14 november

I also love diners, too. For a while, we were searching for coffee shops and diners. Not because we were unconsciously looking for Diner Ryan, of course – and how would we know if that was the case anyway – but because diners are richly intriguing pictures of America. Shiny chrome exteriors. Ridged chrome countertop edges. Not just chrome, though that’s a good deal (I have no doubt you know the song “Her favorite color is chrome” (on second thought, I do have a few doubts about that (as well as a few doubts that this is the right title, anyway))).

Diners mean breakfast at any time of the day or night. Eggs. Hashbrowns. Biscuits.

Diners mean milkshakes that come in two parts: the glass display delivery model and the silver cup leftover portion.

Diners mean dessert display cases, bubbling out from counters or rotating in clear plastic columns of glorious light.

I could say more, but you get it.

These two lines of appreciation can likely be traced back to two specific places.

1.       The Lincoln Diner

2.       Food for Thought

The Lincoln Diner is a 24-hour establishment located in the center of Gettysburg. A classically designed diner, it is located about two blocks from The Square (in reality, A Circle), just across from the Majestic Theater and on the near side of the railroad tracks. The Lincoln Diner, as I was growing up, was a very cool place to be able to go at odd hours. And when I say odd hours, I just mean, like, any hours. I didn’t live some wild life when I was in school. And I don’t now, just on the record.

My best friend and I lived about twenty minutes away from the center of Gettysburg, but getting dropped off in town or, later, driving in on our own, offered some kind of glamourous adventure. Sure, we were only going to two or three places, but we were COOL. We could drink coffee, have chocolate chip pancakes, and sit as long as we wanted in the front booths, on spinning stools at the counter, or back in the big room, which I imagined was occasionally rented out for events. What an event! Downstairs, there were just two small bathrooms, and you had the feeling that you shouldn’t be down there. The steps down were narrow and crumbly cement, and it seemed like you might not come back up.