AuburnChick's Adventures

Yesterday evening, the Mr. and I went out to eat, as we’re prone to do as empty nesters.

We went out to a local establishment that’s the equivalent of a Waffle Shop.

Y’all, we ate real fancy, let me tell you.  That’s how you do things on a Friday night when you’re middle aged and live in Podunk, USA.

But seriously, though, the Heavenly Hash (veggied up hash browns) are to die for!

As I waited for my food in the diner, I happened to notice something on the wall across from me…

What.  The.  Heck?

We’ve been eating at this place for a number of years, and one thing that I’ve liked about it has been that it’s a bit of a throwback.

Think back to the show Alice, and you’ve got this place, without the hairnets and retro aprons.  Heck, it even has its own Mel, except his name is Charlie, and he’s actually a very nice guy.

Did I just date myself.

Yep.

Anyhoo, one of the signature pieces in this eatery, besides the cute plaques hung haphazardly, has been the jukebox.  This isn’t a picture of it because I never thought I’d need one, but it’s an image I grabbed after a search on Google…

 

 

Does that picture bring back memories for anyone else?

I remember eating at Pizza Hut when I was a teenager and putting quarters in to the machine to pick my favorite songs.

It was the original playlist, of sorts, with each patron setting the ambience for the place.

You often had to wait awhile to hear your song selections because you never knew how many quarters someone ahead of you had plugged into the thing.

Can we talk about the songs we listened to?

The list satisfied patrons of all ages.

There were always Elvis songs.

There were songs by the Carpenters…hello 70’s road tripping!

Oh, and don’t forget some 80’s rock and roll like Pat Benatar.

I can’t tell you how many bread sticks I dipped to the tunes spit out by those wonderful music machines.

And, for years, I ate my Heavenly Hash to the same tunes in my local eatery.

Until last night.

I looked over to the space that the jukebox had inhabited prior to yesterday’s visit, and I saw this…

I just can’t like that.

Not one little bit.

It doesn’t fit the feel of the place.

At all.

Sigh.

Getting older is hard sometimes.

Watching traditions fade away just makes me sad…especially traditions that have nothing to do with money and everything to do with priceless memories of good times, great music, and fun fellowship with loved ones.

You can’t find that in a toy that you got through chance and a metallic set of arms.

Filed under: This-n-That |