Jim finds walks into a coffee house near the university in downtown Portland, where the newly installed trolley tracks cross the campus on their way to join the main light rail line. Mei is one of the young people working the counter, the place is busy around eleven in the morning.
Tom Morgan is sitting in a corner near the window, reading the newspaper, looking for a job in the city. Sherry is out in the county at her new job, which she loves - doing the same kind of skilled work in a new place with new people has refreshed her faith in humanity and in herself. Tom has settling into his new life for the past few weeks, looking for work in a relaxed mood and not worrying about the recession and lack of jobs, the Morgans have a comfortable level of savings and are renting a condo at the other end of the light rail line out in Hillsboro. Being able to walk everywhere and buy local produce at the market, and ride the train into the city, and explore the diverse nature driving to the coast, and up the Columbia Gorge, and on up to Mount Hood, has been thrilling for Tom, who worked under cars and around trucks for a couple of decades in Virginia during the child raising years. Life in Oregon agrees with the Morgans.
Jim walks right up to Mei at the counter and orders a small coffee. I'm looking to hire a few people to work on a farm out in the county, I need to ask the manager if it would be okay to make a brief announcement and hand out these cards. Sure.
About twenty heads turn when he speaks, uh, sorry to interrupt, if anyone is looking for an interesting job that pays a good wage, I have these cards and there's a web site which explains everything. If you are interested, please tell your friends. I'll be sitting over there by the window. Jim walks over and Tom stands up and smiles and takes a card, a handful of mostly young people walk over and take a card, including Mei as she hands Jim the aromatic steaming cup of fresh roasted coffee. Outside the window where Tom was sitting, it is pouring rain and the light rail whizzes by, headlights blurred through the rain, flashing in cheerful red and white colors while inside Jim and Tom engage for a long while in animated caffeinated conversation.
