LaFayette, we were there
The LaFayette Café located on the Ocean
Front Walk and Westminster Avenue was a meeting place for Venetians since the
1950s and before. It was one of the few sit down places on the ocean front where
one could get Coffee and Conversation after the coffee houses were shut down by
the Venice Civic Union.
Favorite servers were Yola, Ruth, and
later the legendary Anna Haag—but all the waiters named and unnamed had
their own following.
I used to like to
sit at the formica counter and listen to Yola expound on her theories of the
moon landing and various assassinations (they all braided together in a very
colorful twine of conspiracies and global
cooling).
The LaFayette’s
pink-orange naugahyde booths were redolent of decades of fried eggs, hamburgers
and stewed coffee. And cigarette smoke. Remember cigarette smoke? Ted, the owner
was always there facing the quilted chrome back splash as he flipped burgers and
scraped the grill, as was the picture reputed to be of General LaFayette that
hung over the cash register.
Pacé
Salve La Fayette,
et Merci
Randy.
– Carol
Fondiller
*************
LAFAYETTE
CAFE
By Randy S.
Brook
When you reach for the
illusion and close your fist on sand
When
the time it takes to say “hello” no longer fits your
plan
When your special friends have all left
town and you just can’t find your
way
I’ll meet you down at the
LaFayette Cafe
When your mind has
turned to ashes and your face has turned to
clay
When the moonlit dreams an’
promises have broken with the day
When your
newfound lover blows a kiss and slowly walks
away
I’ll meet you down at the
LaFayette Cafe
When your treasures
are in boxes in somebody’s garage
When
your castle walls have crumbled into yesterday’s
mirage
When your keys have fallen off the
ring and they tow your car away
I’ll
meet you down at the LaFayette
Cafe
And we can start over with
nothing
But a seagull in the
sky
A diamond lace of broken
glass
And a dream that will not
die
When all the self-important fools
have left their violence on your door
And
you will not seek forgiveness for the honesty you
wore
When they’ve taken all the love
you bring and the songs you have to
play
I’ll meet you down at the
LaFayette Cafe
When you grow tired of
your leisure and your magic ocean view
When
the words you write won’t fit the page and the meaning don’t break
through
When you just can’t find
redemption in anything you do or
say
I’ll meet you down at the
LaFayette Cafe
When your highway
songs’ve all been sung and the road has brought you
back
To the place you started from with your
rainbow blanket and your pack
When you reach
the place where the gulls won’t fly and the children do not
play
I’ll meet you down at the
LaFayette Cafe
Through all the wind
and tears Abandoned fears
And voices
lifted high
Waves pounding on an empty
beach
That told us not to
try
When all the love-lost gypsy
children you thought were yours to save
Have
given back their broken minds and vanished with the
waves
When your rainbow tears have washed
the streets and there’s nothing left to
say
I’ll meet you down at the
LaFayette Cafe
Posted: Sat
- February 1, 2003 at 08:22 PM