A Remembrance Day Coffee

It was Remembrance Day. My friends and I spend way too much time at the Tim Hortons close to our school. At this point in time the cashiers and the Swedish baker recognized us. Frequently we would see a solider in uniform would come in for a coffee and my friend would debate about the correct way to thank someone for fighting for out country.

On that day we had gotten out of school early and headed to the Tims. We ignored the busy Starbucks across the street and entered the Tims to smile at the table with a little sign saying 'Reserved for veterans." We muttered about how nice that was and took the table behind it. The debate began again with my friend wondering how she could thank the single old man sitting by himself at the two tables for fighting for Canada.

All of my family lives in England and I've always wanted to hear interesting stories from an older person. My own grandparents having very little to tell me. As it turns out the man invited us to sit with him which we accepted. That afternoon was one of the best of my life. Several other veterans joined us and the Swede served free coffee to the veterans. They had gone to the same high school that we currently went to. One was born in a Japanese prison camps, they explained how they got their medals.
I have always wanted to go somewhere where the cashiers knew you by name or knew your regular. Seeing those veterans being greeted by name and having their coffee given to them how they liked it, this Tim's is like a second home to me. And I can't describe how much I love it.