Missing My Jimmy and Beans

My winnings from the recent meat raffle!

When I moved back to my hometown of Royalton, I knew I would need to get use to some changes.  From the obvious of going from living with me, myself, and I to living with my parents - which, up to this point has gone well once we installed the babygate policy.  But there were also some minor changes that related more to moving back to a smaller town - where you can get breakfast, lunch, and dinner AND win some bacon at the meat raffle at the local bar in town.

You see, over the years I have gotten use to some conveniences that come with communities that bigger in size than Royalton that I never thought would effect me. They included, but are not limited to: Jimmy Johns and skinny vanilla lattes. You may be shaking your head but this the honest truth - out of all of the different things that make all of the communities where I have lived so special and unique, it comes down to Jimmy and beans for me.

My love for Jimmy Johns took time to form over the years.  I remember when my friend, Greg Berube, took a couple of us to the Twin Cities while I was in college and we HAD to try this new, up and coming sub shop.  I came, I ate - I wasn't impressed.  Now fast forward some years to Waterloo, IA - we use to have our Cancer Crusher team meetings in Waterloo and our manager, Heather, would order in lunch from us.  Since JJ delivered it was an automatic choice.  I rolled my eyes, ordered my sub - but this time I was surprised.  Now I started to get the hype again - the bread, the avocado spread, the simplicity of the whole sandwich made it so delicious.  Well, when Heather realized we all enjoyed Jimmy Johns, she started to order them for us all. the. time. until we told her we were going on strike from the sandwiches.  So once again, I was at odds with Jimmy - I simply had too much of him.

THEN fast forward a couple of more years and the big JJ arrives on the fast-food scene in Mason City.  Which when any new restaurant opens in Mason City, it is a big deal - doesn't matter if they are amazing or fall flat.  So when longtime lunch time friend Heidi mentioned that we should go there for our next lunch date, I sighed and replied "Oh that sounds good."  But again to my shock, I ordered my Turkey Tom with a avocado spread on it and fell in love again.  And then to top it off - "what do you mean you will deliver to my office??"  Now it was on - Jimmy Johns was a new go to staple for me when meetings would go late at night or I simply couldn't leave the office for lunch and had forgotten to bring anything in.  They were light batman sweeping in to save the day, a teenage boy with a Jimmy Johns sign would show up with my salvation.

When I moved to Dubuque this tradition remained the same except now there were a few more of us ordering the life-saving sandwiches - but there was one, there is always one, who didn't understand the joy that comes from the Turkey Tom - Ms. Jodi.  She would go on to inform me that the sandwiches tasted "like dirt."  Yep you heard me.  Dirt.  I could not believe my ears, how could ANYONE not find the same joy as I did in the bread and mayo??  But I learned to accept this one fault of Jodi's, especially when she would offer to drive Jen and I there to pick up much needed sandwiches.

Now I know that me missing Jimmy Johns doesn't have too much to do with the actual sandwiches but more about what they represented - in Royalton the idea of food being delivered to your home is for yuppies.  The local Dairy Queen is the only fast food type of option, and after working there for over 7 years of my teenage life I simply could only eat so many blizzards and cheese burgers with only catsup, pickles and ultimate sauce.  So when I found out that there was a Jimmy Johns in Brainerd, only a short 30 mile jont up the road, the Avenger and I made the trip to north to once again enjoy the bread, the mayo, the turkey and the avocado.  And yes, it was a amazing.

Now about these beans.  I never thought I would be a coffee person.  You see I worked at the local coffee shop that once existed in Royalton and never really liked the taste of coffee.  The bitterness that I couldn't seem to kill with chocolate, sugar or cream never won me over.  I just never got the whole thing about coffee.  Then I moved to Alaska and moved in with two coffee lovers in the form of my cousins - Eric and Molly.  The daily buzz of the coffee grinder served as my alarm clock that was followed by the fresh smell of coffee.  Eric and Molly soon had flipped me to the coffee side of life.  Once I was good with my drip coffee they brought me to Kaladi Brothers - a chain coffee shop in Anchorage that quickly turned into a goto for me and Howard (my laptop) to visit and sit for a while enjoying my fresh brewed skinny vanilla latte or chia tea.

Howard III and I enjoying the view while blogging

Over the years, there would be other coffee shops and my choice of drink would sway from drip to latte to tea to iced to chai and then back to my trusted skinny vanilla latte.  The warmth and light sweetness from the drink always seemed to make me slow down and enjoy.  Add in the fact that I normally got my lattes only every once in awhile vs daily, I always saw them as a special treat.  Well needless to say Royalton's coffee shop is gone, but my parents have a Keurig that has brought me much joy.  But for those lattes, I have to travel a little ways and have been testing out a few different places to find just the right spot to sit and sip with Howard the third with much success.

So as I begin to settle into my most resent move and temporary residence in Royalton, I am starting to learn all of the little things that make my life hum along.  Even though I am missing my Jimmys and lattes, the addition of beautiful snow-covered views, seeing and catching up with so many faces from "back when," to learning my role with my new job - it all makes up for it.  Plus, hopefully in only a few months I will be moving into a new home in the Brainerd area.  And do you know what Brainerd has??  Jimmy Johns and several coffee shops.  Until then I will sit here, enjoy the view with Howard the third, and sip my coffee fresh from the Keurig.