melanieb

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[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]My dad has taken me and the family to Manfred’s Restaurant,in San Francisco. Manfred’s is a diner-style burger joint, complete with boothsand a long bar with barstools. Behind the bar is where the waitresses stand,taking orders and serving up witty remarks.[/FONT][/SIZE]
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[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]At the end of the bar, far from the door, two old guys sitand talk, and by their appearance and familiarity with each other it’s obviousthey sit here every day, rain or shine. Both men are in long overcoats and havetheir hats sitting on the bar next to their food.[/FONT][/SIZE]
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[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]We are led to a booth somewhere near the back of therestaurant, across from the old guys. I ask if the burgers are really big, andthe waitress holds up a plate with a massive burger on it. The bun is threetimes normal size, the meat is double-layered and heavy, and the cheese ismelting out the sides, peeking out from under the lettuce and tomato. Somepickle slices are on the side.[/FONT][/SIZE]
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[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]“That is a BIG burger, “I tell her.[/FONT][/SIZE]
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[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]“You bet it is!” the two old men chime in unison.[/FONT][/SIZE]
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[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]“…but I don’t want to see even a single pickle with myburger, do you understand me?” I try to make this last point clear withoutsounding like an ass.[/FONT][/SIZE]
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[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]The waitress replies, “No problem!” She turns around to submitthe order to the short-order cook behind her.[/FONT][/SIZE]
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[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]While my order is cooking I decide to leave my group andstep outside, for air or a change of scenery I don’t know. What I see outsideis so unexpected I nearly drop my jaw in amazement.[/FONT][/SIZE]
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[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]Standing in front of me, larger than life, are magic horses.I know of no other way to describe the sight before me. One horse is standingon top of another horse, perfectly balanced, and the bottom horse is walkingpast the restaurant, seemingly part of a travelling magic show, or possibly anew circus act on the way into town. I’m staring at this, just dumbfounded,amazed that such a feat is possible.[/FONT][/SIZE]
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[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]As the balancing act passes by, another horse appears to myright, and this animal is very tall, with legs twice as long as they should befor a horse. The element of magic is apparent in these animals, and I amreminded of when I was a kid staring up at animals bigger than me, wonderinghow they do what they do.[/FONT][/SIZE]
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[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]All this excitement and fanfare is passing by, and I followa crowd of people moving in the opposite direction. I have only moved a fewfeet from the door and I come upon a pile of broken glass on the sidewalk, nearthe corner of the building. Being a helpful citizen I begin picking up thelarge, red glass shards. Some are larger than my hand, and all have sharpedges. Only half way through and with my hand full I pick up one more piece ofglass and get a small cut, though the sting is enough to make me jerk my hand,spilling most of the glass back onto the sidewalk.[/FONT][/SIZE]
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[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]I’m disappointed in myself but the pain is real, so I headback towards the restaurant, knowing I can get cleaned up inside. By the door,next to a large potted plant, I come upon another pile of broken glass, and Ifind myself wondering how so much mess got there.[/FONT][/SIZE]
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[FONT=Calibri][SIZE=3]Inside, the restaurant is now quite crowded, packed, and Iveer to my right to where I suppose the bathroom ought to be. I go up a set of three stairs and intoanother room filled with tables and hungry patrons, looking around for the dooror hall to a bathroom but none is visible. Either the bathroom has been moved,I think, or this restaurant has no bathroom. I had intended to wash my handsafter picking up glass but I guess I won’t.[/SIZE][/FONT]
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[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]I walk back into the main part of the diner and find mydaughter sitting on one of the stools, a strange man sitting next to her andgrinning wide. I sit down between him and her and put my arm around her,suddenly mad that my dad has left her sitting here by herself, while he and myson moved to the far end of the bar to get away from the crowd and the singing.[/FONT][/SIZE]
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[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]Off to my left and closer to the door a heavyset man isbelting out an almost operatic melody, but somehow it is comical and garish. Heis dressed in a blue cape, covering a white shirt and wide pants. He has a tallblack hat on his head, and is sporting a large, dark mustache. I presume he issome form of Italian opera clown, and I turn my back to him and his awkwardappearance.[/FONT][/SIZE]
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[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]I want to move down to the end by my dad, but suddenly Ifind myself on a moving bar stool, one of the most unusual experiences I’veever had in a restaurant. My stool is still attached to the floor, but thesection of the floor below me is moving, taking me and my stool in an ovulararc around the restaurant. [/FONT][/SIZE]
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[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]The other customers in the diner find this weird also, andmore than half of them leave, put off by a combination of confusion at themoving floor and the really bad singing by the fat man at the door. I don’tblame them. [/FONT][/SIZE]
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[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]After three or four spins around the room the circulating floorstops, and I come to a rest halfway down the bar from where I had been.Standing up I find myself dizzy, wobbly, and disoriented, an odd sensation fora dream. I can’t recall ever experiencing this in a dream before, and I have abrief hint at lucidity.[/FONT][/SIZE]
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[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]I walk over to my dad, still sitting at the end of the bar,and I ask him where my burger is.[/FONT][/SIZE]
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[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]“Oh, I sent that bad boy home.” He says almost gruffly,gesturing at the counter waitress. I presume he means he sent it back, and I amupset that my burger is gone. I’m hungry, and I need something to make up forthe glass and orbiting stool.[/FONT][/SIZE]
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[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]“No, it’s in here.” The waitress opens up my daughter’sbackpack and inside is my burger and the awesome French fries it comes with. Ilook around but there are no pickles, so I am satisfied.[/FONT][/SIZE]
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[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]Fast forward to the drive home; We are in my SUV, drivingtowards Alameda, and I’m talking to my dad casually. As we approach a freewayunderpass I turn to him and say, “I love you very much, dad, but if you ever doanything like that again, I’ll kill you.” I mean this in a non-violent way,jokingly, to emphasize how I didn’t like him leaving my daughter or placing myfood in her backpack, but I pause and contemplate what I just said, and I feelbad. I don’t want him to think I hate him, though I am upset, and now my mindis lost in thoughts of remorse.[/FONT][/SIZE]
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[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]I suddenly comeback to reality and find that no one isdriving the SUV, and I literally ask, “Who’s driving the car?” [/FONT][/SIZE]
[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT="Calibri"]And then I wake up.[/FONT]