I believe today is the first day I have not gone to the cafeteria downstairs for a hamburger. We had to make a flying trip back to Paducah so my daughter could spend a few hours with her child. While there I caught a few winks before Spanky couldn’t stand it any longer. He sat on the bed and watched me for three hours before he used his nose to flip my hand over and over until I woke. After a quick shave and shower I was back on the road. We grabbed pizza before going into the hospital to check on our patient.

I kinda missed seeing the hamburger guy. He talks with an accent. Our conversations usually go like this:

“What you want?”

“Just a hamburger. “

“You want white or wheat?”

“White.”

“No. You want wheat.”

“I do?”

“Yes. You want wheat. We no have white.”

“Okay. Make it wheat.”

“Good choice. What you want on your burger?”

“I’d like lettuce, tomato, and pickles.”

“You no want onions?”

“No, thank you. Just lettuce, tomatoes, and pickles. “

“You no want pickles.”

“I don’t?”

“No. We not have pickles. Pickles all gone.”

“Okay. Just give me the lettuce and tomatoes.”

“Good choice. You smart guy.”

“Thanks.”

“You want regular fries or curly fries with burger?”

“I’ll try the curly fries.”

“You want regular fries.”

“Let me guess. You’re out of curly fries.”

“See! I told you you smart guy.”

“I put cheese on your burger.”

“But I don’t like cheese.”

“You like cheese now.”

“I guess I do.”

Every day it’s the same routine. He hands me the styrofoam box across the counter and says, “Tomorrow?”

I say, “Yes. Tomorrow.”

He points at me as the other folks in line watch and yells, “There goes smart guy!”

I wonder if he missed me today. Why is it that I feel less smart eating a pizza.

_______________
Rick Algood
September 29, 2019