Strange the things that peek out from the darkness of your memory. As I stood in front of Stogners fish camp tonight, I was suddenly taken back to when I was ten years old going out to eat with my parents. People (mostly men) walking into the restaurant, beer in one hand cigarette in the other or hanging out the mouth. The cans looked like tall thin soup cans, made out of thick aluminum that felt more like steel. And had the old pop tops that looked like the top of an explanation mark. You could tell how nice the restraint was by the ashtrays on the table (because they all had them) a thin tin disposable ashtray equalled a greasy spoon while a nice clean glass one equalled a high quality place. Placed tastefully in the center of the table atop plastic covered red and black houndstooth tablecloth. The walls and ceilings always had to be painted eggshell to keep to yellow smoke stains from showing up too much. The smell of cigarette smoke hanging heavily in the air mixed in with the honky tonk music playing over half busted speakers from a jukebox that skips. Your food was brought out by a waitress who looked like Flows crackhead sister with five teeth. Also smoking or chomping on a clump of gum like an old cow working her cud. Welcome to Western Sizzler. You ate off old plates with silverware that you had to re wash before you could use them. The food was good. Then afterwards, as we rode home I would bounce around freely in the back of the old station wagon. For those of you who dont know what a station wagon is. Think of the dodge Magnum, only about half again as heavy, five times uglier and made of steel with nothing that even looked like an airbag or what we know as seat belts today. Making faces at the people in the car behind us.....until dad noticed and barks Sit your ass down! over his shoulder at me. Yeah we only went there once, but I remember the food being good. Strange how what was taken as everyday and normal would not only be considered poor judgment but illegal.
Posted on: Sat, 19 Jul 2014 05:00:50 +0000
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