The world is on fire. Always and in a million different ways. Outbreaks never actually go out, they are simply replaced by other, closer outbursts. This is the world we live in. And so it happens.
However, not everything is so bad. There are stories that give hope or at least short-lived respite. Something with a bit of charm to remind you that nice things happen too. It’s similar with Anna Possi, “the oldest barista in Italy”, who recently turned 101 and still takes great photos.
As reported PBS NewsPossi is the owner of Bar Centrale in the town of Nebbiuno in northern Italy. No website, no Instagram, no online presence for any child. Solo una nonna e la sua café. She started working in the café in 1958 with her husband, and since his death in 1974, she has run it alone. She has been a barista for over 80 years, since World War II. And the centenarian, whose clients now include grandparents, says she has no intention of retiring any time soon.
“You know, it’s a bit like a family here. I don’t feel like it’s a bar. I feel like it’s a meeting place. People come in, some come to run errands, others come and ask questions. Do me a favor. Could you ask your daughter, who works at City Hall, to bring me my ID?” states Possi. “Sure. I’ll come get it tomorrow. There’s also another person who says, please, if you go to the doctor, give me a referral. I’ll leave you the prescription. That’s fine. I’m always available for anyone.”
The attached video shows Possi pouring espresso into Segafredo Zanetti demitas, ristretto of course. He brings beers to a table of men sitting outdoors and smoking a cigarette. 101, and yet she moves with the pace of life around her, that is, easily, not slowly.
There is an uncharitable retelling of this history, told from a uniquely American point of view, that shows someone at such an advanced age still being forced to work. It certainly seems like where this is all going. But I choose a different takeaway. One where someone can be a barista and make a living for as long as they want. Where work gives satisfaction, is valued and is worth getting up every day for, even when you are a hundred years elderly.
I think it’s an significant story worth telling. It doesn’t have as much impact or immediacy as news about tariffs or what fresh climate catastrophe is depleting global reserves. It’s a tiny story, but it’s also a life goal. Living well into elderly age and enjoying what you do enough to keep doing it.
