Sick people and chicken

Do you remember this commercial from long ago?



I'm not sure why my Jewish mom never made me chicken soup when I was sick. I did eat chicken soup once at my elementary school got the hives and puked it up. Nice.
At least we had an actual nurse's office. And I got out of class. We got toast and honey. And root beer barrel candies for our sore throats.

In the town I grew up in we had Walker's Pancake House. I only recently found out it was a chain. We had KFC and IHOP. We grew up just moments away from the Pancake House and when mom didn't want to cook. This is where we went. The exterior hasn't ever changed which makes me so happy.



When my mom showed her work at art fairs, we usually had KFC for dinner. KFC was on the way home when we took the highway. I remember the day they accidentally put in a piece of Original Recipe chicken. Never again did I want the Extra Crispy. And the coleslaw. God, I love their coleslaw My mom wonders why I became an artist myself.

I decided to move to Minneapolis to go to MCAD, the Minneapolis College of Art and Design to study photography and graphic design. The first time I got really sick living in my apartment, I had this sudden urge for chicken. Sick people need chicken. Not soup, no. Blech. I was in art school. Sick people need KFC. It made me so happy. It was the best justification of being sick and being in art school.

Getting KFC when I don't feel well is kinda my trademark. I can remember feeling sick but yet my boyfriend was going to be coming over. I told him I was getting KFC for dinner (yes Original Recipe - thank you) he mentioned it to a friend and they thought I was the coolest girlfriend ever.

I do feel like chicken tonight. Cough cough.

Dessert Travel

When friend Amy would tell you about a trip you could be drooling by the end of it. From boredom, no from hunger. She was a voracious eater of sweets. When she'd drive to her parent's home in Nicollet, MN - she'd pass a million Dairy Queens. And she stopped at ALL of them. I remember when I made the trip with her and realized that they were maybe a half hour apart and I was aghast. She seriously would keep stopping to get frozen cokes or shakes or whatever. She was lucky that she had a high metabolism. She was mildly narcoleptic and she thought the sugar would keep her awake. The picture above is her and Todd Rogers taken by me in Lake Nebagamon, WI.

In the Twin Cities, she claimed a Porky's (see last post) milk shake could cure any ills. I've dragged many a friend to Porky's to test the "cure anything" claim. A friend with chest pains (who had been recently released from the ER) was taken there for the cure. His recent visit to his cardiologist revealed he's doing the best he's ever been.

Amy was married at the Little Log House Pioneer Village in Hastings. Here's a little note about the place:

The Bauer’s began their journey in collecting and restoring buildings and artifacts that would have been destroyed, burned down or demolished had they not preserved them as a part of the village.

Just the other day I found out (thanks Pioneer Pamphlet) that Porky's will be moved an will be living at the Little Log House. I was so happy that it would get to run around and play in the pasture with the other old buildings.

I don't know if Amy, in the great beyond, had a hand at arranging this but it feels like she did. Plus there's plenty of Dairy Queen stores on the way if you get hungry on your travels.

Sleep well my sweet pig

Porky's Drive In, St Paul MN, a photo by Debora Drower on Flickr.

This Sunday, Porky's will be gone. Closed. Destroyed. No more Cruiser Combos or magical shakes that can cure anything. Gone. It will be absorbed into the property next door. Plus, there's going to be hideous construction for the next million years on University and I don't blame the owners for wanting to get out now.

Everyday, I've waved at my Winky McPig (my name). I've made sure his neon eyes were winking in the dark. There will be no first warm summer day that I eat a Porky's meal outside with Pat. All my friends are daring me to buy the sign. There's an auction on Monday. I'll bring my checkbook.