Liberty's Library

Originally written May 12, 2007


Everyone has one...probably more than one.

This morning I went there for breakfast since my wife is out of town on a Zoo Sleepover with the rest of the third grade in her school. I plopped down at the counter, all of the waitress said "good morning" with a few calling me by name, and I ordered my food.

While I was waiting I thought back to college and all of the fun my friends and I had at the Waffle House near campus. It was the only place open after curfew so we would sneak out and eat a late fifth meal. It was also the best place to sip coffee and study during finals week. That only happened during my senior year though because that's the only time I had a car.

College wasn't the only time I captured memories from WH and stored them for later retrieval. I think it was 2004 and my brother had just come home from his 14-month tour of duty in Iraq. I came into town for his homecoming and so had most of the family. We had patriotic bunting hung up all over the house and cake and all kinds of party stuff waiting for him when he got home. After the party, the pictures, and the gifts he brought back for us, he asked me and my oldest sister to go out for coffee. We arrived at Waffle House and he sat us down. He then gave us a special gift, one that was only for the two of us and no one else. He said,

"I know that my friends and family have a lot of questions about my time in Iraq. Only you two can ask me anything you want and I'll answer to the best of my ability. There are no boundaries, but only for you two."

That was one interesting night.

But I'd say the most memorable time at Waffle House was when I went with my last college roommate ,Manuel, and one of his friends from Panama. Manuel and I were great friends even though we had just met that last year of school. He and his Wife even came up from Costa Rica to be in mine and Amy's wedding this past October.


Anyway, back to the story. I forget Manuel's friend's name so we'll call him Edgar. While Edgar was driving, he was bragging to us that his money was no good at WH. The workers always let him eat for free and yadda yadda. Oh well, at least he always had a food option if he was low on funds so good for him.

While waiting for our food, I began doing what alot of people do at restaurants, stacking the coffee creamers. I started with a one-level base of around eight creamers then I started one single tower that kept creeping higher and higher. I had about ten creamers stacked one on top of another which was getting a bit of restaurant-wide attention. I felt bold so I stopped with the creamers and went for the salt and pepper shakers. Now, these shakers weren't the squared, plastic ones that you find at McDonald's, these were glass and metal with rounded tops and not that suitable for stacking.

The salt was the first to go up. After a few ginger repositions, it was stacked and balanced right in place. Edgar was beside himself with disbelief and truthfully so was I. I was never a stacker so this was all new territory for me. It was kind of exciting but I also feared how long of a clean up I'd be in for if this thing came down prematurely.

During this time, Edgar had been flirting with the waitresses and really hamming up the fact that he was going to eat for free and he knew it. So I decided to make things a little more interesting. I bet Edgar that if I could stack the pepper shaker on top of the salt shaker that he would have to buy MY food as well. If it didn't stack, I'd get his for him (even though he didn't need it).

All of the sudden, this cocky Panamaniac who thought himself King of the Hash browns was backing down off of his throne just a touch. He called one of his waitresses over and he explained the situation. Using some sweet talk and flashing his award-winning smile a few times, the waitress reluctantly agreed to cover his bet if he lost. I could tell that she wanted me to lose [It also occurred to me that some of the waitresses weren't exactly enamored with Edgar as he had earlier stated].

So, with the particulars in check, I went for the pepper shaker. I was extremely nervous because I was still a novice stacker and here I am going for rounded object on rounded object. To my amazement, the pepper shaker went up pretty easily with only a few minor adjustments. I pulled my hand away and the tower stood firm. The corner booth across the room clapped and for the first time all night Edgar's smile was very forced and nervous.

I'd find out two weeks later that that night was the last night Edgar ever got to eat free at WH. :)

So, what's your Waffle House story?