The world is on fire. At all times in a million different ways. The fires don’t ever really go out, they just kinda get replaced by other, closer fires. That’s the world we live in. So it goes.
Still, it isn’t all bad. There are stories that provide hope or at least a brief respite. Something with some charm to remind you that nice things also happen. So it is with Anna Possi, “Italy’s oldest barista,” who recently turned 101, and she’s still pulling shots.
As reported by PBS News, Possi is the owner of Bar Centrale in the northern Italy town of Nebbiuno. No website, no instagram, no online presence of any kid. Solo una nonna e la sua caffeteria. She started in the cafe back in 1958 with her husband, and she has been running it by herself since his passing in 1974. She’s been a barista for more than 80 years, since World War II. And the centenarian, whose customers are now grandparents, says she has no intentions of retiring any time soon.
“It’s a bit like a family here, you know. It doesn’t feel like a bar to me. It feels like a meeting place. People come in, some come to run an errand, others come and ask me. Do me a favor. Could you get your daughter who works in the town hall to bring me my identity card?” Possi states. “Sure. I’ll come and get it tomorrow. Then there’s the other one who says, please, if you see the doctor, get me a referral. I’ll leave you the prescription. All right. I’m always available for everyone.”
In the accompanying video, Possi can be seen pulling espresso, into Segafredo Zanetti-branded demitasses, ristrettos of course. She brings beers to a table of men sitting al fresco and having a smoke. 101 and yet she moves with the pace of the life around her, which is to say, easy not slow.
There is an uncharitable retelling of this story, through a uniquely American lens, that sees someone still being forced to work at such an advanced age. It certainly feels like where all of this is headed. But I’m choosing a different takeaway. One where someone can be a barista making a livable wage for as long as they so desire. Where the job is rewarding and valued and worth getting up for every day, even when you’re one hundred years old.
That, I think, is an important story worth telling. It doesn’t have the grand import or immediacy of tariff news or what new climate disaster is hamstringing the global reserves. It’s a small story but it’s also a life goal. To live well and well into old age and enjoy what you are doing enough to still do it.
Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.
