A long time ago (in the mid-seventies), and far away (in Cincinnati, Ohio), a young college student (Carol Evans) walked into a local coffeehouse and really liked what she saw. People were talking, singing, reciting poetry, and doing all those other coffeehouse things. It was love at first sight for Carol and she decided right then and there that she wanted to start a coffeehouse of her own. Thus began a dream that would live for thirty years before becoming a reality.

During those thirty years Carol graduated from college as an accountant, married Dennis Ross, became a step-mom to his two children, and they had two sons of their own. They moved from Cincinnati to San Francisco to Castleton, VT to Pittsburgh and finally to Middlebury, VT.

Through all of her traveling and all the stages of her life Carol never lost sight of her dream of starting a coffeehouse. She spoke of it often to her family, to her close friends, to her not so close friends, heck she talked about it to just about anyone who would listen! Carol dreamed of a place where people would gather to meet other people, to express themselves, or to find out how others expressed themselves and to have a good time doing it.

Some would describe Carol as one of the most fun people they knew. That was not just because of her frequent smiles, it was also because of the regularity in which she made other people smile. Sometimes the smile came after a prank, and she did come up with some good ones! But most of the smiles she inspired were the result of an act of kindness or a thoughtful word from her. It was hard not to smile around Carol.

It was a cold day in January, 2004 when Carol and I first connected through email. As we continued to communicate we found that we had much in common, including the fact that we both had lost a spouse at about the same time and were looking for a change. One day Carol wrote to tell me that her dream of opening a coffeehouse was shattered. She had just found out that another woman was intending to do just that in Middlebury. Seeing this as the opportunity for the change I had been looking for, I asked her if she would consider me as a potential partner to start a coffeehouse of our own. She said yes.

That summer Carol and I worked hard at making a business plan and dreamt of what our ideal coffeehouse would look like. In the fall we realized that our dream was really going to come true because we were able to acquire a storefront in downtown Middlebury. We worked through the winter renovating our space and purchasing the equipment we needed. We decided to call it “The Hungry Mind Cafe”.

During all that time we continued to hear about the other woman who wanted to start a coffeehouse. Everywhere we went to do research we found that she had already been there doing her own homework. When we finally met Gina Tindall we found that she had many of the same goals and ideals that we did. So we asked her to join us. I remember thinking about how surprising it was that three people could come together so randomly and get along so well.

It was in the latter part of May, 2005 when Carol told me about the ‘signs’ she had been seeing. She was good at seeing signs in everyday life. We were just weeks away from opening when Carol said “I don’t think Gina will be with us much longer.” Knowing Gina’s enthusiasm for our coffeehouse this was something that puzzled me. When I asked Carol why she thought Gina would be going away, she said: “Because I have been seeing crows in groups of three lately and one always flies away.” Just a short time after that Carol was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Eleven days later she died.

It was for this reason that I decided to rename the coffeehouse ‘Carol’s Hungry Mind Cafe’. I do love it whenever I hear someone on their cell phone saying, “I’m in Carol’s Hungry Mind.” I can hear her laughing now.