viva la double stack

by Robert L. Penick

It was 8:30 p.m. at the Bardstown Road Wendy’s and the revolution had begun. Every drive-thru order got a complimentary large order of fries. There was no such thing as a small drink. Slake thy thirst, O citizens of Louisville! Let the stoners in the Ford Fiesta be blessed with a set of stickers, normally included only in the kids meal. May the homeless couple who pass through every evening enjoy an extra half-hour in the men’s room. This was the Boston Tea Party. This was the L.A. riots. Only very subdued, so no one lost their job before finding a new one. 

Ronell vacuumed the dining area carpet. Pushing the machine ahead of him the way you’d push a snow shovel through four inches of the white stuff. One hand held a soda that he nursed like a sippy cup. He would vacuum until closing, sucking out every bit of gristle, granule of salt, bed bug, and french fry particle in the joint. It was his mission, and he was undertaking it on behalf of the patrons, those poor fools with no desire to read nutritional information, visit a salad bar, or worry about the ecosystem quivering beneath their feet. Also, he was high, and found the whir of the vacuum to be comforting.      

This is the ass-end of the American dream, the part no one films for posterity. Gone with the Wind from Mammy’s point of view, or a depiction of the basement from the vantage point of the sub-basement. One learns to appreciate small acts of defiance. Hope may flicker like a faulty incandescent light, but indignation burns hot and true, like neon. Your order is up. Please drive around. 

Photo of Robert L. Penick

BIO: The poetry and prose of Robert L. Penick have appeared in well over 200 different literary journals, including The Hudson Review, North American Review, Plainsongs, and Oxford Magazine. The Art of Mercy: New and Selected Poems is now available from Hohm Press, and more of his work can be found at theartofmercy.net.