My friend Scott Carrino wrote a touching piece on the Open House this morning, his piece chronicled a convergence of events that brought a score of people from the Creative Group At Bedlam Farm to the Round House Cafe, which Scott and his wife Lisa have been working to create and run for the past couple of years.
Scott is a close friend of mine, and I have watched him work to exhaustion and beyond day after day setting up his new business. Scott always works and lives in pain, he broke his back several years ago and requires medication every day to walk and stand up. He stands up for 14 or 15 hours a day, without complaint or ill temper. Scott is my Tai Chi instructor, we barter. Tai Chi in exchange for writing lessons. After two years, Scott’s writing is taking off. Now it’s my turn. I think I have to take my shoes off this week.
Saturday, Scott came to the Open House to sing two of the songs he had written, it was one of the warmest moments of the weekend.
If you watch the news, you know that this idea of doing good for it’s own sake is not an idea that is ascendant in our world right now. The very air is filled with hatred, violence and argument. There is much cynicism. A friend of mine recently quoted her son as saying no good deed goes unpunished. Maybe, I said, but I told her that I think no good deed goes unrewarded.
This is the point and purpose of Scott’s life – to do good. He would love to make a lot of money, but he does not seek reward. I think there is some, I saw it on Sunday. There is fresh food in the cafe every day, and fresh flowers, the people working there are happy and committed, they are so much fun to talk to. The cafe was jammed all day long. It is a special place, a magical place for me, for Maria and so many others. There is connection there, there is community. Scott is committed to making a warm and inviting place with good and healthy food. His cafe has become the soul of the town, it reflects his idea of doing good.
His good and the good of a platoon of creative people collided on Sunday in the Round House, they make quite a bit of noise. The visitors had come to the Bedlam Farm Open House to meet one another and were laughing and loving one another in the cafe (loudly) all morning. Scott wrote about this below on Facebook and I wanted to share it. He wrote that this is what he has wanted, a place where people are happy and workers are happy, where people love the food they eat and the space they eat it in. He says his cafe is becoming famous, and good for him, I think it is so.
The point of you, I told him, on the phone – we talk on the phone, not through e-mail or text – is that you got what you want because you worked so hard for it. This is a question I ask myself every morning, and I am happy to pass the question along to those of you who are reading this: “Do You Have What You Want?”
I ask myself this every morning, and if the answer is no, I ask myself what it is I have to do to get it. Scott reminds me that if I wish to have what I want, I have to work just as hard for it as he does.
This is what he wrote:
“This is what I want.
To work hard, to be effective and to flow through each day with a feeling of joy.
Though my body hurts from standing long hours each day and moving so quickly for the past three days, I am happy.
I am tired, yes – but I am happy.
This past weekend was the busiest we have ever had in our cafe as visitors to the Bedlam Farm Open House were in town from all over the country and Canada. From ten minutes before we were to open to 2 hours after our scheduled closing, there was a constant flow of people who came to share the wonder that is friendship, encouragement and community – and good food.
This is what I want.
This weekend was a long one for our staff as we prepped early and left late to clean up and prep for the next day. Our bakery on the hill was furiously and steadily preparing and sending soups and baked goods down to keep us well stocked. We worked hard and diligently getting meals out as fast and as beautifully prepared as Lisa and I insist upon.
At the end of each day, we were all exhausted, but the one thing that stands out is the incredible feeling of joy that permeated the dining room, the coffee room and the kitchen -all weekend long. The sound of deep and hearty laughter along with sweet tears of recognition was our soundtrack for three days and it affected our staff deeply.
This is what I want.
At the end of the day on Sunday, when staff were saying good night, there was a moment that struck me to the core.
Imagine people who had just worked long hours, sweating in our shoe-box-sized kitchen, exhaustion showing in our eyes and in our rumpled hair and food-stained aprons. Imagine, just for a moment what you might feel after a day of constant and fast movement with no breaks at all.
The cafe was empty save for us. Lights were dim and the place was cleaned and ready for our opening the following day. What might the words be that would surface after a day so long and tiring?
This is what I heard:
“I have never worked so hard in any restaurant before and I have never had so much fun working so hard.”
“I hurt in places I did not know could hurt, and I am tired like I have never felt before and yet, I feel alive!”
“This is the best job I have ever had!”
“I love these people!
“I love my job!”
This is what I want.” – Scott Carrino