May
19
A Liddle Run-in: Panera Bread in Brentwood
Filed Under Friends
The most recent unanticipated Panera run-in with old friend Bart Liddle was indeed a pleasure! These run-ins, essentially blasts from the past, are one of the greatest perks of working out of places like Panera Bread and Starbucks on weekday mornings. I have reconnected with a dozen or so old friends and acquaintances in this manner since I started working away from the house in January or February of this year.
Bart was sitting at the large table in the middle of the main dining room at Panera Bread in Brentwood with a few other white collars. It had been years since we have seen each other, and I had been wondering about Bart and his family of late. More serendipity! What a great thing.
I tried to think of a humorous way to approach Bart at Panera that fateful morn – you know, get his attention in some sort of embarrassing way — but I tempered it lest I risk embarrassing him too badly in front of the six or so companions who were also apparently Bart’s work associates. I merely walked up behind him and put my hands on his shoulders. He was indeed surprised.
A few minutes later when his party disbanded, he came over and exchanged a couple more pleasantries. I gave him my contact information – my standard set of four business cards (a web design card, a writing card, the Radnor Lake hiking journal card, and another one). He said he’d get in touch before too long and invite me to his home.
He emailed me last week, and I’m really looking forward to visiting the Liddle home and seeing his wife Christiana for the first time in ages, and also getting my first look at any little Liddles that might be waddling around messing their diapers. There’s just no telling how many there might be, how old they are, how good looking they must be, or how far off the charts their IQ may be.
Now for the important stuff: I let him know that I have a preference for filet mignon, wild salmon, or tataki tuna salad; acceptable sides include a fresh salad made with young organic greens, bleu cheese crumbles, and a splash of basalmic vinaigrette and olive oil, steamed or sautéed asparagus, and small red potato with skins.
I told him my schedule is quite flexible, and that I am generally getting my exercise and nature communion somewhere between 4 and 8pm on weekdays, so 7pm or so might be ideal.
I also caught Bart up a little bit as to what my priorities are these days, about how my chief passions include writing and nature, which I have combined into a hiking blog, and how it seems to be narrowing into a Radnor Lake blog website, since that is where I almost always take my hikes and hug my trees. In case he had the time or interest for more details, I sent him links to a few fairly recent posts:
Turkey Nest at Radnor Lake - 13 Eggs
Radnor Lake - Is This a Mink or a River Otter?
Retail Therapy Provides No Lasting Peace (to Frasier, anyway)
Canada Goose Building a Nest at Radnor Lake
Bart Liddle will soon let me know what day(s) might be good for a visit, and I will be looking forward to it. Of course, I am trusting that he will be able to distinguish the sarcasm and attempts at humor herein from the true grit, lest he think I’ve become somewhat more of an ass.
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