Mark Powers Geraghty
You probably know me already—the guy dancing his way through making your morning cup of joe. I came to Maui as a graduation present after getting my degree in performance art on the East Coast. When I called my parents to tell them how vacation was going they said, “By the way Mark, if you decide to stay, it’s okay with us.” And I did. In addition to Maui’s beauty, the lifestyle is so slow and relaxed. In Baltimore everything seems like it’s about time and competition.
I’d been staying in Haiku for three weeks last May when I decided to go to a full moon party. A moonlit hike sounded like a good idea at the time, but I ended up falling off a cliff and lying paralyzed on the ground for about three hours before some hikers found me and called 911. The next few months were a blur of hospitals, surgeries and casts. I had to go back to the mainland.
The doctors told me that most people would have died or at least been paralyzed in this situation, but I kept it out of my mind and pushed through. My family was with me the whole time. I think they took it harder than I did, but they knew I was a trooper. All we could do was hope. It was all so surreal and scary, but that’s the way life is supposed to be.
After about four months, I was ready to come back to the island. My parents were a little worried but they were happy that I was living my life. When I came back I got a job at—you guessed it—Starbuck’s. I’ve been with the company for about four years, but the Lahaina store is totally different.
It’s smaller and slower. I love making coffee and I love the community it creates. Coffee brings people together. My coworkers are great and so is my boss. Everyone’s friendly and outgoing and no one stresses out too much.
For now I’m just kicking back and finally singing and dancing again. As long as I can do that I’ll be loving life. I plan on traveling anywhere and everywhere and in the meantime, making a gazillion coffees to help start your day.
MTW
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