Victrola Cafe

When people associate Seattle with espresso and hipsters, this is the kind of place they’re thinking of. My brother Pete sells invisible braces; he went into the dental office of the father of my friend Joe McCartin from high school. Joe’s dad recognized Pete’s last name, and it came out that I’m in Seattle these days, and so is Joe. I got Joe’s phone number and we met up. It was weird to see someone who I haven’t associated with since I was playing punk rock shows. We caught up, ate Ethiopian food, and then visited this cafe. Since then, Joe broke both of his hands defending his girlfriend from an assailant, watched his girlfriend move to New Zealand, and got fired from his job as a union organizer for being injured.