Welcome Home

48 Replies
dales-restaurant-photo

PHOTO PROMPT © Dale Rogerson

My eyes, once adjusted to the dark, were assaulted by the mix of bright teal and dingy diner red.  The hokey orca and great white on the wall were far older than the current shark craze.

“Sit where you want, hon,” A female voice called out.

The table, though clean, had obviously been there since the early 1940s, or perhaps was a refugee from an ancient railcar diner.

Recognizing a few faces half seen in the dim light, I smiled as I took my seat.

After six years living in the tourist town, I had finally found the local hangout.

***

Word count = 100

Friday Fictioneers is hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields.  This week’s prompt is here and uses a photo © Dale Rogerson.  Read more or join in by following the InLinkz “linky“.

48 thoughts on “Welcome Home”

    1. trentpmcd Post author

      Let’s hope so. Of course the real test is the Transfer Station – all New England towns have a place to bring trash and recyclables. If people nod and wave when you go to the Transfer Station, you made it ;)

      Like

      Reply ↓
    1. trentpmcd Post author

      Some people can come into town be accepted immediately while others never are… I think it is sometimes harder with vacation towns since there are so many people who live there part time that it takes the locals a while figure out that you are there full time… Thanks.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply ↓
    1. trentpmcd Post author

      There are some places where you have to be born there to be local… The small town were I live is a little different – I am very active in the community and was shocked to discover that almost everyone who was active were newer residents.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply ↓
  11. Nan Falkner

    It’s so good to find a local hangout when you move to a new city. I know after 12 years of moving every other year, we went to Kansas City, hated the house, but loved the park it backed up to. Worked out perfectly! Cute story!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓
    1. trentpmcd Post author

      Some of these small towns make it difficult to become part of the community, but there is always something that makes you realize that you have been accepted. Perhaps these people have hit that point.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply ↓
    1. trentpmcd Post author

      Yes. being part of the community means much more than living in a locality. On the other hand, some of these small towns make it difficult for newcomers to become part of the community, particularly those towns that quintuple in size during the summer months.

      Like

      Reply ↓
  19. rochellewisoff

    Dear Trent,

    I’m sure I’ve eaten in that diner in many different places. ;) Every traveler should know where the locals eat. That’s where you’ll find the best food. Well done. (I prefer my steak rare, though).

    Shalom,

    Rochelle

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓
  23. granonine

    This made me think of the town where my husband was born and raised. There was definitely a hang-out, mostly for men who were retired/widowed/divorced. They gathered faithfully, and if one didn’t show up for a day or two, someone was sure to call or knock on the door just to make sure he was all right. Kind of cool, really.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓
    1. trentpmcd Post author

      i think all small towns have a place like that. There is a shop in my small town where all of the very local, usually older, men hang out and another shop where all of the very local women (not always older) hang out. Unfortunately, the women’s hang out recently closed (not sure if they have a new place) and the men’s hangout has been threatening to shut down for 5 years and most likely will soon. The place in this story is slightly different – every town, particularly the tourist towns, have a restaurant that out-of-towners and tourists would never set foot in, so the locals have one tiny patch of town for their exclusive use. Might not be a place for gossip and chat, like the little local hangout shop, but the one place in a town that seems exclusively aimed at everyone else where townies can feel at home.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply ↓

Express Yourself

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s