Kindling

I had an early doctor's appointment today and sort of never had breakfast, or lunch--one of them, anyway. So about 5:00, having worked up an unusual appetite, I decided to visit Cracker Barrel for some of that food my Mama can't make quite the same anymore and I don't allow myself to cook. Cracker Barrel is always a good place for a Southern writer to remind herself of her roots. Tonight I noticed a lot of good folks I recognized, though I'd likely never seen them before. I was surprised to see several interracial couples in such a place. The restaurant clientele was nearly all couples at that hour. And I noticed, though it didn't surprise me, how "couple" needs an alternative definition that has nothing to do with joining, something like "two people who came in the same car and are seated at the same table with each other." All around me men and women stared vacantly across each other's shoulders, obliquely, lest one's eyes meet the other's. Seated around me were at least three couples who never looked at each other or spoke a word the entire time I was there. I find it so sad for it to come to this emptiness for any two people who care or have cared for each other.

I saw another version of couple-distancing today. At the hostess's podium, I stood in line behind a young woman who held a cell phone to her left ear. She conducted all of her business with the hostess by gesture, not missing a beat in her phone conversation. And when her table was ready, she turned and gestured to the man behind me who, I then realized, was the other half of her couple. As he walked up to her, I saw that he had a cell phone pressed to his left ear. They followed the hostess in, both absorbed in their separate conversations. Each took a chair, pulled the menu open, and continued jabbering even more loudly against the dining room noise. I know she was talking about getting her daddy to help with child care. I think his subject was sports. Am I the only one who thinks this is strange? Why go out together?

As I left the dining room, full of cornbread and iced tea, I found the shop full of people, rush hour in full flourish at 5:45. I couldn't get through the crowd directly to approach the cash register. As I circled the candy display, my eyes, which weren't focusing on much, could not miss a huge display at the center of the shop. Halloween decorations and costumes! Hey, people, I like Halloween, but it's JULY! July! The late rainy, spring and the imminent semester have already made me feel as if I've missed most of summer. I don't want Halloween now. I swear, the retailers will soon create some holidays to fill the gap months; just wait and see. Something between New Year's and Easter, something between Easter and the 4th of July. And Labor Day just doesn't work, so what will the August holiday be? Maybe Harry Potter Day. :) Yeah, that might work.

posted by Sandy at 4:50 PM