He was surprised when the crowd ended up being mostly local high school kids. In a college dominated area with plenty of establishments that offer intoxication and the majority of bands play where you must be at least eighteen to get in, at night, hangouts are sparse for high school kids. Lots of the bands that play at Mother Earth's Caf are composed of high school kids. Being one of the few places in the area willing to let new acts of any age perform, this is a unique opportunity for young musicians. For many of these kids they are performing outside their bedrooms or garages for the first time under the photographed gazes of John Lennon, Bob Marley, and Tracey Chapman.
Customers are slow keeping the conversations and radio at the volume of coffee pouring into a mug.
Richard welcomes back a couple that help themselves to menus printed on recycled paper. The back page is covered in facts about the destruction of the earth caused by the over production of cattle for meat. Zieda arrives late but after ten years of employees arriving late to the caf Richard is immune. He sits in the plaid chair by the window and kicks off his shoes while he reads the paper. Zieda, tall and thin in bellbottoms, slowly starts rinsing off dishes.