End of an era

Sometimes a shop is much more than a shop. Reflections Coffee Shop and Talking Drum Bookstore are closing June 30th. They've been a center for those who love African and African-American community for seventeen years. I learned about the shop after Occupy Portland started and we held some meetings there. In May, when I interviewed Gloria for this article, she had hopes of going on and on.

But I dropped in to see her yesterday and to ask if she wanted some last pictures taken. She said no, she didn't want to remember it this way. She wanted to remember it full of people and activity and life. "I won't ever forget this place," she smiled. 'I'm not worried about that."

I said I would imagine it's like when you've been caring for a sick person for a long time, someone you love, but they have been failing. And you have been running hard to save them, and then you realize nothing you can do is enough. When the end comes you feel sad, but you also feel some relief. She smiled, "Yes, you said it. That's how I am right now. People ask me what I'm going to do on Monday morning, and I tell them, 'I'm going to roll over and go back to sleep.' I feel like I need to sleep for a few months, I'm so tired. But I feel great about what I did here. I love what this place has been, for me and for the community. Times change. Sometimes you just have to let go."

The Skanner, a local newspaper focused in the African-American community, reports the end of an era.

My Flickr set on Reflections is a tribute to Gloria and the community center she created and kept alive for seventeen years. It was a beautiful thing.