A very important chapter of my life is coming to a close. If not for my parents, there is nothing left in Wooster for me.

In September of 2002, I moved to Wooster, Ohio, having absolutely no idea what to expect of this small town. I knew no one other than my family, or so I thought. During a short visit back to Cincinnati one weekend, I learned that my friend Andy from college was living in Lodi, a nearby town and working at a local coffee house, called Seattle's. I couldn't believe there was this hip little coffee house in Wooster. How could I have missed it!! I immediately drove around and found the place upon my return home. When I walked in, there was Andy working behind the bar with Melissa. It was one of the most happy moments of my life to that point, I had missed him so much. But, not only was I reunited with a dear friend, I met a few more people that night that would end up being a close friend still today. At the bar, with a Guiness in hand, was this brooding man writing in a journal with a camera around his neck. We connected instantly. And then the Wilsons and their children, two more Andy/Andrew's to the mix. It took an entire hour to meet someone NOT named Andrew. That next person was Scott. And then Lexi. And then I got a job at Seattle's. Scott, Andrew T. and I were the morning shift, 5:30 Scott, and Andrew and I alternated the 7:30 and 8:30 a.m. shifts. Those were some awesome times. All three of us were practically insominacs those days, so it's a good thing we all worked around coffee and took great care to entertain one another. [And then... well, let's just leave the rest out of this blog for now.]

Lexi went off and married and had a baby girl.
Scott finished college, is teaching Spanish and has settled down with Angie.
Andy is... god if I know. Hopefully working in a museum by now.
Andrew is living with his lovely Lena in Sweden and continues to explore the world.
And I've ended up back where everything really started. In more ways than I ever knew or can explain at this moment.

And most sadly, now Seattle's is closing.

The place where this part of my life started, is now closing.