Real live gelato, artisan coffee, moderately warm temps and Mr. Pammel*

For every up there is a down and vice versa. First, it is a lovely, nearly balmy, 14 deg out. With little to no wind, that is downright pleasant. The sun is shining and reflecting very brightly off the snow. It's a nice break from the frigid icicle temperatures of below zero.
Everything being relative and all.
Even though Old George's was lacking in authenticity and goodness with its mediocre fare, there is a very nice coffee & gelato place. It features some interesting flavors of gelato which is very good.
And locally roasted coffee. It also promises " we don't just brew coffee, we create experiences. Every person brings their own personal expression to their enjoyment of this ancient drink."
Calling Hallmark cards... okay well that is a bit over-the-top, but still a nice oasis in the sea of $tarbux and that kinda generic crap.
Also got to talk to the owner/guy at Pammel's, the international market...

*Not his real name but do not at this time know his name.

Davy Crockett called...

He'd like his hat back.
Saw a guy wearing this hat today, most interestingly, inside, the coffee shop. Complete with foot long "tail". Bizarre. I think this is the same Nugent 2012 guy. This must be his winter apparel.

Also, people don't like carrots. At the coffee place when you order a sandwich, you can get chips or carrots. Why do people order carrots if they're not really going to eat them? Does it make them feel more virtuous somehow? Like Oh, I've made the right choice. But then they don't eat them. I made this observation as I passed the used dish bin on my way out and noticed several sandwich plates, sandwiches eaten but lots of uneaten baby carrots. Maybe the idea of eating those poor baby carrots was too horrifying. Well, may as well just get chips then, instead of ordering carrots and not eating them. Who knows though. Maybe this was some sort of organized demonstration.
Two other odd things... as I walked by the Jimmy Johns, couldn't help but overhear someone giving a real dressing down to another person. The woman doing the scolding kept saying something about her f'ing employees and that wasn't how she treated her f'ing employees. Don't know what that was all about, but apparently working or dining at JJ's is a high-stress event.
Also I noticed that the coffee place was very busy today and there were a bunch of middle aged ladies hanging out there, I later observed many of them boarding one of those charter type buses, which makes me wonder...where do they live that coming to Main Street, Ames, is a worthy excursion?!?
Odd...