Thursday, January 28, 2010

BLUE AND SKY ~ By Carrie Clevenger


AUTHOR'S NOTE OF CARRIE:NATION:  
"And Finally, nobody died in the making of this flash. 
For your theatre of magic, I present to you:"



Blue and Sky
by Carrie Clevenger

I always use the blue sugar, not the pink. It is courteous, how they are always packaged just so. Pink or blue. My coffee shimmers steam of smoky azure. The cold creeps in around the frosted windowpane. I perch on my seat, precarious. Tall seats make me feel royal.

The people sit in short chairs and engage in small conversation over lattes and Americanas. Espressos for the distinguished. Skinnies for the ungainly. Crepes and sausage flavor the air. Cigarettes spice my coffee. I inhale the aroma of shared nicotine and anticipated caffeine. I am running late.

This is a morning I will be tardy.

A chime at the door. The sun peeks over the eaves of nearby slumbering motels. Diesel cloys with perfume of the rushed and the sparkle of the innocent. My coat crushes home around me; a cocoon of mixed warmth and security. I stir my coffee.

Murmurs of good morning and good day blend to form a low hum of human activity. I pause before the first sip to capture the moment internally. The youth in my hands, the heat of the cup permeating the cardboard collar. Pumpkin spice and cinnamon. Hazelnut and French Roast. Near the door, shining machines devised to never quite replace this sensation of togetherness yet solitude. A worn newspaper, touched by many hands, rests unfurled on a table nearby, forgotten.

Concrete walls, painted with swirls of mocha and raspberry. Stars stretch across the blue ceiling. The fixtures, blue-shaded.

I take a drink of sky. 


(C) 2010, Author Carrie Clevenger
In Debut . . . AT THE BIJOU
 
Colour this edgy trendy zingy author fresh and kalideoscopic. We found CARRIE CLEVENGER hunched into her own fave seat in her own choice row, throwing popcorn at Paul Brazill, and rollickin' at all she discovered to thrill, after her first soft'shoe tiptoe in . . . to every gosh darn performance AT THE BIJOU. Well folks, life here in the theatre has never quite been the same. Her voice sparks the dark and then holds up a flashlight so Laurita can find out where she put the cookies she baked to share but were quietly crunched by the Mikes and that Har ... over there. Then, when you go out on the streets, you meet up with whole packs of her gangs who 'troupe' around Carrie's nation. Many mumble memorably as Carrie does. It's getting so I can't walk by a streetcorner they desire without addin' to their wise'crack rapid fire. *FLASH!* There she is ... writing here, writing there, even cracking the code at the'6 and adding a new dimension of flair.

Well, all's fair in the flare of flair, which is why Carrie wrote this one up most profoundly to debut not any there ... but here ... at her welcoming home away from all her other creative homes, AT THE BIJOU. Clever Clevenger, (who aka's as Carrie Cleaver) worships Maynard and dreams of cephalopods on trains and other oddities in Austin, Texas. She doesn’t have to write the next great novel, but intends to leave a bloody print on her way down.

Carrie may feign astute apathy with her "Eh, Whatever" . . . at her killer-quirky-classy Mindspeak, but I say she keynotes clarity intensified with her taunting tagline:

"The struggles of the soul are intended to be lost." 


Feelin' glad all over you found AT THE BIJOU
  and we all found you, Carrie'On ..

~ Absolutely*Kate and the fine staff of renown
... already with grin

17 comments:

Michael Solender said...

so glad i'm not amongst the ungainly as i sit here with my cupa..fun coffee laced romp

Laurita said...

Very visual. I like the detail about feeling royal in the tall chairs.

Pumpkin spice is my kinda coffee.

Carrie Clevenger said...

Hi gang. Smiling over my own coffee at how pretty Kate's made the place. This lady's dedication is PHENOMENAL. Thanks for stopping by for cup of sky.

=) (Kate made me smile. >.>)

Anonymous said...

Loved this. It perfectly captures the mood of sitting in the crowded solitude of a coffee shop for me. I am proud to call Carrie a colleague and a friend.

Marisa Birns said...

How wonderful to be drinking coffee while I read about someone drinking coffee.

So very, very true about the worn newspaper sitting opened on a table! Have seen that sight so many times.

This writing pays homage to the senses. Excellently.

Wonderful looking place, this Bijou...

Tony Noland said...

How deeply cool this piece was! Coffee shops tend to be decorated all in browns and creams. This was like sitting inside a kaleidoscope!

Beautiful!

Linda said...

My favorite kind of place, the coffee shop, an island of serenity in the midst of all the busyness. Where is this one? I'll drink sky with you any day... Peace, Linda

Laura Eno said...

Fantastic visuals, Carrie! You have an amazing range of writing styles. And yes, nobody died. :)

Unknown said...

Beautiful moment. Love how everything blends together, warm and cool in harmony. Now I'm thirsty for hazelnut coffee.

Harry said...

All the senses are perked just right. Could I get a grande sky with clouds please?

Anonymous said...

Carrie, this is a beautiful way to enter center stage At The Bijou. I could smell, taste and feel the atmosphere. Let's have another round.

Anonymous said...

Carrie, this is beautiful, as I've come to expect from you, and I love the Bijou - seems the perfect place for such a gorgeous piece of work.

EC said...

Someone could have died, sneaking those lovely Columbian beans over the border;)
Excellent prose in this piece- I think I might need to switch coffee shops now.

Unknown said...

Absolutely loved this, Carrie. Your talent never ceases to amaze and delight me. --mwachsmann

Lily Mulholland said...

'Tis the only time I've hankered after a cup of American coffee! Gorgeous Carrieness, as always and in such a purdy place :)

Kristy Baxter said...

Sharp beauty in an everyday place, one of your many talents, Carrie. It's always a privilege to read your work.

shannon said...

You've captured the quiet magic of a coffee shop perfectly here! Move over and pass the pumpkin spice. :-)