it’s ugly ‘down south’…
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Today we hopped in the land yacht and spent last week’s pay driving from PA to MD. I’ll detail that later on. There was one moment we experienced that still has me reeling…
PA does not have Waffle House (good for you, you say). The first time we ever encountered one was on vacation in Arizona. We were most amused by the staff, all of whom had southern accents, and the bizarre pageantry around simply making food.
On trips to Maryland and places south, we stop at Waffle House. It’s always an experience, to put it mildly. Today was far from an exception. WH was our last stop before going back north. I realized we might have made a mistake when I saw the line to be seated. Not wanting to deprive my wife of the Waffle House Experience, I somehow managed to keep my mouth shut. There is a long row of chairs against the front window for people waiting for seats. A family sat to the left of us and my wife burst into the Girly Routine because they had an infant.
My wife asked the guy in the next chair if they were anywhere near seating us and he said he had no idea but he was leaving. He got up and left.
I missed this but I saw the guy leave. My wife was confused and I asked what was going on. She told me the family sat down and that’s when he left, saying he wasn’t going to sit next to them.
My jaw hit the floor. Them were african-american. Bubba got up and walked out because he didn’t want to sit next to african-americans.
You’ll be shocked to note that Bubba had a mullet and drove off in a pickup. Apparently his hood was out at the cleaners. And he talked to my wife like everybody felt like he did (wink wink).
Yeah, I know it didn’t magically disappear; no matter how much sane folks wish it would. It’s just pretty disgusting when you come across it in person.
I was born in New Jersey. We spent three long years in Kentucky, perhaps as some sort of house arrest or punishment for a random crime we had no knowledge of committing. My mom told me she wasn’t ready for what she found there (late ’60s). One day she was at a laundromat and had to take her clothes out and go around the corner. Why? She had gone in the colored entrance. She was put `in her place’ and made to go to the white entrance.
I suppose I shouldn’t be that surprised. Kentucky, after all, is the state where my mother heard the question, ‘Jews don’t have horns?’
6 Comments
Bryan Price
June 16th, 2008
at 6:32am
Ohio has Waffle House, so one wonders why PA doesn’t.
10 years ago the best selling Waffle House was on Bush Boulevard in Columbus, Ohio. Surprisingly behind a Bob Evans restaurant. Which also does extremely well, as when they decided to expand, they built a bigger one right behind the old one while keeping the old one open. I don’t even think they closed one day,, they just started using the new one while they tore down the old store. Bob Evans has a history of doing that.
Come to think of it, my Kroger’s did that too.
leftystrat
June 16th, 2008
at 7:10am
I watched a Wendys go up in about a week in AZ while on vacation. They don’t mess around either. Don’t know if was corporate or just the heat.
I have an annoying habit of going to Arizona in July :)
We DO have Ihop, though. Not comparable, though, as the service is deplorable and the waitresses don’t have southern accents.
Do you think Jobs will sue Ihop for trademark infringement?
Thanks for the comments. I like your page, btw.
rabbitfish
June 16th, 2008
at 7:25am
Are you kidding me, leftystrat? This post has got to be the most prejudiced piece of garbage I’ve seen on this site. Stereotyping “down south” is not better than being like Bubba from the Waffle House. Those types of ugly people exist in the South, North, East, and West. Yes, in New Jersey, too! Even using fake names like Bubba is mean-spirited and just ignorant. Bad people exists everywhere and in all races. And guess what — you’re one of them. How does it feel, Bubba?
leftystrat
June 16th, 2008
at 9:00am
I won’t apologize for making sport of the KKK (prejudiced garbage?). Are you sure you read what I typed?
rabbitfish
June 16th, 2008
at 9:16am
lefty: You are not making sport of the KKK, so I wouldn’t expect you to apologize for that. Instead you are taking an experience with one person and blanketing the entire “south” with his actions. One evil racist in Maryland Waffle House does not justify titleing your article “It’s Ugly Down South.” Don’t you see that you’re being as bad as the racist? You’re assuming all SOutherners are bad because of some chump in Maryland, which is barely below the Mason Dixon line. Get a clue, man! You’re ignorant and prejudiced, just like the people you’re poking fun at. Or at least this article makes you seem so. I will give you the benefit of the doubt…. just like you should.
leftystrat
June 16th, 2008
at 3:48pm
sorry you don’t approve. There’s actually a lot of subtlety in there that you’re failing to grasp. Or maybe I failed to get across.
I hope you find something else you like here or at very least at Lockergnome.
You might want to moderate your tone, though. Stamping your virtual feet and jumping to conclusions that MAY not be correct won’t make you a lot of friends. You get more flies with honey, etc…