Central Cooling: Java Central (Westerville, OH)

Once nationally known as "The Dry Capital of the World", the Columbus
suburb of Westerville is attracting a new wave of culinary and beverage treats

For those unfamiliar with the San Francisco Bay Area, the "Casual Carpool" was and is a familiar concept to numerous area commuters.  Essentially, anyone driving a vehicle into or out of San Francisco who needed passengers to (legally) cruise the carpool lane would drop by designated pickup spots, typically at area Park & Ride lots. There, they would find commuters who either weren't keen on driving themselves and/or didn't want to pay a transit fare.

As it turned out, there was one very talkative driver in a small pickup that by sheer coincidence I'd ride with every 4-6 months. It turned out this was enough time to advance the narrative that he had shared during the last drive, whether it would be a new job assignment, family-related issues, and possible future developments.  Interestingly enough, this unique "several months later/new developments" has been duplicated over here whenever I've dropped by Java Central in Westerville.

Behind The Groove: Natalie's Coal Fired Pizza

In my life, I really haven't had too many real-life interactions with women named Natalie. In fact, perhaps the most "intimate" (and that is a huge stretch of that word meaning) encounter with someone named Natalie was the ex-10,000 Maniacs singer Natalie Merchant, who put on a fun concert with the Columbus Symphony orchestra at the Columbus Commons in July, 2013.

This situation has changed over the past couple years, and this seems to be destined to be a fairly long-lived relationship. This Natalie not only has a way with music, but also crafts some pretty tasty pizzas to boot.