In Memory of Lara Anderson

    I haven't written in awhile. Wanting to, many topics piling up, falling behind. All lost beneath these horrible days of the Trump Administration. Today I received a phone call from my friend Johanna. Our friend and great spirit, Lara died in a car accident yesterday.  It's hard to imagine facing these next years without Lara's humor, marching against injustice and just knowing she's around. Fact is, I haven't seen her much at all the past five years but through Johanna, Tim, and Jenny a Lara update was always ready.  I know that this personally had become a good time for her, secure in her place in the world and love found. Love has lost, as we no longer will have this wonderful, fun, sarcastic, kind friend. I feel most of all for the loss that Johanna, Tim and Jenny will suffer for they have lost a sister as well, a comrade in arms.

    Sometimes when I think back to my early Peets days I easily recall Lara's laughter and wit, and her greeting people with a "hi buddy!".  I met her my first days at my first store, on Chestnut Street where we all prospered under the leadership of Jenn Sackett.  Lara and Jenn were particularly close as they both shared qualities of kindness, rooting for the underdog, calling an asshole an asshole (although Jenn's way was to deliver the message so it seemed as a compliment. Lara's method was a direct verbal punch to the ego). Lara liked my sense of humor, categorizing it as zany as sometimes responding with a full laugh- that was distinctly hers.  While I most wanted my co-workers to see me as fair and reliable- not caring as much to be liked, it was important to me that Lara like me. Later on when I became the store manager at Fillmore we often had heart to heart discussions about business, policies, employees, people, what we could tolerate, what we could disagree on but still exist in.

    I always felt an appreciation for our sharing a similar journey from Chestnut to Fillmore, experiencing the company moving from a private cool place to corporate questionable soulless entity- although some of our discussions we disagreed as to how far over the change was.  I am a vegetarian now and Lara is one of the reasons that I ever considered this a possibility. Once, she came over to my parents for dinner and although I had informed my Mother that Lara didn't eat meat, my Mom made her a special chicken dish. Lara then discreetly worked her way to enjoying my mom's vegetable offerings and was a wonderful guest.

     I still have the photo Lara took of me when I left the Chestnut store to go to Fillmore.  She wrote a sweet message on the photo.  After settling in at Fillmore (and meeting Johanna), I checked with Lara to see if she wanted to transfer over.  As Jenn had previously left Chestnut, she soon agreed to transfer. Those years with Lara at Fillmore were very good years with taking care of business but more importantly! having fun with her and Jo, Steve, Lucie, Korin, Josef, Anatole....so many good people.  I was proud of what we established in the community  and Lara was a large part of this; creating a friendly, good go to place, but heaven help you if you were an jerk.  She would recognize all kind hearted folks even if no one else did. Very excellent with the swear words too.

     Early one morning I recall her in an intense and friendly discussion with customer Chris Thile who Lara was not aware of as being a player mandolin extraordinaire. She may have said something disparaging about country music and Thile was attempting to illustrate the many virtues, history and relevance of the idiom. That was part of Lara; by sharing her honesty and with her own virtue of being open to discussion, invited you to discuss topics of meaning, for reconsideration.  Unless of course you were an asshole.

      Because I was the store manager sometimes I felt Lara didn't completely trust me representing the man but she knew that deep down I was the most un-man man that Peets could have so although there were times we drifted apart some, I always felt that I could count on her, and trusted Lara without any doubt. She was kind and playful with Dexter, and a friend to Maria and later Oliver.  I helped reunite her with Jenn for a time at Bush and Battery, and I know that she left us on occasion but came back.  Lara always did her work and helped us crush the morning rush with super fun efficiency.

      There were dinners and store events during and after my time at Peets. The last time I saw Lara as I recall was at Jenny's and I was so happy to have her company, her laughter and silliness near us again. Prior to that I was honored that she came out for a goodbye dinner that the team had for me, not even living in the city at that time.

      There were many occasions when she made me laugh hard, and I enjoyed surprising her with a caustic remark or doing something unexpected.  Perhaps my fondest memory is a day Lara, Josef and I went to the Academy Of Sciences on a behind the scenes day.  We participated on a tour of how the systems worked in the old Academy, seeing how the large filtration and water pumps were at work, held some lizards and snakes and spent a half hour dropping buckets of meat to the alligators.  It was a nice mix of people; Josef with his observing subtle qualities -although outside of work his humor and joy were more readily shared, and Lara's buoyant energy. We had a great day. I wish there were more.  Lara Anderson, one of the best and favorite people I will ever know.  When people like her leave us too soon, living is misery.