One Less Perk

Seamus The Rubber Duck and Lori the Barrista extraordinaire (Please forgive me Lori)

Painted Floor and the open door to Wonderland just beyond.

The Coffee Bar

The intersection of good vibes, activism, creativity and caffeine.

The Perk

 

I made 43 round trip flights on Southwest Airlines last year. All that travel helps you realize that sometimes the best place for travel is home. Every Saturday morning when I’m home, I can almost certainly be found at the Marquette Perk. An old gas station converted at first into a stained glass workshop with coffee service, then into a coffee house and stained glass work shop. The founders and owners, Al & Alice were hippies or at the very least bohemians, the original ones, not the new “new bohemians”. A colorful street mural of Alice in Wonderland (Wonderland Stained Glass…get it) adorned the southeast side of the building. The rest of the building was adorned in a funky primary yellow and blue coffee theme. The inside had the same mojo too where the theme was continued even on the floor. The ceiling on the coffee side was draped with faded fabric that had taken a beating from fluorescent lights and the sun. 

Al could be found at the Perk. He was about 5’8”, and had a beard or hadn’t shaved for a week stubble most of the time. He was a grumpy curmudgeon with a wry smile who loved to hold court. He was an IU grad who was a great COBOL programmer. He hated politicians, seemingly all politicians but stopped just short of being the nihilist our friend Dennis was (Nihilist was Dennis’ description). I enjoyed the many talks, discussions that we had. I loved it when he would bitch about those "greedy entrepneurs" only to realize somewhere in the rant he was an entrepreneur. At Al’s heart was an activist with strong convictions. Sometimes, okay more times than not, those convictions poured out bitterly. Too sweeten things was Alice. She had a wide smile, blond hair, slight build and a flower child-like look and disposition which all hid an fierce inner strength. She was a creative force whose stained glass adorned the shop. She would come up on Al and put her hand on his shoulder and Al would melt, a little. Two cool beans that made a strong couple. They are an inspirational couple to me, an example where both sides complement each other. The Perk has a handful of those couples and many other wonderful people. 

As much as Al would grouse about the “business” of the coffee shop he was smart enough to hire Lori. She is a long haired German blond barista with the biggest smile and a heart to match. It is impossible to go to the Perk when she is there and not walk out with a smile. Like a magnet, the unlikely trio has attracted many to the caffeinated confines of the Perk. What brews goes to the essence of Al & Alice, an activist coffee house that allows for diverse people to come together. At face value I wouldn’t fit in politically, but because there is a premium on laughter and listening, listening no matter how crazy, we find a respect and common ground (cool coffee pun huh?). All of us prize authenticity and that comes in many flavors.

Al & Alice essentially built the Purchase Street Malthouse, the place where Sam Adams brewed up the American Revolution. Skeptical? A few years ago the state of Indiana decided to change the tax code. The community met at the Perk, raised 6 figures by the end of the week, and in the end changed Indiana Tax Code to be more equitable and fair. Revolutionary I would say.

The Perk is still the place to go. The kids have taken over, expanded the menu and acupuncture replaced stained glass. The bright primary colors have given way to Zen inspired bronze, brown and a hint of lime green. The spirit stays the same (except for the canceled French Roast Tuesday…my other favorite day of the week). Lori fires up the best Metropolis coffee & everything bagel and I get to see all my friends. However, this week something changed.

Tuesday, Al passed away. I lost a friend and am sad. Thankful that I got to see him two weeks ago in his natural habitat, coffee at the Perk, bummed that I won’t have a coffee house buddy. He didn’t want a funeral or a wake or anything (typical Al). What’s even harder is that I’m a thousand miles away in North Dakota. So the only thing I can do is pay homage in my blog. As an Orthodox Christian we say “May there memory be eternal.” That won’t be hard for anyone touched by Al.