Two of us had visited Push X Pull in December and the shop that day seemed lifeless; in the hour we were there there might have been 3 other in and out customers.  It was good today to see that there were at least three couples who chose to meet there, plus another five individuals stopped in for to-go drinks.

Several low-frill seats/tables on wheels plus a couch dominate the seating options.  What’s special about Push X Pull, for us, was the amount of magical natural light that comes through large windows facing east and south.  There’s one soft couch, but that’s it in terms of seating variety.  The roaster, plants, and clear lines behind the counter provide some visual variety, and there’s room to do more in this vein.

Having not seen C and T for quite a while, there was a lot to catch up on.  T and M talked about how best to link the new Clean Energy Fund with affordable housing developments; T also talked about how his trip to Santa Fe opened his eyes to that area’s oppression of Asians and Native Americans, which led to our talking about Oregon’s own history of discrimination, which in 1859 was captured in the State constitution;  C informed us he’d be taking off for Bali in two days to spend 3 weeks with his daughter who is trying to start up an environmental-focused school; and we reminded each other of how when we’re in the presnce of our adult children we seem to fall back into old patterns of interactions and roles.

821 SE Stark                                                    pushxpullcoffee.com