NORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRM . . .
July 17, 2011
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Where They're Always Glad To See You
Where everybody knows your name,
and they're always glad you came.
You wanna be where you can see,
our troubles are all the same
You wanna be where everybody knows
Your name.
City Dairy, Cash & Carry, Milk & Ice Cream of Superior Flavor.
I think that was one of the very first advertising jingles I ever learned as a young boy growing up in Bay City, Michigan from the 1940s to high school graduation in 1961.
The Dairy . . . That's all it was called.
As a 7-year-old child, I'm sure all I cared about was the ice cream.
Later, during high school, City Dairy became (for me) a social gathering place . . . in the classic Happy Days Malt Shop sense . . . where the girls gathered to giggle about the boys and the boys gathered for a chance to talk to the girls -- in between giggles.
Gathering places like the City Dairy have always been a big part of my social routine. I've always hung out at places where "everybody knew my name" and they were "always glad I came."
I can't help but remember back to my high school years, and how much St. James football/basketball coach Vince Zappone truly hated "The Dairy" which was less than a two minute, two blocks walk from the St. James School cafeteria.
All too often, "me and the boys" would wander over to the dairy to eat Twinkies or Hostess chocolate cupcakes (instead of cafeteria lunch) and swig down cherry coke for a chance to (as Coach Zappone would say) "make lovey-dovey" with the cheerleaders.
"You'd be a lot better at this game if you didn't spend your lunch time over at the dairy with the dollies," Zappone would scream my way during after-school basketball practice whenever I would miss a shot or throw an errant pass. But I kept hanging out at the dairy . . . with the boys . . . and with the "dollies" because it just felt right and there was always a seat waiting.
In college at South Bend, I discovered a little Italian restaurant called Giuseppe's at summer school during the summer of 1962.
Giuseppe's was just a few blocks away from campus and had a "back table" that was positioned near the kitchen door . . . round, covered with the classic red/white checkered tablecloth, with seating for about six or eight.
Everybody "just knew" that the "back table" was only for the "in crowd."
I've never forgotten the day when Mary (the owner) invited myself and roommates Joe and Larry to sit with the "in crowd" at Giuseppe's.
Life Changing . . . to be sure.
We all became such good friends over the next few years . . . Owners Mary & Joe, Little Joe (their son) along with "townies" like MaryAnn Kotzenmacher and Jeannie Bowlby and Hal and Stash and . . . such sweet memories.
The list of gathering places continues to and goes on and on through the years.
Al's Bar in Bellevue (Omaha) Nebraska, The 19th Hole in Denver, Colorado -- Black & White in Vail, Colorado -- and then to Bay City where (1970s) Fortress North, The Lion's Den, Green Hut, and now Gatzby's, Old City Hall and The Stables have become frequent hang-out spots.
Remember the classic way that everyone at Cheers always welcomed Norm . . . by calling out his name?
Acceptance.
The joy to be recognized and embraced as one of the good guys . . . to be judged and found worthy . . . to be welcomed into the "in crowd."
To come home after a hard day at life . . . your dog comes close and sits on top of your feet and your wife sits alongside and snuggles against your arm.
Home . . . Where everyone knows your name . . .
Where they're always glad you came . . .
I hope you (readers) have that to come home to . . . I Do!
How Sweet It Is . . .
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O. J. Cunningham |
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