the life coach 23

Lunch at "The Egg"

Oh who did you meet my blue eyed son?

Who did you meet my darling young one?

I met a young child beside a dead pony

I met a white man who walked a black dog

I met a woman whose body was burning

I met a young girl, she gave me a rainbow

I met one man who was wounded in love

I met another man who was wounded with hatred

Bob Dylan:"A hard rain's a gonna fall"

It's early Friday morning; Pearly and Jay are waiting in the airport for their group of Canadians.

This time Pearly is carrying a piece of paper on her chest, saying: JAY STORM and this time Jay is all right with it.

Then there's a scream when the gates open: "There it is, you see!

It says Jay Storm and that's our man; come on!"

And here they come; leaning over the railings for hugs. Jay is ok with this, but he feels that these North American huggers are emptying his lungs with their bear hugs...

The group is a mixed crowd of people; some old, some young; consisting of four women and two men. They look exhausted after their long flight from Canada...

They have planned to take the whole group to Agio To Kokkora for an early lunch and a possible stroll around in Topanas; the old town. Pearly and Jay know that they will love it...

They will start the workshop at 3 pm, so they have some time to

accommodate to Chania.

There's one couple in the group and they have planned to stay until the next weekend. The workshop will last until late Sunday afternoon, then the'll be off to Venito; the best Italian restaurant in Topanas. They serve excellent Italian dishes and plays classical music and soft Jazz music, which was very rare in Chania. The restaurant was run by an Albanian who was very professional. The Cretans didn't like him because he was so much better than them in managing and running his establishment.

He'd been chased away from another restaurant he had run for two years earlier by the competing Cretan Tavernas and Stekis, because he was outshining them in style and design of the whole project... If you prove to outsmart a Cretan on his own ground, they will be inferiorated and that is a thing a traditional Cretan could not stand in his own domains...

Jay had rented a mini bus for the weekend to bring the group around. Now they were all stowed into the 9 seats van. He'd also told them to bring as little as possible with them, because they wouldn't need it for the workshop. A dress and decant clothes for dining out at night was sufficient. Otherwise they would only need shorts and t-shirts and some robes for swimming...

Now everything was in place and Jay started the diesel engine and they left for Chania and Agio To Kokkora. Two women had been asking what the name meant and Jay told them:" It means The Rooster's Egg."

"You will have to tell us the story behind that one later!"

"Of course, I think Pearly can tell you too; maybe when we're there." He looked at Pearly who nodded; "I'd be delighted to."

They came into town and parked by the mosque in the harbour.

They left the luggage inside and a friend of Jay was going to keep an eye on the car...

They all had a nice stroll along the harbour. The Canadians were thrilled by the view and the cameras went warm as did their mouths. It was OK, because Jay and Pearly were so used to the scenery that they didn't react to it anymore. Now they were reminded about the beauty of the town they were living in and they felt good about it.

When they passed by the fountain at the end of the harbour the Canadians spotted the newly established Starbuck Cafe at the end of Halidon Street and at the entrance of the alley leading into the Topanas.

The Canadians were excited and wanted to enter the Cafe. Pearly recommended them to wait until they'd had lunch. They wouldn't regret she assured them.

So they reluctantly came with them

The Egg was just a couple of minutes away from the harbour.

When they passed through the beautiful alleys up to the Egg, the Canadians went mad again; "Wow! It's all so marvelous!" Cameras in action and outbursts like; "Wow!" and; "I have never seen anything like this!" and; "have you ever had such an experience!" It went on until they reached the Platia behind th cathedral where The Egg was situated. They were tired and hungry now, so they calmed down and waited for the preordered meals.

Jay had arranged with a few of the most famous salads The Egg could offer.

After 20 minutes the salads were ready and the Canadians were given a chance to marvel again; over the place and the food; and without L.A. there, they enjoyed the company of the other guests and the service they were given by Snjetso; the Serbian wife of L.A.

Pearly told the story of the name of the Cafe: the owner, L.A. had been working very hard to create a nice atmosphere and put a lot of energy into the art hanging on the walls inside. His choice of music was superb; especially for westerners and the salad compositions were also genuine; they had been famous for many years. so all in all; this was the rooster's egg, for sure! After finishing the meal the Canadians gave Snjetso a formidable applaud!

On the corner table underneath the sign: Agio To Kokkora a grown up man was watching them curiously while taking notes in his notebook...

Thay stayed for an hour and then the demand for a visit to the Starbuck was imminent. Jay didn't mind it; he enjoyed a cup of cafe Latte there now and then with a brownie to go with it...

But first they had to take about a hundred photos of the cathedral and the adjacent buildings and again they marveled over the architecture and the colours and the people passing..

Jay was watching them: what an amazing and enthusiastic group of people they were!

After the photo session they went down Halidon and to the Starbuck. As they entered everyone felt like home...

Finally the time came when they finished their chatting and drinking of coffee and their photo session, of course. They left for the van; eager to get to where they were going to stay the next three days...

By the mosque Pearly invited them in to have a look at the local painters' exhibition; photos session and exclamations like marvelous were flying in the air again...

The Canadians wanted to know if they could paint like that, but Pearly had to tell them that they were in for something totally different this time... The workshop wasn't about learning to paint, but to use painting to express emotions coming up during the course. Drawing and writing were other methods to reach that goal: the release of bad emotions, memories and hang ups. You will experience it all this weekend.

She led the group out again and into the van while telling them that they could go for a swim in the Mediterranean sea before they started the afternoon session. Wows and applaud again...

They arrived at Jay's and Pearly's house and were full of enthusiasm about it!

They were showed the big bed - and work/resting room and told to find the space that suited them the most. Not too much fuss about it; they had chosen their places for the weekend in a couple of minutes. They were told to get their swimming gear and to show up in the garden in almost no time. No one was not going for the beach and in 15 minutes they were marched up outside. Pearly was going with them. She really enjoyed this kind of work instead of the office routines she usually did.

Jay lay down on the bed to relax before they started the first session. He was a little anxious about it because it would take a lot of energy for him to run it all. Again he thanked for Pearly's arrival in his life...

In his slumber he heard a well known voice in is head:" How are you, Jay?"

"Oh, I'm fine thank you; and you?" Jay could hear the boy's laughter again; "I am always fine, you know. I just have to show you the right path and when I am done I will feel much better!" Laughter again; ringing in Jay's head.

This feeling was indescribable for Jay; it was his own laughter but coming from a spirit soul!

"It's all right. Just keep your mind very open this weekend and listen to your clients. They have things to tell you; about you."

"Yes I know. I am just worried about my health L.J. It's hard for me to do these workshops and adults carry so much with them and when they have a chance like this they'll grab it; as they should actually."

"You'll be all right this time, Jay. I will be with you, even though you might not notice it."

"In what way?"

The boy was gone again, but as usual Jay felt relieved by their meeting. His worries were gone and he rose up from bed in time to hear the Canadian hordes enter the house. "They are nice people", he thought, "but what a noise they make!"

croenning@rocketmail.com