Out to Eat

I love going out to eat. I even love going out to eat by myself. Although, since I still text and talk on the phone, I don’t know if I can still consider it “by myself.” Regardless, going out alone gives me a paramount opportunity to observe. And I don’t mean to simply people-watch. People-watching is often one-sided. You watch, listen, and then leave. But to observe requires much more: Personal thought, deductive reasoning, interpretation, and sometimes making a hypothesis about the surrounding situation.

Sometimes observing can give you great story-starters, antidotes, or ideas for poems or essays. And sometimes observing people can just be funny, random, or ridiculous. 

At Big Town Hero today, I recognized the red-headed man at the register. He took my order last week. I suddenly remembered an interchange I overheard last week between him and another worker . . .

The man I couldn’t see had informed this red-head that he smelled bad. The accusation didn’t seem to perturb him at all. He simply explained that he showered once a week on Friday. As I was ordering and remembering this, I realized what day of the week it is today: Thursday. Eeew. 

Besides me and the workers, Big Town was barren. When the red-head took my order, he asked for my name. I thought this seemed odd. But then again, perhaps he just mechanically asked everyone out of habit. Nope. When he brought my sandwich to the table – the only table with an occupant – he asked: “Jolene?” I was tempted to say “no” but restrained myself.