In the middle of yesterday's hail, rain and wall of blackness, Francis comes wandering in the coffee house looking a bit irritated. He's wearing his winter jacket, zipped completely up in the heat, for protection from the rain. He must have walked back to the coffee house from home completely through the down pour and was leaving a river of water ( Read more... )

A few nights ago, Franics was bemoaning the fact that he could not get a scone and very much needed one. I offered to buy him one, if he would play me a song on the piano. He shook his head slowly from side to side saying that he couldn't play the piano because he didn't have any more notes.

Francis walks in the coffee house and goes over to his table to start peeling off layers of winter. As he's pulling a sweater over his head he yells over his shoulder, "Jennifer, you've GOT IT!" I asked him what I got, to which he hems and haws for a bit then replied, "Yeah." and kept peeling off layers.

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Yesterday I worked my first shift at the coffee house since the accident. I had to have someone else pick up most of the shift, because I knew that I would only be able to work a few hours because of my screaming back, neck and hip. It was nice being back and I am glad that I picked to work the last few hours of the day when it was pretty slow, but ( Read more... )

When Francis inquired about what kind of soup was to be had yesterday and was told that we didn't have any left responded with ( Read more... )

One day this summer I was sitting at the next table over from Francis, with a group of friends chatting. After a little while Francis got up, walked over to me and stood next to me. He dug around in his pocket a bit, then slammed down a quarter directly in front of me, on my pack of cigarettes, cackled and said, "There you go, There's your ( Read more... )

I should just make this journal a daily tracking of Francis quotes and stories.

This evening when Francis came in after dinner, he takes off his jacket, gives a belly laugh and throws his arms up in the air as he says: "I should be a medical doctor", then walks off to the restroom.

One afternoon, it's downpouring outside and Francis comes in for coffee, completely drenched from his walk to the coffee house. I exclaimed, "Francis, you're all wet!" To which he replies, "It's not raining in my universe."

Francis is a fixture at the coffee house that I manage. He has been coming in to the coffee house since it first opened it's doors 14 years ago. Francis is schizophrenic. He and I have had our ups and downs. From being his "Charice" the young girl and fellow coffee house patron who doted on him and bought him coffee, took him to movies, ( Read more... )