I’m in Durham at their new mall, Streets at Southpoint. I’d driven out there to pick up a few games–Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas had come out that morning for the PC, and my store had sold out. The Southpoint store, though, had extras to spare. So, with new Coldplay in the car stereo, I drove out to Durham.
I’m at the mall. I’ve picked up the games. Head back to Cary? Or maybe pick up some lunch? The idea of lunch has a certain charm….
Lunch it is. There’s a food court, a generally nice one. But what to eat? Nothing’s really jumping out at me. And then I see it.
Five Guys Burgers and Fries.
It’s a burger chain, out of DC, I think. There’s one in Raleigh, at North Hills. I like it. Maybe not quite as much as I like Fuddrucker’s, but that has an appeal for me stretching back into college, so you can understand the pull of sentimentality.
Still, it’s a burger, and a good burger at that, and thus is my lunch choice made.
I’m waiting for the burger, and then I notice. They have a bulletin board, pegged with notes from satisfied customers about how good their burgers are. Most of them look to have been written by children. I could imagine a field trip, elementary school kids buying their lunches, leaving notes.
Then I notice a note, scribbled in crayon.
“I Love Five Guys,” written in orange. Signed, “Bill Clinton.”
Since his surgery, I doubt Clinton’s been to a Five Guys franchise. I wonder if there are any, up in Chappaqua.
Still, it’s neat. Bill Clinton. Five Guys Burgers and Fries.
I eat my cheeseberger. I’m happy.