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Open Poetry #4
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Diner Days
| Open Poetry #4 |
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Diner Days |
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Balladeer
Administrator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-06-05
Posts 25505Ft. Lauderdale, Fl USA 
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At times when my mind wanders and Imagination strays I think back to that time that I Recall as "diner days". There's something to a diner that Defines it as unique. It is not for the faint of heart, The nervous or the weak. A diner has a flavor and A laid-back atmosphere. There's something in the air that says "All friends are welcome here". The eggs are always smokin', Bacon sizzles on the grill And coffe don't stop pourin' 'Till the drinker's had his fill. It's the home of red-eye gravy And grits and rhubarb pies Where steaks are always cook well-done And all things come with fries. The waitresses wear bluejeans with Their hair tied in a bun. Their average weight's 235 And everybody's "Hon". There's country on the juke box And menus on the walls. The bathrooms all have jokes and numbers Written in the stalls. Don't gripe at any waitress Or you've got no 'diner class'. Just take a rag and wipe off Any lipstick on your glass. Old-timers sit in back booths. They commit the perfect crime BY sipping on their coffee all Night long, just killing time. The truckers going somewhere And the broken dreamers, not - All drink the same black coffee pouring From the diner pot. A diner's not a place to eat. A diner is a town. A diner is a way of life That never lets you down. My life has since moved uptown as The years passed in a blur. I frequent now the restaurants Where waiters call me Sir. But still my thoughts race back to Those days when life was fun And I'd trade the "Sirs" and "Madames" for A smiling "Hiya, hon!". |
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| © Copyright 1999 Michael Mack - All Rights Reserved | |||
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Denise
Moderator
Member Seraphic
since 1999-08-22
Posts 22648 |
And so would I! Great poem, Balladeer! (...hmmm...now where have I heard that before?!)  ------------------ Denise |
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Marilyn Member Elite
since 1999-09-26
Posts 2621Ontario, Canada |
Hiya Hon! This brings back many memories for me as well my friend. A local truckstop that was the hang out for us young folk after an evenin at the bar. Thanks for the memories. |
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Mike Member Elite
since 1999-06-19
Posts 2462 |
Enjoyed. Been in that diner a few times... |
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WhtDove Member Rara Avis
since 1999-07-22
Posts 9245Illinois |
Nice and cozy Balladeer! A place where they all know ya! Great poem! |
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Marge Tindal 
since 1999-11-06
Posts 42384Florida's Foreverly Shores |
I can smell the coffee from the Spot Diner wafting through my memories. Kind 'Sir' ... Thanks hon. ------------------ ~*The pen of the poet never runs out of ink, as long as we breathe.*~ noles1@totcon.com |
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hoot_owl_rn Member Patricius
since 1999-07-05
Posts 10750Glen Hope, PA USA |
There are still a few of those left Balladeer....granted not many and the service surely isn't like your memory, but there are a few. Thanks for the memories  |
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Lynn Member
since 1999-09-20
Posts 316Jasper, Alabama U.S.A. |
Can't say that they're memories for me, because I go to a place like that every morning. Great poem. |
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Toerag Member Ascendant
since 1999-07-29
Posts 5622Ala bam a |
I know there are several of these diners still around, (the one's Balladeer describes, not the Waffle Houses), down south in Alabama ya still see them, (where Lynn is describing), and many still up North in the larger city outskirts).....Great memories for sure....and another in a very long list of great poems!! |
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Elizabeth Santos Member Rara Avis
since 1999-11-08
Posts 9269Pennsylvania |
Here in Pennsylvania we call them "greasy spoons" and they still abound, are cheap, and you really get your fill! Elizabeth |
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hoot_owl_rn Member Patricius
since 1999-07-05
Posts 10750Glen Hope, PA USA |
No wonder I said they were around too....I'm in Pennsylvania also |
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Poet deVine
Administrator
Member Seraphic
since 1999-05-26
Posts 22612Hurricane Alley |
Marvelous, Balladeer! Your poetry has a way of evoking memories in us all..that's why it's so good! We had a real diner in town when I was growing up...looked like a train car...there was only one booth and a long counter... I worked there one summer when I was 17! I had to sit on a small stool behind the counter to wash dishes (the sink was under the counter so all you would see would be the top of my head). We served homemade food, the owner was a great cook. Everyone knew everyone - it was a simpler time, a simpler place. And though the diner is gone now, the town is pretty much the same. There are no stop lights..just 3 stop signs. The Mayor is an old boyfriend of mine but there are only a handful of my cronies left there. We all moved on to 'bigger' cities. I miss it sometimes...you never had to use the turning signal on your car, 'cause everyone knew were you where going anyway! [This message has been edited by Poet deVine (edited 11-12-1999).] |
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suthern
since 1999-07-29
Posts 20723Louisiana |
Geesh, 'Deer one... Are you ever gonna write a poem that leaves me completely unaffected so I can just scroll on by? *G* Guess not... If so, this wasn't it. Great job! (So... are you buying breakfast now that you've got my tummy growling? LOL) |
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Balladeer
Administrator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-06-05
Posts 25505Ft. Lauderdale, Fl USA |
It's great to see so many people with diners in their lives. They truly are an integral part of Americana. Thank you all. Suthern, breakfast is on me! |
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suthern
since 1999-07-29
Posts 20723Louisiana |
*G* [This message has been edited by suthern (edited 11-12-1999).] |
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Martie
Moderator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-09-21
Posts 28049California |
What a great description. I go looking for those places when I have a hankering for something that will clog my arteries. |
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LngJhnAg Member Elite
since 1999-07-23
Posts 3508Boot+Kitty=Poetry in motion |
'Deer - yanno - YOU are Americana - I loved this poem for the memories it evoked, and the longing it inspired. DeVine - your response to 'Deer's poem was poetry in itself - a lovely response to a terrific poem. If you think like that al the time, you are way too much for any one man to handle. |
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Toerag Member Ascendant
since 1999-07-29
Posts 5622Ala bam a |
LongJohn, are you implying that "many" men's hands have been "handling" her?....Poet, he did write me and tell me that you've had more men's hands on ya than a roll towel in a coal miner's bathroom....I told him I just wouldn't believe such trash!!! |
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Sunshine
Administrator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-06-25
Posts 63354Listening to every heart |
This helps recall a good memory, when we were on our first "family trip", and Dad said that we only had to look for a diner where all the truck(er)s stopped, 'cause that's where the best food would be. Thanks! |
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Pepper Member Elite
since 1999-08-19
Posts 3079Southern Florida |
Another wonderful poem Balladeer! I frequent a diner called Lesters' and love playing the jukebox with recordings of days gone by..... Enjoyed this much! ------------------ A soul that writes from the heart and shares it, truly gives a gift extraordinaire! |
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Tara Simms Senior Member
since 1999-08-12
Posts 1244Honea Path, SC USA |
There's a diner like that just a few miles from my house. The best time to go is after midnight. The little old ladies with insomnia are all in there, wearing their tent dresses, their dentures left at home on their nightstands. They gossip under thick fogs of cigarette smoke and cackle loudly. When your glass of sweet tea gets low, you just get on up and get it yourself. It's probably my favorite place to eat! |
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Lucie Senior Member
since 1999-06-20
Posts 1077Houston |
Darn Balladeer.. you have me sitting here wanting to visit that place I wrote about in my Home Town Poem.. My mom used to work in a diner.. and since she had no sitter and was a single mom.. I remember laying in the back of our huge stationwagon and watching all the truckers flirt with her through that grease dirty window in the door.. good memory. Thank you my friend! |
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Munda Member Elite
since 1999-10-08
Posts 3544The Hague, The Netherlands |
Memories.......great poem ! : ) |
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Seymour Tabin Member Empyrean
since 1999-07-07
Posts 31720Tamarac Fla |
Balladeer, I never know what to say about your poems. It's always been said before I can get to it. I'm really waiting for you to put out a book and I'll be first in line for you to autograph it. |
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Denise
Moderator
Member Seraphic
since 1999-08-22
Posts 22648 |
Hey, I'd stand in line for that! ------------------ Denise |
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Iloveit Senior Member
since 1999-09-02
Posts 1121NM |
add my smiles and applause to the rest, very nice Mr. Balladeer |
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rosepetals25
since 2000-05-31
Posts 3076PA |
Balladeer, Ahhhhh memories, lol. There is a diner here where I live. I live in a college town, so after a night of dancing and drinking we'd go up to the diner and have breakfast.. at like .. 3:30 in the morning.. lol. Now I wonder how I could have eaten anything, lol. I was younger then though *chuckles* Anyway, my point was that I like the poem, and thanks for bring back some amusing memories  Hugs, Tara "My heart is like an open book, for the whole world to read" - Motley Crue, Home Sweet Home [This message has been edited by rosepetals25 (03-11-2002 11:21 PM).] |
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