Right on the corner of 35th and Cactus, in Glendale, Arizona, stands a strip mall. You might drive by that strip mall a dozens times and never notice even one of the business there. That would be your loss.
There's a little joint there called Rocket Burgers And Subs. But it's not really a burger place...it's a time machine.
Should you enter the place you enter a time warp...back to the 50's. As you approach the front door you see row after row of various pop soda. As you enter the door the whole wall to your right is nothing but refrigerated glass cases holding every soda you ever drank in your childhood (and if it's not there, just speak up and they'll order if for you).
So, folks, young and old, wander into the place...the young to see "what was"..the old to revisit their childhood. You order your burger, or your sub, then spend the time waiting by walking along that wall of soda. "Do I want RC Coca Cola in the bottle?" Do I want a "Chocolate Covered Maple Smoked Bacon Soda?" "Do I Want A Whoo-hoo?", or "that root beer made only in Maine?" "Would my bacon burger go down better with a Big Red?"
And, before you can decide, the little counter bell rings and your order is called. Your burger sits on one of those blue-plaid or red-plaid wrappers from the sixties, with a side of fries, fresh peeled and flash fried not five minutes before, the whole delicious thing resting in a straw basket.
And, as you sit there, scarfing down that freshly made burger, your mind drifts back to long ago...to days of hula hoops and Roy Rogers and Clutch Cargo and Saturday morning cartoons..and hours of play in the green fields of childhood.
A pretty cheap time machine...and well worth the trip!
6 comments:
Love places like that. I suspect that some day when the Baby Boomers die out, these places will lose most their business. But in the meantime, we still get to enjoy memories of the good times. Hide and seek, tag, red rover, stickball games in the front yard, these kept us healthy and fit.
Fine things indeed, Frank!
I love places like this. One day, hopefully soon, I can meet you for a burger and pop at this place. Frank you forgot just having a catch with your buddy. Man I miss those days. But at 53 I still go out in the front yard and play catch with my son or the old boy (65) down the street. Still enjoy it, even though I don't have the I use to have. These stories are better than the political bs, that shit wears on everyone.
I agree Brian, politics is not much fun these days.
If that burger is for real it's worth the thousand mile drive down there!! Wow that looks good, nothing like a burger that runs down your arm.
There is a nostalgic place like that in very rural Wyoming that my niece sent me pictures of. This man has sodas, junk food, kitchen items, etc, etc.. Then it moves on to gas station stuff, he even built an old time gas station with the pumps, tires and oil cans and bottles. I love places like that. Thanks for you reminiscence here today. A nicer tone than all the depressing politics of today.
Thanks, Ken. My pleasure. Yes, I like the old stuff too.
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