Nolan (#874) 05-27-15

I stepped into the coffee shop, Pastry Art, to get a cup of Joe prior to stranger hunting. Pastry Art has had some employee turnover, so there are a few new faces behind the counter. One young fellow commented on my camera – the Olympus OM-D E-M5 (it took me a long time to learn that by heart). What kind of camera is that? is it film? etc. So I explained the camera and said, “Guess what I like to photograph?” So a minute later he was obliging me by standing in the doorway while I clicked away.

His name is Nolan.

“Is there a 'D' on the end?”

“No, it is not like Roland.”

Nolan is from Chattanooga and says that the weather there is more mild than you might think. He and a friend took a trip to Oregon, but Nolan would up staying for two years. He worked at a Starbucks at an airport.

“Oh, so it was the same kind of work as here.”

“Yeah, it's that the coffee cost twice as much there.”

He has been in Sarasota for a month and a half, working at Pastry Art the whole time. There is a sign on the door, “Baristas wanted.” Nature of the business I guess.

After several clicks, I showed him the images. For some reason, he likes keeping his mouth open; in most images his mouth was open wider than this. He laughed and said, “Oh Jeez, I look stoned.”

He did.

Bob