Diner Discussion #375

Okay, I'm in a diner. On Geary Street. It's raining outside as we're right in the middle of the second of three storms. I've got a window seat, and the sidewalk outside is littered with leaf debris and fallen branchlets. The diner is fuller than I ever remember it.

The motif is movies here. They have 4 large screen television, rent DVDs, and in the evenings, they show movies on the big screens so you can watch something while you eat. Right now, they've got the televisions tuned to the Food Channel, and I was watching a chicken properly roasted, cut and served.

Hmm.

I'm having steak and eggs, and I have to admit, it's pretty damn good for diner food (my uncontested favorite). No Food Network nonsense for me -- I have a very naive pallet. Keep the peas away from the potatoes, thank you very much.

Okay, this time it's not the conversation per se that caught my attention, but the circumstance. Picture this. Two elderly gentlemen, obviously a couple, sitting across from each other. Each one is listening to a CD player connected to their heads by those noise canceling MASSIVE headsets that make your head look like it's too small for your body. And they're having a conversation over dinner. Except, they're elderly, so their hearing may not be what it used to be. Couple that with the noise-canceling, head-shrinking, godless headsets, and well, you've got a recipe for the bizarre. Yes, they're talking WAY too loud. No, it hasn't dawned on them. Yes, they keep saying "What?" as they try to hear each other. And of course, it's making me smile.

I'm glad I weathered the storm.