Waffle House

One thing I discovered on my cross-country drive in '02 was the highly addictive Waffle House chain of restaurants across the South. They have simple, greasy food: eggs, hash browns, waffles, burgers, fries, and sweet tea. The first time I had sweet tea I didn't know I didn't need to add sugar. Talk about a sugar rush!

Here in Gulfport, Mississippi, I live near two Waffle Houses. Wandered over to one this morning to have a scrambled egg and cheese sandwich with some hash browns "scattered" (i.e., with onions). Yum! Sitting at the counter, I was joined by a guy from Nashville who proceeded to talk my ear off about these $35,000 pre-fab homes he was selling down here, and what did I think of the design and pricing?

Halfway through my breakfast, a black baby at a nearby table started crying, and her family was fussing over her. The man from Nashville said to me, "I just don't know sometimes. Why do you need to get a license to drive a car, and any old fool can have a baby?"