So this morning Laura texted me asking me why I never blog anymore...and I don't really have an answer to be honest. Besides working a shitton, and also Christmas stuff completely sucked up my time up until the last few days. Well..obviously...since it has been over for the last few days. It's so strange how the entire country seems to go into this crazy capitalist buying spree for Christmas, and there's so much anticipation for it every year, and then suddenly its just..gone. This year is no different. It seems to have come and gone faster than normal, and now every day brings me closer to returning back to Clark, which I'm very excited for. I have spent basically every single day this vacation with Simone, however, and I really don't know how I am going to make it back at school seeing her so infrequently. I'll just come home more often.
Oh well yesterday when I was very very very high I had such a wonderful BRAIN BLAST. It might just be a crazy high thought, but I am really planning on making it happen. So I told Maddy that I would drive her home to Ohio after school ends this summer, because I have always wanted to go on a road trip, and thought that would be a good excuse for it. But then I remembered my friend Victoria that lives in Texas, and how much I would love to visit her. And then I thought of the roommate I had three years ago when I want to Phillip's Exeter Academy's Summer Session, and how she lives in Arizona and lives in a Native American village. And then I put all of this together and crazily texted Maddy asking her to come visit my Cherokee friend and of course, being Maddy, she figured out what the hell I was talking about and then jumped right on board of the road trip. I can't wait. I don't know who will end up coming with me. I know my brother would in a second if Maddy can't and the other people tentatively planning on coming flake out, so I know no matter what I will at least be driving Maddy to Ohio this summer, and from there I hope to go to Texas for a few days and stay with Victoria, and then Arizona to visit Andrena, and see the skins she told me about all those years ago...
I think it would be amazing. I want it to happen so badly. If I wasn't so crunched for time, and didn't have to work all summer saving up for insurance for my car then I would go to California and stay with my three cousins and aunt there for a while too. I'll get there eventually, maybe on my next road trip.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Parting is such sweet sorrow.
So in the last few days I have had to say goodbye to Maddy who is someone I am in constant almost 24 hours a day haha.
And today I had to say goodbye to Rui who is leaving for a month. Before college started we rarely went a day without seeing each other. And now I hardly see him being at different colleges, and the day vacation starts I only get to see him once before another month long sprawl of not seeing him. I'm going to miss him so much, especially just being back in Stoughton, and him not being here with me.
But Rui slept over last night and I got a little of my Rui fix quenched, but not all of it. But we decorated the box I use to carry and hold my records in and it was great.
Today I put the Christmas tree up, because it still wasn't up haha. It was fun. I put on Christmas music, and decorated the entire living room with all of our decorations. And the tree. From this picture you can't really see the ornaments but it looks really pretty in the dark.
Although I would like to stay up and keep blogging, I have work in 8 hours. And I'm so excited!! I can't wait to see everyone from work. All of my favorites usually work Sundays, and time and a half is always a plus. Goodnight.
And today I had to say goodbye to Rui who is leaving for a month. Before college started we rarely went a day without seeing each other. And now I hardly see him being at different colleges, and the day vacation starts I only get to see him once before another month long sprawl of not seeing him. I'm going to miss him so much, especially just being back in Stoughton, and him not being here with me.
But Rui slept over last night and I got a little of my Rui fix quenched, but not all of it. But we decorated the box I use to carry and hold my records in and it was great.
Today I put the Christmas tree up, because it still wasn't up haha. It was fun. I put on Christmas music, and decorated the entire living room with all of our decorations. And the tree. From this picture you can't really see the ornaments but it looks really pretty in the dark.
Although I would like to stay up and keep blogging, I have work in 8 hours. And I'm so excited!! I can't wait to see everyone from work. All of my favorites usually work Sundays, and time and a half is always a plus. Goodnight.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
My Morning Jacket
is one of my favorite bands. I wish I was as into them as I am now, when I went to see them in concert.
If you touch me,
Well I just think I'll scream.
Cuz it's been so long,
since someone's challenged me.
Made me think
about the way things are,
Made me think
about the way they could be.
Well I just think I'll scream.
Cuz it's been so long,
since someone's challenged me.
Made me think
about the way things are,
Made me think
about the way they could be.
I LOVE shitting on pop music. Now I actually get a grade for it.
Alexander Pope in his “Essay on Criticism” presents a timeless view of critics and artists alike; a standpoint that needs to be more abundant in today’s day and age to save the entertainment and arts industries from declining any more than they already have. Pope comments on the downhill trek of writer’s, and he equates this abatement to each new generation’s tendency to ignore their father’s knowledge, displaying naiveté in thinking they are above their father’s lessons and teachings: “We think our fathers fools, so wise we grow;/ Our wiser sons, no doubt, will think us so” (438-439). This downward spiral in the quality of the arts has continued, and if Pope wrote this essay during his time, he would be rolling over in his grave if was ever brought back to life in the 21st century to observe the extreme degeneration in our music, our literature, and our art.
The popular music of today lacks depth; the one requirement Pope asked of the writers and musicians of his time. Pop music has revolutionized music in this country and around the world, in the most negative connotation of the word. The works of famous artist today such as Ke$ha who is currently on her “Get $leazy Tour” would horrify Pope, just as her musical ‘work’ disgusts and disappoints the few who hold Pope’s view that music should not be edited and fabricated vocals placed over unoriginal, overproduced studio beats about partying and…well, partying, with drunkenness and sleaziness thrown into the mix to make up the majority of pop music that the teens and young people of this generation flock to. The fact that one of the most famous musicians of today uses the money sign symbol to replace the ‘s’ in her name shows the slow but sure degeneration of proper grammar in this day and age, which would be another point of contention if Pope were to hear the music, read the book, or see the art of today. The dawn of the computer age came with many changes, but the worst side effect has to be the replacement of proper grammar with this computer talk; a problem that is plaguing many teenagers and children that are exposed to computer slang, teaching them these bad habits, more than they see the written word of books. This problem will only continue to increase as technology continues to grow and our world becomes a world of computers instead of books. Ke$ha may only be a product of her generation, a time where computers and technology rule the world, and the importance of the written word diminishes every day, however it is hard not to fault her for perpetuating this decline of intelligence in our generation. What has happened to cause this stark change from even the music created 30 years ago in comparison to today’s music? Can computers and technology shoulder all of the blame?
Everything declines, for nothing can retain perfection and beauty for all of eternity, because it becomes hard to remain original and groundbreaking while still retaining the depth and beauty of music when people have been making music for almost as long as we have been speaking. Any new idea is bound to have been derived from some other musician’s earlier idea in the past. Rock has declined since its outset: it is almost painful to compare the famous rock bands of today such as Nickelback to the rock bands of earlier decades such as the Doors. Nickelback’s songs all use the same five chords, rearranged for the semblance or originality, but for those that do not become glassy eyed and awed just by the production of a new song from one of these famous bands, their true lack of talent is blatantly obvious. The popular bands and artists (‘artists’ being a term used very loosely) of today do not hold a candle to the music of 10, 20, 30, 40 years ago, and beyond. Their sole purpose is to “dazzle” with their beats and pointless rhymes, but their music does little to “move” its listeners, unless you count brainwashing little girls into becoming the brainless women exemplified in these songs, and teaching young boys to be violent and angry, to be considered men.
With every generation comes this ignorance, where many ignore the works of the past and look only forward. However, this is a foolish approach when all that they have to offer is derived from these earlier works; these writers, musicians and entertainers display their blindness in their “sure[ty] to hate most the men from whom they learned” (107). These artists owe the majority of their ideas and musical accomplishments to their for bearers, but instead of recognizing all that they could learn from them, they deny their existence, like a petulant child that runs away from home as if they could survive the world without their parents. One cannot compliment the complexion or design of a flower without first yielding recognition to the soil or water that’s responsible for its existence and this holds true with music.
The music industry is not alone in this decline; the draining of intelligence and innovation has also taken its toll on the literature of today. There have been countless imitators of the great classics of centuries past, but the writer’s of today seem to be lacking in something that the writer’s of old had an abundance of. When books by Jodi Picoult and Nora Roberts line the shelves of the best seller’s section in book stores, it makes scholars wonder why these lowly examples of literature are accepted as great when there used to be writers such as Shakespeare and Milton who wrote epic tales that no author has come close to emulating in recent times.
Katy Perry epitomizes the degeneration of music according to Pope’s ideal that “music resembles poetry, in each/ Are nameless graces which no methods teach,/ And which a master hand alone can reach” (143-145). The first four and last four lines of Perry’s song “Peacock” are the repeated mantra: “I wanna see your peacock, cock, cock, your peacock, cock;” poetry at its finest. From this line it is questionable whether Katy Perry has ever even heard of Homer, making it highly doubtful that she will ever follow Pope’s advice of “read[ing] [Homer] by day, and meditate[ing] by night” (125). With people such as Katy Perry and Ke$ha leading the music industry of today, it is clear that our music industry has stooped to a new low, and if more poets and writer’s do not materialize and bring the level of beauty in music back up to the point that Pope desires it to be, then it will continue to decline. This condition will have many consequences in the future if something is not done to halt it, but with every passing year it seems less and less likely that there will be Jim Morrison’s or John Lennon’s of our time; they seem to be a lost race. When Jim Morrison was able to ad lib lines such as “Don’t let me die in an automobile, I want to lie in an open field,” while on stage, tripping on acid, and Katy Perry is only capable of these pathetic excuses lines of “poetry,” with an army of producers and song writer’s assisting her, a shift must have taken place somewhere between Jim Morrison’s time, and our time. If this shift is not rectified, then humans might as well stop making music, because the music will only continue to droop lower than the popular music of today, making Pope’s death before this extreme decline a blessing.
Pope derisively attacks the critics and writers of his time, however, if he were present today, would Pope be just another of these mediocre writers? People with Pope’s ability are probably still born today, but because today’s society does not enforce higher learning, or value it like it used to be valued, these truly gifted writer’s are lost in the tumult of horrible writing. “Though wit and art conspire to move your mind; / But dullness with obscenity must prove/ As shameful sure as impotence in love/ In the fat age of pleasure, wealth, and ease,/ Sprung the rank weed, and thrived with large increase” (531-535). Pope comments on his age of being one of “pleasure, wealth, and ease,” and if the decline started during his time and has continued until today, the damage may be beyond repair. Will our contemporary arts and entertainment industry continue their downward spiral, or will another Pope come along and reverse the decline? Only time will tell.
The popular music of today lacks depth; the one requirement Pope asked of the writers and musicians of his time. Pop music has revolutionized music in this country and around the world, in the most negative connotation of the word. The works of famous artist today such as Ke$ha who is currently on her “Get $leazy Tour” would horrify Pope, just as her musical ‘work’ disgusts and disappoints the few who hold Pope’s view that music should not be edited and fabricated vocals placed over unoriginal, overproduced studio beats about partying and…well, partying, with drunkenness and sleaziness thrown into the mix to make up the majority of pop music that the teens and young people of this generation flock to. The fact that one of the most famous musicians of today uses the money sign symbol to replace the ‘s’ in her name shows the slow but sure degeneration of proper grammar in this day and age, which would be another point of contention if Pope were to hear the music, read the book, or see the art of today. The dawn of the computer age came with many changes, but the worst side effect has to be the replacement of proper grammar with this computer talk; a problem that is plaguing many teenagers and children that are exposed to computer slang, teaching them these bad habits, more than they see the written word of books. This problem will only continue to increase as technology continues to grow and our world becomes a world of computers instead of books. Ke$ha may only be a product of her generation, a time where computers and technology rule the world, and the importance of the written word diminishes every day, however it is hard not to fault her for perpetuating this decline of intelligence in our generation. What has happened to cause this stark change from even the music created 30 years ago in comparison to today’s music? Can computers and technology shoulder all of the blame?
Everything declines, for nothing can retain perfection and beauty for all of eternity, because it becomes hard to remain original and groundbreaking while still retaining the depth and beauty of music when people have been making music for almost as long as we have been speaking. Any new idea is bound to have been derived from some other musician’s earlier idea in the past. Rock has declined since its outset: it is almost painful to compare the famous rock bands of today such as Nickelback to the rock bands of earlier decades such as the Doors. Nickelback’s songs all use the same five chords, rearranged for the semblance or originality, but for those that do not become glassy eyed and awed just by the production of a new song from one of these famous bands, their true lack of talent is blatantly obvious. The popular bands and artists (‘artists’ being a term used very loosely) of today do not hold a candle to the music of 10, 20, 30, 40 years ago, and beyond. Their sole purpose is to “dazzle” with their beats and pointless rhymes, but their music does little to “move” its listeners, unless you count brainwashing little girls into becoming the brainless women exemplified in these songs, and teaching young boys to be violent and angry, to be considered men.
With every generation comes this ignorance, where many ignore the works of the past and look only forward. However, this is a foolish approach when all that they have to offer is derived from these earlier works; these writers, musicians and entertainers display their blindness in their “sure[ty] to hate most the men from whom they learned” (107). These artists owe the majority of their ideas and musical accomplishments to their for bearers, but instead of recognizing all that they could learn from them, they deny their existence, like a petulant child that runs away from home as if they could survive the world without their parents. One cannot compliment the complexion or design of a flower without first yielding recognition to the soil or water that’s responsible for its existence and this holds true with music.
The music industry is not alone in this decline; the draining of intelligence and innovation has also taken its toll on the literature of today. There have been countless imitators of the great classics of centuries past, but the writer’s of today seem to be lacking in something that the writer’s of old had an abundance of. When books by Jodi Picoult and Nora Roberts line the shelves of the best seller’s section in book stores, it makes scholars wonder why these lowly examples of literature are accepted as great when there used to be writers such as Shakespeare and Milton who wrote epic tales that no author has come close to emulating in recent times.
Katy Perry epitomizes the degeneration of music according to Pope’s ideal that “music resembles poetry, in each/ Are nameless graces which no methods teach,/ And which a master hand alone can reach” (143-145). The first four and last four lines of Perry’s song “Peacock” are the repeated mantra: “I wanna see your peacock, cock, cock, your peacock, cock;” poetry at its finest. From this line it is questionable whether Katy Perry has ever even heard of Homer, making it highly doubtful that she will ever follow Pope’s advice of “read[ing] [Homer] by day, and meditate[ing] by night” (125). With people such as Katy Perry and Ke$ha leading the music industry of today, it is clear that our music industry has stooped to a new low, and if more poets and writer’s do not materialize and bring the level of beauty in music back up to the point that Pope desires it to be, then it will continue to decline. This condition will have many consequences in the future if something is not done to halt it, but with every passing year it seems less and less likely that there will be Jim Morrison’s or John Lennon’s of our time; they seem to be a lost race. When Jim Morrison was able to ad lib lines such as “Don’t let me die in an automobile, I want to lie in an open field,” while on stage, tripping on acid, and Katy Perry is only capable of these pathetic excuses lines of “poetry,” with an army of producers and song writer’s assisting her, a shift must have taken place somewhere between Jim Morrison’s time, and our time. If this shift is not rectified, then humans might as well stop making music, because the music will only continue to droop lower than the popular music of today, making Pope’s death before this extreme decline a blessing.
Pope derisively attacks the critics and writers of his time, however, if he were present today, would Pope be just another of these mediocre writers? People with Pope’s ability are probably still born today, but because today’s society does not enforce higher learning, or value it like it used to be valued, these truly gifted writer’s are lost in the tumult of horrible writing. “Though wit and art conspire to move your mind; / But dullness with obscenity must prove/ As shameful sure as impotence in love/ In the fat age of pleasure, wealth, and ease,/ Sprung the rank weed, and thrived with large increase” (531-535). Pope comments on his age of being one of “pleasure, wealth, and ease,” and if the decline started during his time and has continued until today, the damage may be beyond repair. Will our contemporary arts and entertainment industry continue their downward spiral, or will another Pope come along and reverse the decline? Only time will tell.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
HOLY SHIT.
So .... as you can see from my last two posts...I've been getting into Wye Oak lately. So, naturally, I immediately went to Ticketmaster to see if they're touring any time soon after deducing that they have potential to be my favorite band EVER...and GUESS FUCKING WHAT.
GUESS
WHAT.
They're opening for the Decemberists at the show I am going to. I ALREADY HAVE TICKETS TO SEE THEM AND I DIDN'T EVEN REALIZE.
Now I'm DOUBLY as excited.
So of course I screamed and ran over to Maddy and sat on her lap hugging her. I even cried. She thinks I'm fucking crazy. It's fine though. It's love.
Yesyesyesyesyes. Beautiful day.
GUESS
WHAT.
They're opening for the Decemberists at the show I am going to. I ALREADY HAVE TICKETS TO SEE THEM AND I DIDN'T EVEN REALIZE.
Now I'm DOUBLY as excited.
So of course I screamed and ran over to Maddy and sat on her lap hugging her. I even cried. She thinks I'm fucking crazy. It's fine though. It's love.
Yesyesyesyesyes. Beautiful day.
Jesus...if Wye Oak has one more perfect song they may usurp Arcade Fire..
I don't feel scared
I'm in control
I am prepared
I'll never cry
I'll sit and stare
I don't feel young
I don't feel old
I don't feel proud
I speak too fast
I laugh too loud
I am the smallest--
In the crowd
I don't feel young
I can't see you
But I can guess
You gave a speech
They're all impressed
But still your room
Is all I miss
I can't see you
And so if I
Can't have you now
I'll learn to walk
and learn to count
The lot you gave
Me in my mouth,
And spit it out.
If you feel young
And feel ready
Or if you feel old
And just need sleep
You know your--
Secret's safe with me
If you feel young
If you feel young
If you feel young
I am nothing.
I know my thoughts
Can’t live with them
I am nothing without a man
I know my thoughts
But I can’t hide them
I still keep my baby teeth
In the bedside table with my jewelry
You still sleep in the bed with me,
My jewelry and my baby teeth
I don’t need another friend
When most of them
I can barely keep up with them
Perfectly able to hold my own hair,
But I still can’t kiss my own neck.
I wanted to give you everything
But I still stand in awe of superficial things
I wanted to love you like my mother’ mother’s mother's did civilian
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Wow. If I didn't despise tattoos this is what I would get.
"I'm the one that has to die when it's time for me to die, so let me live my life, the way I want to." - Jimi Hendrix
I have never seen it said better.
"There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed."
— Ernest Hemingway
— Ernest Hemingway
I think it's probably me.
"The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four people is suffering from a mental illness. Look at your 3 best friends. If they're ok, then it's you."
— Rita Mae Brown
— Rita Mae Brown
"The question isn't who is going to let me; it's who is going to stop me."
This break, I need to sit down and spend some time with my brain, and seriously think and reassess what I want and don't want in my life any longer.
This is what happens when I look at popular quotes on Goodreads..
"Love never dies a natural death. It dies because we don't know how to replenish its source. It dies of blindness and errors and betrayals. It dies of illness and wounds; it dies of weariness, of witherings, of tarnishings."
— Anaïs Nin
— Anaïs Nin
To all of those that go to church on Christmas, to feel Christian:
"Anyone who thinks sitting in church can make you a Christian must also think that sitting in a garage can make you a car."
— Garrison Keillor
— Garrison Keillor
Today,
I passed my Psych exam..for sure. Maybe even with flying colors...but I don't want to speak too soon. I also went to my first day of my new job for next semester to be trained. And now I am downloading new music. I have the next three days to write three essays for Friday, which shouldn't be that much of a challenge. The next few days of finals are relaxing now that my one exam is over, so I could relax enough to blog a bit. But not too much...because I still need to write those damn essays. Oh well, I am almost free. And so excited for Friday to be over. Though I'll be sad to leave my little abode at Clark University.
Beauty.
Beauty.
Friday, December 10, 2010
You Have NO Idea How Much This Just Made Me Laugh
Greatness.
I know I should be finishing up my research for my Aging and Society final paper but I had to take a break.
One more week. One more week. One more week.
I will survive.
I know I should be finishing up my research for my Aging and Society final paper but I had to take a break.
One more week. One more week. One more week.
I will survive.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Oi
Dearest Blogger,
I have been neglecting you lately (or at least on my standards compared to my obsessive blogging before this, which will continue after the next week and a half of finals) and I am very sorry for this. It has not been by choice, I have instead have had to be doing tons of research for the many papers I have to write. I will come back to you soon once this horrible week of hellishness is over, if I survive it. I miss you.
Your loving scribe,
Sammahh
I have been neglecting you lately (or at least on my standards compared to my obsessive blogging before this, which will continue after the next week and a half of finals) and I am very sorry for this. It has not been by choice, I have instead have had to be doing tons of research for the many papers I have to write. I will come back to you soon once this horrible week of hellishness is over, if I survive it. I miss you.
Your loving scribe,
Sammahh
Monday, December 6, 2010
Well,
talking with my best friend Rui always makes everything seem less horrible, every mountain less difficult to climb...ahhaha just kidding I'm done being lame. But it was nice, after not talking to him for maybe a MONTH straight. Well, less than that...but we've talked every day since 6th grade...long breaks like that are not normal or allowed in our relationship. But ever since college started, they seem to be becoming longer and longer...which sucks, but seems inevitable. I know we won't ever stop being friends, but I just wish I always had my constant Rui with me. But he helped me sort out a lot of crap in my head, and I think I finally have decided on a course of action. We'll see how this goes.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Life After People
I'm watching this awesome series on Netflix called Life After People...it is 10+ episodes of predictions of what the world will look like 5..10..20..100 +years after people die out. 30 minutes into the first episode, I can tell I'm going to like this series. The projected scenes of cities, towns, and landscapes of our great world crumbling into ruin are incredibly interesting...I would love to roam through the world without people for one day, but I would have to fend off many wild animals, for this documentary also takes into account the spread of wildlife into these previously densely human-populated cities.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
I have realized I kind of LOVE the Yeah Yeah Yeahs...
I remember when I was probably 12 ish the song Maps was always playing on the radio and I loved it so much. I saw the Yeah Yeah Yeahs once at this festival with a bunch of other bands but I was so far away in the seats before the lawn at the Tweeter Center...which is pretty far and it was still light out so it wasn't as amazing as it should have been, but I still have loved them for a long time, but I haven't heard them in a while. Their music video for Cheated Hearts is amazing, I love all of the fans that must have sent in for this. It's hilarious, interesting, real, and awesome.
I do love you, great people.
I may bitch and moan about how much people suck, and they mostly do...but I do have a lot of people in my life who don't suck, and I hope they know they're excluded from these proclamations of epidemics of people who suck.
Firstly my mom, Ronnie, my brother, my dad. My family...all of the Bishops that I miss and can't wait to see this month. Dan, Rui and Simone who have all been there for me and me for you for longer than I remember.
Laura and Lindsey, two of the only few people from Stoughton that I really keep in touch with.
Maddy, Zach, Mike, and Alex who have become the quirky and strange and great group I have found at college.
Jilllllll (Mrs. Rutman. But I need to stop calling her Mrs. Rutman). For being the greatest big sister that I never had.
And all of the other teachers in the English wing of Stoughton High School. Mrs. Mackay and Mrs. Ruschioni in specific. And of course Mrs. Regan.
Ahhhhh the Staples crew. Who I miss so much. Katie, Becca, Mike, SALLYKINS, Michelle, ED!, my Staples mommy Pam, even Neil...well....only a little bit for Neil. That will have dissipated five minutes or so after I see him again. Francis, Pat. The Trish's! Everyone that works there. I miss working there so much haha though on some days after working five days in a row during the summer I would have thought I was crazy for saying this but I really do, and I can't wait to work there again over break. The 18th! :)
And now that I think about it, there are many other people that I care about. Tonight, this world doesn't seem too bad.
Firstly my mom, Ronnie, my brother, my dad. My family...all of the Bishops that I miss and can't wait to see this month. Dan, Rui and Simone who have all been there for me and me for you for longer than I remember.
Laura and Lindsey, two of the only few people from Stoughton that I really keep in touch with.
Maddy, Zach, Mike, and Alex who have become the quirky and strange and great group I have found at college.
Jilllllll (Mrs. Rutman. But I need to stop calling her Mrs. Rutman). For being the greatest big sister that I never had.
And all of the other teachers in the English wing of Stoughton High School. Mrs. Mackay and Mrs. Ruschioni in specific. And of course Mrs. Regan.
Ahhhhh the Staples crew. Who I miss so much. Katie, Becca, Mike, SALLYKINS, Michelle, ED!, my Staples mommy Pam, even Neil...well....only a little bit for Neil. That will have dissipated five minutes or so after I see him again. Francis, Pat. The Trish's! Everyone that works there. I miss working there so much haha though on some days after working five days in a row during the summer I would have thought I was crazy for saying this but I really do, and I can't wait to work there again over break. The 18th! :)
And now that I think about it, there are many other people that I care about. Tonight, this world doesn't seem too bad.
I'm lost at sea, don't bother me. I've lost my way...
"'I wish we'd spent more time together,' she said.
'What do you mean? We just spent the whole summer together.'
'No, not the summer, our whole lives. I've been thinking about it, and I wish we'd spent more time together.'
'Ali, we live together, we work at the same place, we've spent our whole lives together.'
In the beginning, they did. They lived their lives together, with each other. But over the years, it had changed. They had allowed it to change. She thought about the sabbaticals apart, the division of labor over the kids, the travel, their singular dedication to work. They'd been living next to each other for a long time.
'I think we left each other alone for too long.'
'I don't feel left alone, Ali. I like our lives, I think it's been a good balance between an independence to pursue our own passions and a life together.'
She thought about his pursuit of his passion, his research, always more extreme than hers. Even when the experiments failed him, when the data wasn't consistent, when the hypotheses turned out to be wrong, his love for his passion never wavered. However flawed, even when it kept him up all night tearing his hair out, he loved it. The time, care, attention, and energy he gave to it had always inspired her to work harder at her own research. And she did.
'You're not left alone, Ali. I'm right here with you.'
He looked at his watch, then downed the rest of his coffee.
'I've got to run to class.'
He picked up his bag, tossed his cup in the trash, and went over to her. He bent down, held her head of curly black hair in his hands, and kissed her gently. She looked up at him and pressed her lips into a thin smile, holding back her tears just long enough for him to leave her office.
She wish she'd been his passion."
-Still Alice by Lisa Genova (pg. 189)
This is exactly how I do not want to feel at the end of my life. I, like Alice, want to be somebody's life-long passion, not just one among many; I also want to be passionate about them in return, above all else. This book was heart-wrenching in every regard. Alice is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's, and this book follows her life and she lives with her disease, and deteriorates from it. I did not expect this story to hit me as hard as it did, but I found myself utterly attached to Alice and crying right along with her and her family as she struggled to do basic things that she had done at ease for her entire life. Alice's story is tragic and I felt every emotion right along with her when reading this book. Genova has written a beautifully provoking book; its strength lies in its haunting truth. Genova writes a very human tale of suffering, and drags her readers into the story until they too feel the heartache that Alice feels.
'What do you mean? We just spent the whole summer together.'
'No, not the summer, our whole lives. I've been thinking about it, and I wish we'd spent more time together.'
'Ali, we live together, we work at the same place, we've spent our whole lives together.'
In the beginning, they did. They lived their lives together, with each other. But over the years, it had changed. They had allowed it to change. She thought about the sabbaticals apart, the division of labor over the kids, the travel, their singular dedication to work. They'd been living next to each other for a long time.
'I think we left each other alone for too long.'
'I don't feel left alone, Ali. I like our lives, I think it's been a good balance between an independence to pursue our own passions and a life together.'
She thought about his pursuit of his passion, his research, always more extreme than hers. Even when the experiments failed him, when the data wasn't consistent, when the hypotheses turned out to be wrong, his love for his passion never wavered. However flawed, even when it kept him up all night tearing his hair out, he loved it. The time, care, attention, and energy he gave to it had always inspired her to work harder at her own research. And she did.
'You're not left alone, Ali. I'm right here with you.'
He looked at his watch, then downed the rest of his coffee.
'I've got to run to class.'
He picked up his bag, tossed his cup in the trash, and went over to her. He bent down, held her head of curly black hair in his hands, and kissed her gently. She looked up at him and pressed her lips into a thin smile, holding back her tears just long enough for him to leave her office.
She wish she'd been his passion."
-Still Alice by Lisa Genova (pg. 189)
This is exactly how I do not want to feel at the end of my life. I, like Alice, want to be somebody's life-long passion, not just one among many; I also want to be passionate about them in return, above all else. This book was heart-wrenching in every regard. Alice is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's, and this book follows her life and she lives with her disease, and deteriorates from it. I did not expect this story to hit me as hard as it did, but I found myself utterly attached to Alice and crying right along with her and her family as she struggled to do basic things that she had done at ease for her entire life. Alice's story is tragic and I felt every emotion right along with her when reading this book. Genova has written a beautifully provoking book; its strength lies in its haunting truth. Genova writes a very human tale of suffering, and drags her readers into the story until they too feel the heartache that Alice feels.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Pickle
It sucks because I feel bad continuing my quest this weekend because I have so much work that I should be doing, and I feel guilty every time I go to netflix and my mouse hovers over the next documentary I want to watch on the Romans. Achhh decisions, decisions. I'll be good, and read Still Alice for my Socio class....achhh BREAKKK I NEED YOU. I can't wait to spend all day on my quest!
My fellow insomniac
...has now gotten a blog, and I am very grateful that Laura will be blogging with me along with being the only other person I know who is also awake into the wee hours of the morning right there along with me.
The reason I haven't been obsessively blogging for the past chunk of hours is because I was working on my research paper on diners, which I am DAMN proud of. I will post it here, for any of you who care at all. Probably noone, but maybe it can help some poor soul someday googling for some bullshit to fill their paper on diners with...maybe not. I'm proud of it, so here it is, whether you care or not!
History of Diners
The first diner appeared in Providence, Rhode Island in 1872, spawning a new era of dining that would revolutionize luncheons forever. Although the span of influence of these portable restaurants did not reach much farther than northeastern United States for many years after the first diner, there were a few sparsely placed across the American landscape. Although the first recorded diner was not opened in Worcester, “many people who have studied diners believe they evolved from the night lunch carts that were manufactured in Worcester between 1890 and 1908 by T. H. Buckley” (WHM, 2009). Providence may have stolen the diner glory from Worcester, but the city is still largely attested for their birth and growth. Today, Worcester is one of the few cities to still have diners in abundance—doing its part in keeping the diner alive. However, during the time of its creation, the “’floating’ restaurants were so popular that in Providence, for example, nearly fifty were roaming the streets by 1912” (Gutman, 1975), a case which was much the same in Worcester during the same time period.
Walter Scott was the owner of the first diner opened in Providence, and he endeavored to revolutionize the restaurant world. In Scott’s time, every restaurant in town closed at 8 P.M., and he wanted to change that. Scott “load[ed] a covered express wagon with food and park[ed] it outside the Providence Journal. And there he stayed, every night from dusk until two in the morning, for the next forty five years, selling sandwiches and boiled eggs to the compositors for a nickel, and sliced chicken to the ‘dude trade’ for thirty cents” (Josephy, 1977). Scott’s portable cart of food fed many factory workers throughout the night, and the idea spread like wildfire. An out flux of imitators soon spread throughout the East, who soon set up “elaborate wagons with kitchens and counters, whose stained-glass windows were etched with portraits of the Presidents.” And so began the long lifespan of the diner, with one man’s wagon full of food.
In 1897 diners became more grounded; they were no longer on wheels, and the abandoned old carts were sold for as little as 10 dollars. Diners were a “solution to the hot-dog-stand problem” (Rhoads, 1986); in the 1920’s, hot dog stands had become prevalent in cities and towns, but “communities whose reputations as desirable homes for the well-to-do rested largely on the tidy homogeneity of their buildings in the accepted historical styles came to fear the intrusion of the messy and smelly hot-dog stand and gasoline station.” Hot dog stands were spreading, and cities that did not want their reputations tarnished by these lowly forms of cutlery had to move fast to staunch their spread. Diners became the solution to the hot-dog-stand problem, although the diner today does not resemble the very first diners completely. Early diners aimed more towards resembling a modest suburban house that had three styles: Spanish, Norman, and the colonial which looked much like a Cape Cod cottage. Within the basic scheme of the roadside diner, there was much room for variety, which soon lead to the highway and car design of diners that is more prevalent today.
During this period, diners were “rough, seamy places, and they gave the fledgling industry a bad name—respectable people did not frequent diners” (Josephy, 1977). A man named Patrick Tierney wanted to change the route of the diner from downhill to upscale, and he succeeded. Tierney began manufacturing thirty foot long restaurants ten and a half feet wide, and “by 1917—when Scott retired, grumbling that new and overweening customers were demanding a slice of onion with their egg sandwiches—Pop Tierney was turning out a diner a day” (Josephy, 1977). A 30 foot long and 10 ½ feet wide standard Car from Tierney’s factory cost $7,500 in 1924. It seated fifteen, and each additional stool required a proportionate enlargement of the Car and cost $250 (Gutman, 1975). Tierney’s business of manufacturing diners changed the industry, and by the 1920’s diners had gone from lowly places to eat, to reputable establishments. However, the transformation of the diner was just beginning.
Diners have undergone many transformations since Scott’s first wagon-drawn invention that started the diner craze. Next came Tierney’s model of the diner, with barrel roofs and a wooden frame. By the late 1920’s, stainless steel replaced the wood, and even sooner after that railroads introduced streamlining, and the “diners followed suit. This sort of ingenuous imitation gave rise to the persistent legend that diners were reconditioned railroad cars” (Josephy, 1977). The diners’ final transformation took place after World War II, at first merely growing larger, but soon diners were made of concrete and surrounded by parking lots instead of being made of steel and being placed on street corners. This seems to have been the move that began the decline of diners, for diners lost their authenticity, which ended up being the main draw. Ever since the early 1900’s, the golden age of diners, they have been in rapid decline, and Worcester is one of the few cities with a wealth of them left.
By the late 1920’s, the Tierney’s had run their business into the ground, and the position of main distributor of diner cars the northeast was soon snatched up by the Jerry O’Mahoney Company of New Jersey. O’Mahoney offered a plan of financing his cars so that people could pay a small sum as a down payment, and pay the rest off gradually. This made for a good deal for both sides involved; O’Mahoney sold many more cars than he initially would have because of their exorbitant cost to a middle class entrepreneur looking to open a diner. If O’Mahoney had charged full price for his diners up front the numbers of diners he sold would have been significantly less. O’Mahoney’s customers were able to be assured of the quality of the product before even having to finish paying off the bill for it. O’Mahoney even claimed after 13 years of business that not one of his diners ever failed.
Both O’Mahoney and Tierney offered similar deals for financing, and they even had a hand in picking the location of the diner. They offered training classes to those interested in opening a diner, teaching them the tricks of the trade. Tierney and O’Mahoney both published short magazines on educating the diner owner’s and the public on the advantages of Dining Cars, with tips on running a diner and information about buying one. These manuals were sent out for free, and were their own form of advertisement. Being knowledgeable businessmen, they both knew the importance of their diners succeeding, to show others of their prosperity and bring in even more sales. Although these classes showing how to run a diner seem at first glance like an added courtesy, it is actual a strategic move on their part; if their diners failed, their business failed.
From the outset of dining cars, they aimed to cater to entire families. Their food was fashioned to “be just the sort that mother would cook and serve at home,” and they still aim for this goal today. Diners strove to be the place where families dined, and they embodied this in every way: from the nice suburban-looking exterior, to the quaint and cozy New England aura they gave off, and finally down to the good old American food that they served, diners were the place for families to eat, and they remained a main staple in a New England families diet for many decades. Diners attracted people of all types, not just families; motorists were also frequenters of the roadside eateries and with these two main contributors to the diners’ legacy, they have endured through the years.
Worcester was one of the first cities to grapple onto the new idea of diners, and they hopped on the bandwagon early in the 20th century. Charles Palmer of Worcester soon followed Scott’s lead and on September 2, 1891, Massachusetts received patents on two of his wagons, ‘The Night Owl Lunches.’ His carts were “large enough for a customer to enter” (Gutman, 1975). Thomas Buckley, who was known as the “Lunch Wagon King,” built the first noteworthy cart. “His factory in Worcester had 80 craftsmen turning out seven wagons a month. Buckley widened the wagon from 6 to 10 feet, allowing more comfort for both customer and operator. He built a substantial counter, comfortable stools, and installed a bright nickel coffee urn” (Gutman, 1975). Although Providence may have come up with the original design; Worcester was where the birth of the true diner was. Instead of a portable wagon, a portable restaurant; Buckley’s expansion on the original cart more resembles the true diner that is still in use today.
The Worcester Lunch Car Company operated from 1906 to 1961, and was one of only 10 other companies in the United States that built diners; its location in Worcester paved the way for the trend by producing hundreds of diner cars in the early 1900s, many of which still operate as restaurants today. The Worcester Lunch Car Company “built their counters so that the marble top sloped slightly back to the rear of the Car. If something were spilled, it would flow backwards, away from the patron, and the counterman could easily wipe it up” (Gutman, 75). Miss Worcester on Southbridge Street is one of the most famous of Worcester’s diners, serving its first hungry customer their first meal in 1948, and since then has retained the classic car type diner, with a long counter along the length of the car, with stools and booths. Miss Worcester is noted for the Crunchy French Toast, which is bread dipped in Honey Bunches of Oates cereal and deep fried. The Miss Worcester Diner “is scheduled to have its very own episode in a TLC series about exclusive dining destinations. The historic diner was picked from hundreds across the country, according to Ms. Kniskern” (Dayal, 2010). Kim A. Kniskern is a cook and owner of this ideal diner, and puts her love and care into every batch of home fries. Miss Worcester “is a quintessential American diner, where comfort food comes in big portions for small prices, where home fries and lively conversation are never in short supply.” The Miss Worcester car was Car Number 812 of the Worcester Lunch Car Company, “which used to sit on Southbridge Street and build hundreds of diner cars like the Miss Worcester.”
Miss Worcester has been featured on television seven times, with this appearance on TLC being the eighth. What owner Kniskern enjoys the most about owning such a historical diner is the diversity: “I love the diversity,” she said. “In one day, I can have Hell's Angels sitting at the counter with police officers and politicians … city workers, senior citizens, a lot of college students. I love socializing and cooking and feeding people. I love my job.” Kim Kniskern's daughter, Erikka Duval, also works at the diner and enjoys it immensely. With such a willing taker in her daughter to inherit the diner when Kniskern is unable to run it any longer, it is clear that Miss Worcester is a diner that will be around for many more decades. With such strong historical roots, even if Kniskern was to sell it, it would be sure to sell quickly, and for a good sum. Diner owners are not in the business to get rich, but for the atmosphere of the diner, and the hope in keeping a dying institute alive. Miss Worcester contends with the many who say that the diner industry is quickly reaching its end; Miss Worcester, Kim Kniskern and Erikka Duval are all willing to prove this belief wrong, and it seems as if they just might.
Shrewsbury Street is the hot spot for diners in Worcester, with three notable diners all within a stone’s throw of each other: The Parkway, the Boulevard and Mac’s. The Parkway has been remodeled on the outside, because it was beginning to look run down and uninviting, but it still retains the same interior as it did from the day of its opening. The Parkway originally only operated at night, serving dinner, however now it is open for breakfast and lunch. It is most well known for its lasagna, which probably began because Shrewsbury was a mainly Italian neighborhood when The Parkway first opened, and the Italian roots still shine through in the diners on this street. The Boulevard is opened 24 hours a day, and claims that the wee hours of the morning are its peak hours. “The diner has been run by the George family for two generations. Jimmy George took over ownership from his father Ringo. The Boulevard, built in 1936 and on the National Register of Historic Places, is perhaps the finest example of a Worcester Lunch Car Company Diner” (Giorgio, 2008). Mac’s Diner is a family owned diner that has ever-changing lunch specials that keep regulars and newbie’s alike coming. The Kenmore Diner is located under a highway overpass, and it is known best for its wonderful breakfast selection. Besides breakfast, Kenmore’s menu is packed with traditional diner food. The Corner Lunch is known for its Apple Danish French Toast; many diners have a signature dish, that keep people coming back again and again.
As the diner craze began to face in the 1950’s, companies began scrambling for ways to renew the look of the burnt out steel covered vessel that’s attraction to customers seemed to be declining at a rapid rate. Years earlier the railroad image had seemed to lose its charm, so diner distributors had to come up with a new way to sell their diners; if they did not do something to freshen up the image of the diner, their companies would go out of business. Manufacturing companies went to great lengths to achieve this goal, first by enlarging the windows to draw customers in, which ended up being futile. Companies then tried to revert back to the past by drawing families back into the diner, and instead of building the Cars out of steel they built them with wood, brick and stone. Designers of these Cars “turned toward historical revival styles: Tudor, Arabesque, French Provincial, Mediterranean, in addition to Early American” (Gutman, 1975) when looking for inspiration for new designs for diners.
Diners have come a long way from their modest beginnings at a price of $7,500; today diners are “colossal structures. They generally take three months to build, and their average price tag runs between $100,000 and $500,000” (Gutman). Many companies began to adopt the American belief that bigger is better in their manufacturing of diners, and that has followed through until today with these extravagant creations, at least in comparison with the first portable wagon that was the first recorded diner. However, for as long as the Worcester Lunch Car Company was making diners, they were as small as the first cars made in the late 19th century. Until as late as 1947 the diners produced in Worcester were still transported on the back of a truck, while other companies were requiring entire trains for transportation of their diners.
Gutman wrote another article on diners that focused more on their growth in Worcester instead of the growth of the industry in general. “The great Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, had the foresight in 1984 to acquire Lamy's, and a million visitors a year walk through this thirty-nine-seat classic” (Gutman, 1993). This diner that originated in Worcester is described in great detail, exactly how it would have been set up during its time:
Although diners may no longer represent this idyllic scene, they have adopted new strategies to survive in current times, and although the time of the diner is in decline, it is not over. The story of the diner has many parallels to the story of Worcester itself: both started off small, had a time of booming economy and commerce, and are now in slow decline. However, both Worcester and the diner have much room for improvement, and the ability to rise up to their once great height. With renovations, the diner can adapt itself to current times, and resurge itself, becoming the sought after hot meal it once was. Worcester also needs to make changes to be able to become the economic center it once was. Diners started out in Providence and Worcester mainly, and have spread across the United States, into Canada, and even to Europe. For an idea with such strong roots in Worcester to have been such a world-wide success, it is clear that Worcester is capable of great things, in the past, and in the future.
Works Cited
Dayal, Priyanka. "Miss Worcester." Telegram and Gazette, January 11, 2010,
http://telegram.com/article/20100111/NEWS/1110356/1116.
Giorgio, Paul. "Worcester Diners." July, 2008. http://tasteworcester.com/2008/07/23/0808-
worcester-diners (accessed November 28, 2010).
Gutman, Richard J.S.. "The DinerAmerican Heritage". 44. 2 (1993), 34+,
http://find.galegroup.com/gtx/infomark.do?action=interpret&contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T003&prodId=AONE&docId=A13534708&source=gale&version=1.0&userGroupName=mlin_c_clarkunv&finalAuth=true. (accessed December 2, 2010).
Gutman, Richard J. S. "Diner Design: Overlooked Sophistication.” Perspecta. 15. (1975), 41-53,
http://www.jstor.org/stable/1567013?seq=13. (accessed December 2, 2010).
Josephy,Alvin. American Heritage. 3 ed. XXVIII, A Last Look at an American Institution. Geoffrey
C. Ward. New York, New York: American Heritage Publishing Co, Inc., 1977.
Rhoads, William B. "Roadside Colonial: Early American Design for the Automobile Age, 1900-
1940”. Winterthur Portfolio". 21. (1986), 133-152,
http://www.jstor.org/stable/1181074?seq=13. (Accessed December 2, 2010).
Worcester Historical Museum. "Diners." 2009. http://www.worcesterhistory.org/wo-
diners.html (accessed November, 26, 2010).
The reason I haven't been obsessively blogging for the past chunk of hours is because I was working on my research paper on diners, which I am DAMN proud of. I will post it here, for any of you who care at all. Probably noone, but maybe it can help some poor soul someday googling for some bullshit to fill their paper on diners with...maybe not. I'm proud of it, so here it is, whether you care or not!
The first diner appeared in Providence, Rhode Island in 1872, spawning a new era of dining that would revolutionize luncheons forever. Although the span of influence of these portable restaurants did not reach much farther than northeastern United States for many years after the first diner, there were a few sparsely placed across the American landscape. Although the first recorded diner was not opened in Worcester, “many people who have studied diners believe they evolved from the night lunch carts that were manufactured in Worcester between 1890 and 1908 by T. H. Buckley” (WHM, 2009). Providence may have stolen the diner glory from Worcester, but the city is still largely attested for their birth and growth. Today, Worcester is one of the few cities to still have diners in abundance—doing its part in keeping the diner alive. However, during the time of its creation, the “’floating’ restaurants were so popular that in Providence, for example, nearly fifty were roaming the streets by 1912” (Gutman, 1975), a case which was much the same in Worcester during the same time period.
Walter Scott was the owner of the first diner opened in Providence, and he endeavored to revolutionize the restaurant world. In Scott’s time, every restaurant in town closed at 8 P.M., and he wanted to change that. Scott “load[ed] a covered express wagon with food and park[ed] it outside the Providence Journal. And there he stayed, every night from dusk until two in the morning, for the next forty five years, selling sandwiches and boiled eggs to the compositors for a nickel, and sliced chicken to the ‘dude trade’ for thirty cents” (Josephy, 1977). Scott’s portable cart of food fed many factory workers throughout the night, and the idea spread like wildfire. An out flux of imitators soon spread throughout the East, who soon set up “elaborate wagons with kitchens and counters, whose stained-glass windows were etched with portraits of the Presidents.” And so began the long lifespan of the diner, with one man’s wagon full of food.
In 1897 diners became more grounded; they were no longer on wheels, and the abandoned old carts were sold for as little as 10 dollars. Diners were a “solution to the hot-dog-stand problem” (Rhoads, 1986); in the 1920’s, hot dog stands had become prevalent in cities and towns, but “communities whose reputations as desirable homes for the well-to-do rested largely on the tidy homogeneity of their buildings in the accepted historical styles came to fear the intrusion of the messy and smelly hot-dog stand and gasoline station.” Hot dog stands were spreading, and cities that did not want their reputations tarnished by these lowly forms of cutlery had to move fast to staunch their spread. Diners became the solution to the hot-dog-stand problem, although the diner today does not resemble the very first diners completely. Early diners aimed more towards resembling a modest suburban house that had three styles: Spanish, Norman, and the colonial which looked much like a Cape Cod cottage. Within the basic scheme of the roadside diner, there was much room for variety, which soon lead to the highway and car design of diners that is more prevalent today.
During this period, diners were “rough, seamy places, and they gave the fledgling industry a bad name—respectable people did not frequent diners” (Josephy, 1977). A man named Patrick Tierney wanted to change the route of the diner from downhill to upscale, and he succeeded. Tierney began manufacturing thirty foot long restaurants ten and a half feet wide, and “by 1917—when Scott retired, grumbling that new and overweening customers were demanding a slice of onion with their egg sandwiches—Pop Tierney was turning out a diner a day” (Josephy, 1977). A 30 foot long and 10 ½ feet wide standard Car from Tierney’s factory cost $7,500 in 1924. It seated fifteen, and each additional stool required a proportionate enlargement of the Car and cost $250 (Gutman, 1975). Tierney’s business of manufacturing diners changed the industry, and by the 1920’s diners had gone from lowly places to eat, to reputable establishments. However, the transformation of the diner was just beginning.
Diners have undergone many transformations since Scott’s first wagon-drawn invention that started the diner craze. Next came Tierney’s model of the diner, with barrel roofs and a wooden frame. By the late 1920’s, stainless steel replaced the wood, and even sooner after that railroads introduced streamlining, and the “diners followed suit. This sort of ingenuous imitation gave rise to the persistent legend that diners were reconditioned railroad cars” (Josephy, 1977). The diners’ final transformation took place after World War II, at first merely growing larger, but soon diners were made of concrete and surrounded by parking lots instead of being made of steel and being placed on street corners. This seems to have been the move that began the decline of diners, for diners lost their authenticity, which ended up being the main draw. Ever since the early 1900’s, the golden age of diners, they have been in rapid decline, and Worcester is one of the few cities with a wealth of them left.
By the late 1920’s, the Tierney’s had run their business into the ground, and the position of main distributor of diner cars the northeast was soon snatched up by the Jerry O’Mahoney Company of New Jersey. O’Mahoney offered a plan of financing his cars so that people could pay a small sum as a down payment, and pay the rest off gradually. This made for a good deal for both sides involved; O’Mahoney sold many more cars than he initially would have because of their exorbitant cost to a middle class entrepreneur looking to open a diner. If O’Mahoney had charged full price for his diners up front the numbers of diners he sold would have been significantly less. O’Mahoney’s customers were able to be assured of the quality of the product before even having to finish paying off the bill for it. O’Mahoney even claimed after 13 years of business that not one of his diners ever failed.
Both O’Mahoney and Tierney offered similar deals for financing, and they even had a hand in picking the location of the diner. They offered training classes to those interested in opening a diner, teaching them the tricks of the trade. Tierney and O’Mahoney both published short magazines on educating the diner owner’s and the public on the advantages of Dining Cars, with tips on running a diner and information about buying one. These manuals were sent out for free, and were their own form of advertisement. Being knowledgeable businessmen, they both knew the importance of their diners succeeding, to show others of their prosperity and bring in even more sales. Although these classes showing how to run a diner seem at first glance like an added courtesy, it is actual a strategic move on their part; if their diners failed, their business failed.
From the outset of dining cars, they aimed to cater to entire families. Their food was fashioned to “be just the sort that mother would cook and serve at home,” and they still aim for this goal today. Diners strove to be the place where families dined, and they embodied this in every way: from the nice suburban-looking exterior, to the quaint and cozy New England aura they gave off, and finally down to the good old American food that they served, diners were the place for families to eat, and they remained a main staple in a New England families diet for many decades. Diners attracted people of all types, not just families; motorists were also frequenters of the roadside eateries and with these two main contributors to the diners’ legacy, they have endured through the years.
Worcester was one of the first cities to grapple onto the new idea of diners, and they hopped on the bandwagon early in the 20th century. Charles Palmer of Worcester soon followed Scott’s lead and on September 2, 1891, Massachusetts received patents on two of his wagons, ‘The Night Owl Lunches.’ His carts were “large enough for a customer to enter” (Gutman, 1975). Thomas Buckley, who was known as the “Lunch Wagon King,” built the first noteworthy cart. “His factory in Worcester had 80 craftsmen turning out seven wagons a month. Buckley widened the wagon from 6 to 10 feet, allowing more comfort for both customer and operator. He built a substantial counter, comfortable stools, and installed a bright nickel coffee urn” (Gutman, 1975). Although Providence may have come up with the original design; Worcester was where the birth of the true diner was. Instead of a portable wagon, a portable restaurant; Buckley’s expansion on the original cart more resembles the true diner that is still in use today.
The Worcester Lunch Car Company operated from 1906 to 1961, and was one of only 10 other companies in the United States that built diners; its location in Worcester paved the way for the trend by producing hundreds of diner cars in the early 1900s, many of which still operate as restaurants today. The Worcester Lunch Car Company “built their counters so that the marble top sloped slightly back to the rear of the Car. If something were spilled, it would flow backwards, away from the patron, and the counterman could easily wipe it up” (Gutman, 75). Miss Worcester on Southbridge Street is one of the most famous of Worcester’s diners, serving its first hungry customer their first meal in 1948, and since then has retained the classic car type diner, with a long counter along the length of the car, with stools and booths. Miss Worcester is noted for the Crunchy French Toast, which is bread dipped in Honey Bunches of Oates cereal and deep fried. The Miss Worcester Diner “is scheduled to have its very own episode in a TLC series about exclusive dining destinations. The historic diner was picked from hundreds across the country, according to Ms. Kniskern” (Dayal, 2010). Kim A. Kniskern is a cook and owner of this ideal diner, and puts her love and care into every batch of home fries. Miss Worcester “is a quintessential American diner, where comfort food comes in big portions for small prices, where home fries and lively conversation are never in short supply.” The Miss Worcester car was Car Number 812 of the Worcester Lunch Car Company, “which used to sit on Southbridge Street and build hundreds of diner cars like the Miss Worcester.”
Miss Worcester has been featured on television seven times, with this appearance on TLC being the eighth. What owner Kniskern enjoys the most about owning such a historical diner is the diversity: “I love the diversity,” she said. “In one day, I can have Hell's Angels sitting at the counter with police officers and politicians … city workers, senior citizens, a lot of college students. I love socializing and cooking and feeding people. I love my job.” Kim Kniskern's daughter, Erikka Duval, also works at the diner and enjoys it immensely. With such a willing taker in her daughter to inherit the diner when Kniskern is unable to run it any longer, it is clear that Miss Worcester is a diner that will be around for many more decades. With such strong historical roots, even if Kniskern was to sell it, it would be sure to sell quickly, and for a good sum. Diner owners are not in the business to get rich, but for the atmosphere of the diner, and the hope in keeping a dying institute alive. Miss Worcester contends with the many who say that the diner industry is quickly reaching its end; Miss Worcester, Kim Kniskern and Erikka Duval are all willing to prove this belief wrong, and it seems as if they just might.
Shrewsbury Street is the hot spot for diners in Worcester, with three notable diners all within a stone’s throw of each other: The Parkway, the Boulevard and Mac’s. The Parkway has been remodeled on the outside, because it was beginning to look run down and uninviting, but it still retains the same interior as it did from the day of its opening. The Parkway originally only operated at night, serving dinner, however now it is open for breakfast and lunch. It is most well known for its lasagna, which probably began because Shrewsbury was a mainly Italian neighborhood when The Parkway first opened, and the Italian roots still shine through in the diners on this street. The Boulevard is opened 24 hours a day, and claims that the wee hours of the morning are its peak hours. “The diner has been run by the George family for two generations. Jimmy George took over ownership from his father Ringo. The Boulevard, built in 1936 and on the National Register of Historic Places, is perhaps the finest example of a Worcester Lunch Car Company Diner” (Giorgio, 2008). Mac’s Diner is a family owned diner that has ever-changing lunch specials that keep regulars and newbie’s alike coming. The Kenmore Diner is located under a highway overpass, and it is known best for its wonderful breakfast selection. Besides breakfast, Kenmore’s menu is packed with traditional diner food. The Corner Lunch is known for its Apple Danish French Toast; many diners have a signature dish, that keep people coming back again and again.
As the diner craze began to face in the 1950’s, companies began scrambling for ways to renew the look of the burnt out steel covered vessel that’s attraction to customers seemed to be declining at a rapid rate. Years earlier the railroad image had seemed to lose its charm, so diner distributors had to come up with a new way to sell their diners; if they did not do something to freshen up the image of the diner, their companies would go out of business. Manufacturing companies went to great lengths to achieve this goal, first by enlarging the windows to draw customers in, which ended up being futile. Companies then tried to revert back to the past by drawing families back into the diner, and instead of building the Cars out of steel they built them with wood, brick and stone. Designers of these Cars “turned toward historical revival styles: Tudor, Arabesque, French Provincial, Mediterranean, in addition to Early American” (Gutman, 1975) when looking for inspiration for new designs for diners.
Diners have come a long way from their modest beginnings at a price of $7,500; today diners are “colossal structures. They generally take three months to build, and their average price tag runs between $100,000 and $500,000” (Gutman). Many companies began to adopt the American belief that bigger is better in their manufacturing of diners, and that has followed through until today with these extravagant creations, at least in comparison with the first portable wagon that was the first recorded diner. However, for as long as the Worcester Lunch Car Company was making diners, they were as small as the first cars made in the late 19th century. Until as late as 1947 the diners produced in Worcester were still transported on the back of a truck, while other companies were requiring entire trains for transportation of their diners.
Gutman wrote another article on diners that focused more on their growth in Worcester instead of the growth of the industry in general. “The great Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, had the foresight in 1984 to acquire Lamy's, and a million visitors a year walk through this thirty-nine-seat classic” (Gutman, 1993). This diner that originated in Worcester is described in great detail, exactly how it would have been set up during its time:
We are looking down the polished marble counter toward the roost of the short-order cook in Lamy's, a 1946 Worcester Lunch Car. The tools of his trade are all here: the No. 2 Welsbach broiler-griddle; the custom-made, gas-fired, three-burner short-order plate; the stainless steel No. 10 Pitco Frialator with twin baskets; the chrome-topped Hamilton Beach milk-shake mixer; the six-quart Wyott cream dispenser; and the three-gallon coffee urn with glass liner. Set into the sunburst stainless steel backbar panels, dual exhaust fans stand ready to suck out grease and smoke at the flick of a switch. With its mahogany trim, Formica ceiling, milk-glass transom windows, ceramic-tile walls and floor, and chrome stools, Lamy's represents the zenith of diner design during the diner's golden age.
Although diners may no longer represent this idyllic scene, they have adopted new strategies to survive in current times, and although the time of the diner is in decline, it is not over. The story of the diner has many parallels to the story of Worcester itself: both started off small, had a time of booming economy and commerce, and are now in slow decline. However, both Worcester and the diner have much room for improvement, and the ability to rise up to their once great height. With renovations, the diner can adapt itself to current times, and resurge itself, becoming the sought after hot meal it once was. Worcester also needs to make changes to be able to become the economic center it once was. Diners started out in Providence and Worcester mainly, and have spread across the United States, into Canada, and even to Europe. For an idea with such strong roots in Worcester to have been such a world-wide success, it is clear that Worcester is capable of great things, in the past, and in the future.
Dayal, Priyanka. "Miss Worcester." Telegram and Gazette, January 11, 2010,
http://telegram.com/article/20100111/NEWS/1110356/1116.
Giorgio, Paul. "Worcester Diners." July, 2008. http://tasteworcester.com/2008/07/23/0808-
worcester-diners (accessed November 28, 2010).
Gutman, Richard J.S.. "The DinerAmerican Heritage". 44. 2 (1993), 34+,
http://find.galegroup.com/gtx/infomark.do?action=interpret&contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T003&prodId=AONE&docId=A13534708&source=gale&version=1.0&userGroupName=mlin_c_clarkunv&finalAuth=true. (accessed December 2, 2010).
Gutman, Richard J. S. "Diner Design: Overlooked Sophistication.” Perspecta. 15. (1975), 41-53,
http://www.jstor.org/stable/1567013?seq=13. (accessed December 2, 2010).
Josephy,Alvin. American Heritage. 3 ed. XXVIII, A Last Look at an American Institution. Geoffrey
C. Ward. New York, New York: American Heritage Publishing Co, Inc., 1977.
Rhoads, William B. "Roadside Colonial: Early American Design for the Automobile Age, 1900-
1940”. Winterthur Portfolio". 21. (1986), 133-152,
http://www.jstor.org/stable/1181074?seq=13. (Accessed December 2, 2010).
Worcester Historical Museum. "Diners." 2009. http://www.worcesterhistory.org/wo-
diners.html (accessed November, 26, 2010).
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Cue Crying
Wow. I just got a 'new comment' on youtube on a video that I posted a comment on a year or so ago and it reminded me of the absolute beauty of this song. Thank you random person for your intelligible comment that hardly made sense, just for reminding me of this gem..
I wish Sufjan still made music like this...
Don't stop, don't break. You can delight because you have a place.
I wish Sufjan still made music like this...
Don't stop, don't break. You can delight because you have a place.
You know, I used to be ignorant.
I used to dislike most bands with female singers...I guess I just haven't been listening to the right ones.
Two recent discoveries:
Deer Stop by Goldfrapp is fucking beautiful. An eargasm in every regard. It's haunting, piercing, and wonderful.
Probably by Flunk is another good one.
But Deer Stop has been on repeat all night. It is perfection.
Two recent discoveries:
Deer Stop by Goldfrapp is fucking beautiful. An eargasm in every regard. It's haunting, piercing, and wonderful.
Probably by Flunk is another good one.
But Deer Stop has been on repeat all night. It is perfection.
Sweetest Thing
I remember when the Sweetest Thing by U2 came out..more than 10 years ago when I was just a little girl, my dad used to always sing the chorus to me "ooohohhhhhhh the sweetest thing!" Listening to it now I am getting really nostalgic.... Whenever I hear it I wish I could go back to then, for just a day.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Becoming Human
I just finished a really thorough documentary on the very first humans and archaeologists' discoveries that have given us such insights into these early humans. I have to hand it to Nova, they made a really really great documentary that kept me interested throughout its multiple episodes. Interestingly enough, archaeologists attest the entire separation from Neanderthals and homo sapiens to the major climate changes during that time. The drastic change in temperature forced early humans to learn to adapt to this harsher temperature, forcing them to evolve. It seems interesting to me that the every human's accomplishments, from our extreme leaps in technology, to our knowledge, stemmed from a simple change in temperature that pushed us from more ape-like creatures, to the developed humans we are today.
I know I am still a little out of order, but jumping around keeps things fresh. Now back to The Fall of Empires, where I have read the chapters on Pharaonic Egypt, The Minoans, The Hittites, and am now reading about the brutal and rustic Assyrians.
I am looking forward to break not only because of the endless hours where I will be able to work on my quest, but because I will be home so I will not only have to watch the watch instantly movies on netflix, but I will be able to start watching the documentaries that you cannot watch instantly. I have about 15 different documentaries to watch over break, and I really hope I can finish them. There area bout 10 different ones about ancient Rome, and I can't wait to start on them. After Egypt I will move onto Greece. I just received The Rise and Fall of Athens by Plutarch and will probably read that after The Rise and Fall of Empires. I also received The Spartans by Paul Cartledge, Roma by Steven Saylor, The First Man in Rome by Colleen McCullough, and Who Wrote the Bible by Friedman in the last few days, and those are next on my list of books. I am quickly approaching the end of BC and soon will be in AD...and I can't wait! My quest is moving along nicely. Now if I could only be this interested in writing the many essays I have due in the next two weeks...
I know I am still a little out of order, but jumping around keeps things fresh. Now back to The Fall of Empires, where I have read the chapters on Pharaonic Egypt, The Minoans, The Hittites, and am now reading about the brutal and rustic Assyrians.
I am looking forward to break not only because of the endless hours where I will be able to work on my quest, but because I will be home so I will not only have to watch the watch instantly movies on netflix, but I will be able to start watching the documentaries that you cannot watch instantly. I have about 15 different documentaries to watch over break, and I really hope I can finish them. There area bout 10 different ones about ancient Rome, and I can't wait to start on them. After Egypt I will move onto Greece. I just received The Rise and Fall of Athens by Plutarch and will probably read that after The Rise and Fall of Empires. I also received The Spartans by Paul Cartledge, Roma by Steven Saylor, The First Man in Rome by Colleen McCullough, and Who Wrote the Bible by Friedman in the last few days, and those are next on my list of books. I am quickly approaching the end of BC and soon will be in AD...and I can't wait! My quest is moving along nicely. Now if I could only be this interested in writing the many essays I have due in the next two weeks...
The only problem
with six episode long documentaries on watch instantly on netflix is my need to watch them all in one sitting.
Episode four here I come...
Episode four here I come...
Wednesday's are great.
I have one class, all day. Which today I made a conscious decision to skip because a. I was going to be 2-5 minutes late if I went, and I hate being late. b. Because I hate rushing across campus and getting myself all stressed out. c. Because I look like poopie today. d. Becauseeee I just didn't feel like it.
So now that I've justified my decision, I am going to go smoke. But after I smoke I can't blog all day. I really need to start writing some of those essays. Until then, blog.
So now that I've justified my decision, I am going to go smoke. But after I smoke I can't blog all day. I really need to start writing some of those essays. Until then, blog.
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