoenbein volunteered at SAME Cafe today

I volunteered the 12:30pm to 3pm shift at the SAME Cafe. Rode the train to Union Station then caught the 16th St Mall bus for the ride up to 16th and Cleveland. Hopped off the bus and hoofed it to the Cafe 1.3 miles away.

Met Ginell, Cicelia, Libby and Brad Birky, Cole, Johanna and Bruce.

Cecelia, myself and Bruce were volunteers. Bruce was a captain in the US Army and fought in Vietnam. Cecelia is thinking about hitchhiking to CA next year. So, I invited her to travel with me for safety reasons. She indicated that she may take me up on it.

Brad and Libby operate the Cafe, Ginell is head of the kitchen. Cole is a full time paid employee. Johanna is an intern and hostess.

I spent the afternoon with Cecelia chopping onions, kale and chard. Then I cleaned up our stations. Swept the kitchen floor.

I got there early and ate lunch. I had tomato cucumber salad with roasted zucchini. Also had tomato soup.

However, as Bruce and I were eating our lunch something I said must have tickled his funny bone as he laughed while drinking his water coughing up everything spraying me and my lunch with his backwater! Ugh!

I could have gotten a second lunch but I lost my appetite. I will think twice about trying to be funny while people are eating.

After my shift I sat down with Libby Birky who with her husband, Brad, founded the cafe. I interviewed her for a story I want to do for my Sept 24 column. It's a remarkable story. The cafe is a non-profit. They founded it in 2006. Brad is from Hopedale, IL and Libby is from Bloomington, IL.

They moved to Denver in 2002. I moved to Denver in 2003.  We talked about the wicked once in a century snowstorm in March of 2003 just 3 weeks after I moved to Denver. We had 3 feet of snow and I remember having difficulty opening the front door to get out!

Took the train back to Englewood and settled into my favorite cozy alcove over at Fireside and chatted with Audrey and sipped some ginger tea while working on next week's column.

First pic is Libby Birky, 2nd is Cecelia, then Bruce then Cole, Cecelia again, Ginell, Johanna. The other pics are of the Cafe itself. The last 2 pics are Bruce right before he hacked all over my food. The last pic is, was my lunch.

It was fun! Love the staff. Cant wait for next week!