Only if there is a very good reason should you write about what you had for lunch.

Not all fried chicken is created equal, and if you'd ever had the pleasure of eating at Mr Chick's in Enterprise, Alabama you would know exactly what I'm talkin'bout.  There is nothing fancy about the place....its an old blue metal building with a small dining area that has booths along the front window and a few tables situated between them and 2 windows cut out of an interior wall....1 for placing your order and the other for receiving it.  The floor is scuffed and stained with age.  The walls are covered with humorous cartoons and advertising, most of which have probably been there since the doors first opened 35 years ago.  The sweet tea is self serve from a tall metal cooler type dispenser.  The only thing on the menu is chicken and if you want dipping sauces you have to pay extra.    It isn't as well known as the Boll Weevil Monument, but around these parts that little blue building is an institution.

The first time I ate there I was 10 years old.  My grandparents had taken us out to lunch one Sunday after church, and the moment I tasted that chicken it became THE!BEST!THING!EVER!IN!THE!WHOLE!WIDE!WORLD!EVEN!BETTER!THAN!GUMMY!BEARS!OH!EM!GEE!  It was so good I ate it in sections over the next 2 days just in case I never got to have it again.  As it turns out, we spent a good number of Sunday noons sitting in one of those booths with my grands.    I don't eat fried foods much anymore, but that chicken has always been a favorite treat.

Today I spent the morning helping my Nana learn how to use the new Ipad her children bought for her, and since it was lunchtime when I left and there was only 4 miles between me and a box of yummy I headed that way.  When I pulled up I saw a bright orange handwritten sign on the front window that read "Today is the last day we will be open.  We will be closing at 2pm for good.  Thank you for your patronage for the past 35 years."

Just like that.  No public notice.  No parade through town.  No anything.  Just a sign on the window ending an era for a small Southern main street staple.  After I ordered Pam told me she'd recently turned 65, she was ready to be done, and that was that.   I get where she's coming from but I can't help feeling a little sad.

Also disgustingly full. 

I ate pretty much an entire box of chicken

in the 25 minutes it took me to get home.

So its a good thing I bought 2.

~~