Hello on All Hallowed Eve,
While I am waiting on my dinner to finish, and I will post some pictures of what I managed to whip up in my miniature kitchen, I thought of this blog topic this morning as I was a the diner, which is located on what is called Husky Corner on Main Street in Bloomsburg. I’ve gone for breakfast at the diner since shortly after I arrived in Bloomsburg in August of 2009. It is the sort of quintessential small town diner, and it’s been owned by a family for more than 25 years. It has the standard counter seats and booths, and some might feel a nostalgic vibe. There are the morning regulars and the students who live both downtown or on campus nearby who wander in blurry-eyed, particularly on the weekends.
From early in the time I arrived in Bloomsburg, I’ve gone to the diner for breakfast. When people come to visit, we will find our way to the diner for breakfast. My exchange students are acquainted with breakfast, and my Danish exchange student, Anton, became a scrapple aficionado while living in Bloomsburg, and when he came back to visit, going to the diner for scrapple was high on his to-do list. From the time I arrived in Bloomsburg late summer of 2009, until now with some ebbs and flows, I continue to frequent the diner for breakfast. There are multiple reasons, from being able to get poached eggs and better rye toast than most anywhere as well as the home fries with green pepper and onion to the incredible family that I’ve been blessed to watch grow for almost two decades.
I once knew appropriately how many pounds of potatoes they cooked, hand slices and cubed each week, and it was significant and I’ve watched their incredible efficiency at the grill and on both sides of the counter for enough time to say I believe they can handle more people and orders than anywhere I’ve ever been. When I first came to the dinner the two eldest children worked with their parents and sometimes an additional cook or dishwasher, and perhaps a part-time server. Otherwise, it was like the title of the late 60s television show, Family Affair. When I first came to Bloomsburg, the eldest daughter and only son were working at the diner, and the next younger sister was a bus person. I still remember the first day she waited on people at the counter. The youngest worked in the front of the house also at one point, but was much more comfortable working in the back of the house. What is readily apparent is every member of the family is an integral and valued member of the restaurant, of the daily operations, and as a member of a loving family. My admiration for them, both for their dedication and care for those who come into the diner as well as well as their love for each other and the world, is immeasurable.
Over the years, as a son and daughters have grown, there are now spouses, who’ve become employees and a next generation of future employees. However, the basics remain: hard work and honesty. The amount of energy they put into the diner, into Main Street, and into the community is seldom realized. And yet they have done this for more than a quarter-century. One of the most significant things for any public person is the way they must manage both their personal and their public personas, and while that is true whether you are a politician, a professor, or a diner owner. I often noted that a professor was not merely what I did, it was who I was. That reality kept me from entering certain establishments in our town, it kept me from doing some things as a single male person. What I appreciate about my diner family is while they have that dichotomy, their basic practice of hard work shines through, their values of honesty and humility are evident in all they do. Watching them evolve over the past almost two decades from a set of parents managing life and business to becoming grandparents and co-workers with their adult children has been a privilege and joy to watch. As a child, I remember things my father said that elicited an eye roll, and now I believe he is the wisest person I ever met. I smile as I think of the similarities between a father and son at the dinner.
While Jess and Amber will crucify me for posting their picture, but it seems apropos for the post. Trying to find something musical about a diner is not a regular search, and what came to mind was this.
Thanks as always for reading,
Michael
