My son and I visited our neighborhood fast food eatery Saturday for a roast beef sandwich and a shake.
"This place is kind of weird," he said. "Don't you think the people who work here are a little odd?"
I had to agree. The employees at this particular restaurant are usually as interesting the patrons. And that's saying a lot for a downtown seat-yourself establishment. Unlike the McDonald's a few blocks down the street, where the homeless men from the park mingle with senior citizens from the retirement home--and everyone knows each other's names, problems, dreams and ambitions--the behind-the-counter scene here is the one worth watching.
Saturday we gave our order to a skinny cowboy with a plug of chaw in his lip that remained in place even when he took a smoke break outside the front door. He was assisted by a preppie-looking youth who had to be about six and half feet tall. My favorite though was a girl who was covered in colorful tattoos. Her maroon hair was nearly shaved on one side and long enough to tuck behind her ear on the other. It looked like a curly dragon's claw had gotten stuck in her lobe.
"That is very cool," I told her. I had never seen an ear ornament so long and ornate. It was beautiful.
"Thank you," she said. It may have been a while since someone who looked and dressed like Typical Soccer Mom had offered approval. She became talkative and I enjoyed being a guest in "her place."
After all, we're all "odd." Or at least we were all meant to be atypical. We are told that we are each unique, that there is no one else like us, but then are judged and often judge each other for straying from the standard set by our group. More than a hundred years ago, the poet Gerard Manley Hopkins wrote "Pied Beauty," which praises God for the diversity of His creation. What fun He must have with us, even when we can't seem to stop hurting each other. It's a pleasure being a guest in His place.
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