All Things Beautiful
by
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The Deal After Pat made the promise to Tom… he knew he had to try… he had to go through the steps of opening a coffee house… at the time… he still thought of it as his wild imagination… the spirits of Carville guiding him… but now… he believed he had Tom with him as well… He called the number on the “For Rent” sign outside the old bar on Judah Street… the sign had been hanging there for five years… a kind and gentle man answered… “Mr. Chan,…” Pat explained that he wanted to open a coffee house in the building… Mr. Chan didn’t hesitate… “Come over,” he said… “Let’s discuss it.” They set a date and time… That’s when it hit Pat… he didn’t look or dress like a business owner… all he had were construction clothes… hoodies… Ben Davis pants… and a closet full of 49ers ball caps… so… he went to Ross Dress for Less… he bought what he thought was business attire… a collared shirt… Dockers… and a briefcase… he didn’t have a clue what should go inside the briefcase… but he bought it anyway… The day of the meeting… he walked from his mother’s house down Judah Street… he stood in front of the door at 1396 La Playa… staring at the doorbell… he reached his finger toward it… and suddenly… fear overwhelmed him… You must be insane, he thought… You can’t do this! He turned away… took three steps toward home… but then… something stopped him… it wasn’t just a thought… it was a force… he turned back around… walked to the door… and rang the bell… Mr. Chan opened the door… Pat stood there… feeling foolish… wearing his new shirt and pants… holding a briefcase with nothing inside… not even a pen or paper… completely empty… like his wallet… and his bank account… a handful of nothing… Mr. Chan smiled warmly… he invited Pat upstairs… “Wow… you’re quite young… How old are you?” he asked… “I’m 25 years old, sir,” Pat replied… He raised an eyebrow… “And you want to open a coffee shop? Like a restaurant?” “No,” Pat said quickly… “It’s not like a restaurant… it’s more like a European coffee house… like the ones in North Beach… the kind of place where the hippies used to hang out.” Mr. Chan nodded thoughtfully… In the 1990s… coffee houses had become rare in San Francisco… Their heyday had been in the 1960s… Mr. Chan’s eyes lit up… “That’s an incredible idea,” he said… “It could be something special.” He then told Pat that he had been planning to get rid of the commercial space altogether… He was going to pull permits next week to turn the bar into a living unit… but he said he loved Pat’s vision… and he wanted to give him a chance… They shook hands… “I’ll give you a year of free rent to build the place,” Mr. Chan said… “It’s in bad shape… You’ll need the time.” Pat thanked him… and explained that he worked 16-hour days in construction… installing office spaces… Mr. Chan nodded… understanding… Pat walked home with so much to think about… When he opened the door to his mother’s house… he announced… “Mom… I made the deal!” She looked at him like he had just killed the cat… her face was a mix of disbelief and shock… not the excitement he had hoped for… “How do you plan on doing this?” she asked… He grinned… “Don’t worry, Mom… I got this!”... but deep inside… he didn’t have a clue… and he knew it…
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About the Book
Hard times fall on all of us at one time or another. Sometimes these situations are caused by factors outside of our control, while at other times, they result from our own decisions or actions. How we respond to these times of crisis in our lives is within our control. Victor Frankl, a holocaust survivor, wrote this: “The last of human freedoms — to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances.” All Things Beautiful relates the challenges faced by the author, Patrick Maguire, and reveals how he used his freedom, and his acceptance of the love of God, to cope with and overcome a variety of significant obstacles in his life. This inspirational story is one of trust, surrender, and a profound realization of God’s presence in our lives.
About the Author
Patrick Maguire is a native of San Francisco, California. He was raised in an Irish-Catholic family in the lower Sunset District near Ocean Beach and Judah Street. While this may sound quite ordinary, Pat’s life story has been anything but ordinary. In the rollercoaster of life, he has experienced the extremes of numerous peaks and valleys. In this gripping account of his life, Pat opens his heart and shares how these experiences have shaped him, his outlook on life, and his personal spirituality. Pat is the founder and owner of Java Beach Café.