Hungry
WELCOME TO SATURDAY STORIES. I AM SHARING A FEW TAKE OUTS FROM OUR LAST VACATION. I HOPE YOU ENJOY THEM.
There is a man there who comes through the doors of the Hungry Hollow Café every morning at 7:30 and walks with a weariness directly to the front counter. In his right hand he holds a dollar bill that is creased lengthwise and V-shaped like a long boy scout tent. He takes a seat in the orange and black swivel bar stool nearest to the cash register. He sits, but he sits in a way that says, “I’m not hanging around.” He doesn’t put his legs fully under the counter, but rather keeps them at an angle, making his exit easier. He lays his dollar unceremoniously on the counter, never speaking a word; neither giving a greeting or placing an order.
The waitress, in kind, says nothing but puts a cup of coffee in a to-go cup down in front of him, picks up his dollar, and places it in the cash register. He takes his coffee, get up and walks out. There are five local men who had convened their regular breakfast meeting around the table nearest his stool before he arrived. Their conversation has been as random as it has been constant. They, the council of five and the weary man, must know one another. But they don’t speak.
Maybe a word directed toward the weary man would help. Maybe its been tried once, it failed, and they said, “We tried,” and left it at that.
My dad once told me about his neighbor across and down the street to the north a bit. He said the guy was unfriendly - didn’t want to have anything to do with anyone. Dad told me he made it his mission to get the old man to respond whether he wanted to or not. So, every time dad saw him outside, he would holler a greeting and wave at him. For a long time, he go no response. But finally, dad’s persistence paid off. The old guy gave a reluctant, not enthusiastic, wave back.
The ice was broken though. It became easier and easier for the old man down the street to acknowledge dad. Eventually, he spoke to dad. They never became best friends, but a small piece of that guy’s harshness was chipped away. All it took was a little persistence.
