The Nameless

When I was a young lad, in my catholic school, I noticed that there were these strange blue and yellow signs posted around the gymnasium and cafeteria. Being naturally curious, I went home and asked my mother what exactly a “fallout shelter” was. My mother then dutifully explained their purpose, and why in the case of an actual nuclear attack they wouldn’t make a damn bit of difference. It may have been a harsh lesson for an 8 year old boy, but it’s one that needed to be taught.  One should not cover up the horror of the possibility of nuclear annihilation.             It’s one of the things of growing up a child of the ‘70s and ‘80s, that the possibility of nuclear war hung around like an ever present stench. Until about 1989, the fear that any moment that the world could disappear in a a blinding flash of light was the subtext of almost the  first half of my life. Then the world appeared to get sane, and to wake from history as the song goes. But here we are again now, the stench

So they say you can’t go home again. The more and more I think about it, it’s true. Tonight, Christine, Morgaine, and I stopped at the Silver Diner in Rockville, and it was different. Man, the Silver Diner used to be a great place to go for greasy spoon fare. To be honest, the food was just ok, but it was hot, plentiful, and the service was fast. It was, a great place to gather with friends after a late movie, annoy the staff by playing the banana boat song on the juke box, and argue about the meaning of life.  In short, it was a diner.  That was however, back in 1994. Today, it’s more a diner themed restaurant, than actual diner. Don’t get me wrong the food has taken a step up in quality.  Our dinner was excellent, if overpriced. The thing is, it was too fancy for diner food. While they still had chicken fingers, burgers, and pancakes on their menu, the majority of their menu  were upscale items like the Lamb Merguez burger (which was very good), it’s no longer greasy spoon fare.