Wednesday, January 30, 2019

"Free spirit coffee Jeep?"

The following story was adapted from the one I had shared on Instagram in the past.
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About the name — it was a scorching, July afternoon on a highway about five miles southeast of Incheon, Korea. 

In a sudden turn of events, I was in a minivan with a kind Korean family that I had only met upon entering the vehicle. We were going to visit a cave - Gwangmyeong Cave, in fact. Due to the excessive heat, so was the rest of city it seemed. 

We sat in stop-and-go traffic for hours. I studied the rows upon rows of strip malls and restaurants as we crawled past them. 

At the corner of a dusty, 
yellow mall was what appeared to be an abandoned coffee shop: 
outdated, coffee-themed signage in the window, 
random assortment of broken cafe tables and chairs strewn haphazardly inside. 

Painted above the business in faded orange letters: 
FREE SPIRIT COFFEE JEEP. 

What a concept. It tickled me. I loved it. It stuck with me. After returning to the city that evening (the cave itself is a whole different story) I googled the 4-word expression hoping to find some context for it. To this day I remain empty-handed. "Free spirit coffee jeep" remains a mystery. 

As for myself, yes, I do enjoy a good cup of coffee, and yes, I have been referred to as a “free spirit” once or twice, but I did adore each and every adventure in Korea and every individual with whom I shared them. —I think about Korea a lot, and no, I’ve never owned a Jeep, though I’m not altogether opposed to the idea. 

Jeep, jeep, jeep, jeep, jeep, jeep 

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