[Jim Moonan]

Here's a happy story from long ago. I was attending Richmond College in England and it was Christmas break. The campus was closed down for the break and most of my friends high-tailed it home for the duration and I couldn't afford such luxury. I had 10 days to spend somewhere with almost no money to spend on it. I bought a rail ticket to Edinburgh and found a run down hotel on Princes St., plunked down a chunk of money for a room and settled in to survival mode: walking, people watching, sight-seeing and reading – all of which could be done for free. That left me with enough spare change to subsist on cigarettes, coffee and various forms of bread and cheese.

I had found a café nearby that was comfortable and didn’t mind my lingering for hours nursing my allotted cup of coffee and sometimes a scone. The waitress was an older woman and she would come by from time to time and refill my cup which was like a little present each time she did. I sat, sometimes for hours, enjoying the moment of just being. I don’t remember seeing the sun or blue sky once during my stay. The whole time was a cloudy, wintery mix of rain and sleet and some snow. I was fascinated by the darkness of the winter days at that latitude. It gave credence to my idea that I was somewhere exotic. And cold. And dark. And wonderfully old.

On Christmas Eve afternoon, knowing the café would be closed on Christmas morning, I stopped in for my usual cup of coffee and stayed my usual couple of hours. Before I left I went up to the counter where there was a display case of goodies and splurged on a few shortbread cookies to take back to the hotel and feast on the next morning when everything would be closed (along with a cup of hot tap water instant coffee). The waitress came back with a box full of cookies and cakes and scones and handed it to me smiling and said, “They’ll just go to waste – Merry Christmas chappy”.

To this day I have not had a more memorable Christmas. I feasted on the gift of the box of sweets in the morning and walked the deserted streets of Edinburgh in the afternoon until dark. I don't know if it's my memory playing tricks on me, but I remember hearing Christmas music in the air all afternoon. When I came back to the hotel the manager had a plateful of sausages and other food I can’t remember or didn’t recognize : ). If I could time travel, that might be the date I’d want to re-visit. A happy memory.