Jackson, TN: I'm Staying

There has been so much to catch up on this month (another cross-country road-trip, some time in Cape Cod, New York). I'll have to backtrack a little. Specifically, to Jackson, Tennessee, where I almost decided to spend the rest of my life.

The Scene: A Waffle House. My second Waffle House, to be precise. And as promised, I had a date with Hashbrowns-All-the-Way. She showed up looking like this:



For Waffle House nubes (like me), Hashbrowns-All-the-Way are hashbrowns scattered across the grill, then smothered with onions, covered with cheese, ham, tomatoes, mushrooms and jalapenos (usually including 'house chili', which scared the bejeezus out of me, so I left off).

And let me say that the combination of total potato induced euphoria, the charming Waffle House employee banter, and our waitress (named Betty Boop; a woman with tattoos, a gold grill and possibly the cheeriest disposition of any Waffle House employee in the nation) almost made me stay in Jackson, TN.

So, while my sidekick and I hunker down in New York, frantically searching for apartments and jobs, I hold onto the idea that if we can't hack it here, maybe there's a career for me in a waffle house somewhere. I've always wanted a gold grill.