H+M like the unorthodox in coffee shops – such as the one in the lobby of a newly rehabilitated hotel downtown, or the one in an alcove of a home furnishings store in industrial NW, or the one in a motorcycle shop.  Thus, we sought out the newly opened Dawn Patrol which is sort of a 7-day-a-week pop-up from 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the Labrewatory shop on N. Russell, which presents some opportunistic advantages and some challenges.

Asset-wise there’s the stunning visual design that Dawn Patrol inherits; what’s not to like; it’s worth a trip just to soak in the visuals.   For us, however, who place a high priority on hang-out comfort and bringing the community together, we didn’t see much interaction among the patrons, and the back-less stools weren’t that comfortable.  (Maybe a bunch a soft cushions could help.)  Of course with Dawn patrol less than 2 months old, we need to return to see what changes the owner may introduce.

Re today’s discussion, we both had read David Leonhardt’s column on state legislatures – lame duck ones who are about to lose power – either passing legislation that directly undercuts the will of the voters and/or hamstrings the new administration about to take office.  This reminded M. about the lecture he attended last week at PSU by the author of How Democracies Die, and also report on the joint meeting between our local Indivisible group One Small Thing and Nasty Women Get Things Done.  H meanwhile talked about the strong march+rally for school funding at the State Capital – deja vu for both from 20-25 years ago.   We also noted how overbooked the two of us are in our retirement years, while others seem to struggle, which led to H’s recommendation of the book Go, Went, Gone; it’s about a recently retired, uptight, former classics professor in Germany whose life changes when he starts mentoring some African refugees.

670 N. Russell                                                   http://www.dawnpatrolcoffeepdx.com