:-)

The "How it came to be that I wanted to be a Waffle House Cook saga"

Me, Dave and a buddy of his known to this day as "Black Cloud" went to the Tampa Bay Blues festival in 2005. 

There was a Waffle House in the front part of the hotel parking lot. 

I think it was Saturday night when we got back to the hotel, Dave and I decide to get some Waffle House.

Place is packed.

I mean out the door.

We finally get seats where we can see the cook.

We order, get situated etc and I start watching this guy.

It was like an octopus ballet with spatulas.

I'll make that make sense here in a second lol.

I tell Dave, "Hey watch this guy."

Dave seems unimpressed at first.

"Yeah, he's cooking"

"Look at this place Dave, it's packed, this guys is the only cook, griddle full of food, no tickets, everything's being called out to him, he's getting everything right, nobody is complaining and he's still finding time to clean and stock as he goes."

It's like he was a octopus, like he had eight hands all going at once, only he didn't.

There was a fluidity to his movements.

No wasted effort, every movement had a purpose.

We were just amazed.

We talk about it to this day.

So, fast forward to a couple years ago.

When it dawns on me that when Nicholas leaves for school I can sell the house and leave as well.

Go anywhere and do anything.

So, what has the most appeal?

Take the bike.

A few clothes.

And?

You guessed it, move to Florida and become a Waffle House cook.

Why not?

Go in early.

Get off early.

Ride all day and especially ride all day on days off.

Ride to the beach.

Sounds horrible right?

Fast forward a few more years and an opportunity presents itself to be a breakfast short order cook for a bit.

This place :-).

Between Lewisport and Owensboro.

Happening lil joint early in the AM most days.

Hardcore cigarettes and black coffee crowd mostly.

Truckers, Law Enforcement, Welders, Road Crews, Construction Workers etc.

Early crowd.

I used to stop in and get a breakfast sandwich sometimes when I worked in Owensboro.

Best half-pound cheeseburger anywhere close around.

It's not even close.

Used to pull in and get one of those sometimes as well.

Hillbilly's :-).

If I never get to work at a Waffle House in Florida?

At least I got my apprenticeship :-).

Stepped up to the griddle day one.

Mom ask, "Are ya scared?" right before breakfast rush starts.

I just looked at her and smiled...

"No..."

Never so much as cooked an over easy egg in my life.

Been rockin it ever since.

Love the sign lol.

Well?
Have ya?

Thats well over 15 lbs of bacon incase you were wondering :-)
It's sitting on a rack in a cake pan on a warming plate.
We open at 5 AM.
On this particular day?
By 6:30 I was cooking more bacon lol.
Four pieces on a plate, three to a sandwich.
Bacon and egg, bacon egg and cheese, sausage and egg, sausage egg and cheese.
They sell.
Like crazy :-).
Obviously.

This is the griddle back before we had the warming plate off to the side to hold the bacon.
Eggs and sausage are going into a crock pot for the sandwich maker to make sandwiches with.
Bacon grease, salt and pepper.
No wonder everything taste good.

Just your everyday "Small" Western Omelet lol.
You know, "small" as in bigger than the state of Rhode Island.
Takes two spatulas to get it off the griddle.

Breakfast Menu
Lg plate = two eggs, however you want them, bacon, ham or sausage, hashbrowns, toast, wheat or white and one biscuit and gravy.
Get four of those going all at once on one order with everybody wanting different eggs and dry this and extra butter that and no salt no pepper lightly toasted no tomato and...
Not to mention your bacon pile is running out and the crock pot needs eggs and sausage and theres a call in order for nine sandwiches and...

I think I made my point lol.
Not just anybody could do it.
I'm glad I had the chance to see if I could.

Breakfast Menu

Lunch Menu

I really enjoy a lot of the people there.
I really do.

Love ya Bambi.

Whats

left of the what was at one time, over a hundred button(s) collection.

The "I did it" one was for repelling off the wall of the parking structure at WKU.

Six stories :-).

Part of a "Basic Mountaineering" class they offered.

Two credit hours instead of the usual one for a PE class.

They told me about it and I was like, "Deal."

Lots of my buddies at the time came and watched.

Pretty cool.

We also did traversing a stream and ascending a rope.

Class was four segments but I can't remember what the forth part was.

We had been practicing on the ground, tying knots, using equipment etc.

We did two stories off the other building one day.

They let us know when that day was going to be.

One day walking into class and everybody's gear is in their helmet and the instructors were like, "Get your stuff, let's go."

Hardest part was climbing over the top ledge.

After that?

Two bounces and down :-).

But yeah, buttons, on an old army surplus jacket from the flea market at the fairgrounds, five bucks lol.

Desert boots :-).

Clark Wallabees.

Freak uniform of the time period lol.

Yeah...buttons lol.

They go well on a Levi's jacket as well.

Old hoodie.

Romans 12:12

Romans 12:12

Rumi

Put your thoughts to sleep, do not let them cast a shadow over the moon of your heart. Let go of thinking.

"Somewhere

on a desert highway

she rides a Harley Davidson

her long blond hair flyin in the wind..."

Love you.

Be awesome today.

Like you can help it :-).

:-)

Bro Joe

paraphrased today:

Fear and doubt are hindrances to faith.

When you overcome these two your faith becomes larger.

It's why the divine makes us overcome things sometimes.

Why does the divine expect us to live extraordinary lives?

To show his love to others.

Faith must be connected to salvation/eternity.

If not?

Whats it's point?

The whole point is salvation of souls.

By showing them God love.

1 Peter 1:9

1 Peter 1:9

Ephesians 6:16

Ephesians 6:16

Hebrews 12:2

Hebrews 12:2

It

was if the very finger of God touched down behind my buddys house.

Everyone said it was the biggest, brightest rainbow, or double rainbow, they had ever saw.

Unreal.

Love you.

Nite.

:-)

"I am the egg man, they are the egg men."

Seems

 

like I did take off to Baxter, TN one Memorial weekend a few years ago :-).

1 Thessalonians 5:18

1 Thessalonians 5:18

Besides lol

It wasn't just a Springsteen show.

It was the second to last show of The River Tour.

Born to Run broke him big.

Darkness got good reviews but was largely seen as pale in comparison to Born To Run.

The River solidified his position as an artist to continue to follow.

Double Album.

His first #1 hit in "Hungry Heart".

Big recond for my whole junior year.

Fall of my senior year.

Cincy.

Second to last show of The River tour.

You betcha.

Lets go.

Double date lol.

Mom didn't wanna let me go.

17 years old.

Off to Cincy?

On a school night?

Finally she relented.

"As long as you go to school friday".

Gotcha.

A 3:45 minute performance.

Played CCR's  "Who'll stop the rain?"

Played "Trapped" by Jimmy Cliff.

Years later a version of this appeared on the USA for Africa collaboration.

The show had like 14 encores or something.

It was crazy.

The last one?

A fifteen minute version of "Twist and Shout" with all the house lights all on.

Nobody's ass is in a seat.

Everybody's shaking their shit.

15 minutes.

Lights on.

14 encores.

"Twist and shout"

In a 3:45 minute set.

I'm seventeen years old.

I'm in prime physical condition.

We get back to the car and I am worn out.

Soaking wet.

I felt like I had just been in football practice.

That's how draining it was.

I couldn't believe what I had just seen.

I went out after I got out of school Friday and bought: "Greetings from Asbury Park", "The Wild the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle, a poster and a river button lol. 

I think I still got the river button somewhere lol.

I was sold.

All in.

Blew my mind.

Changed my outlook on life.

Love you.

So?

Hows your day :-) ?

No phone

think I left it in Nichs car.

Find out here in a bit.

Love you.

How

do you know?

Maybe I am Bruce fucking Springsteen :-).

Give a boy a chance and he'll blow you your mind 24/7/365 chickenshit lol.

I think somebody was saying

Isaiah 9:2

Matthew 4:16

Acts 26:18

John 8:12

"The children who liveth in darkness

(Ahh)

Have seen the great light"

and...

"He floated back down 'cause he wanted to share

His key to the locks on the chains he saw everywhere"

today.