Page 31 - Demo

Kendallville Mental School25finally spotted a diner that was open. The windows were steamed up, and every car in the parking lot had northern license plates. Inside, booths were packed with worn-out parents and fidgety children. The adults all looked like they could use a drink, and the kids definitely needed Ritalin. After 30 minutes, a pair of stools opened up at the counter. There were three waitresses. The one in her forties was well seasoned to both waitressing and tourists. Her white uniform had a few miles on it, the pencil behind her ear looked like it had grown there, and she kept a cigarette going in an ashtray near the kitchen. She sauntered up to us, totally unperturbed by the hectic day, put pencil to pad, and asked, %u201cWaddayawant?%u201d Lynn opted for the chewy Salisbury steak, mashed potatoes from a box, and overcooked green beans. I had a rectangle of fish, gluey macaroni and cheese, and runny coleslaw. The cook was busy, at ease, and well organized %u2014 like he%u2019d been at it for years, perhaps as a cook in the army. As we ate, Lynn picked up a plastic cow and absentmindedly turned it over to look at the bottom. The waitress wasn%u2019t a bit happy about the cream pouring from the miniature bovine%u2019s mouth onto her counter. Disney World was a major disappointment. It had only been open for a year, and we parked in the very last row of the parking lot %u2014 which should have been a harbinger of large crowds. We found long lines everywhere %u2014 winding well beyond the 1-hour-waitfrom-this-point signs. We ate standing up, because most of the tables were being reserved by one family member while the rest of the brood stood in the food line. With a bladder about to burst, Lynn held a restroom door open for a lady in a wheelchair, then a maintenance woman shoved a %u201cclosed for cleaning%u201d sign in her face and barred her entrance. By the end of the afternoon, the crowds had thinned, but we were wiped out. After walking around all day, we%u2019d each torn only a single ticket from our booklets %u2014 for the boat trip through Jungle Land. We weren%u2019t impressed, and there was no magic to the Kingdom.All the conventional hot spots, like Marineland, were overplanned, spotless, frenzied, crowded, and bogus. But we thoroughly enjoyed two state parks, which were natural, serene, real %u2014 and