If Only Walls Really Could Talk
No matter where you are in the world, you can find restaurants and other destinations that are known by most people the world over. The Hard Rock Cafes, the Great Wall of China, the Panama Canal, and the Golden Gate Bridge are just a few examples of famous destinations. There are also those destinations that are well known among locals, or well known by a smaller group because of their longevity. One such destination can be found on a two-lane state highway in southern Missouri.
Some distance between the small towns of Preston, Nemo, and Urbana, Missouri lies a small drive-in cafe called Mr. Ed’s. You can walk up to the window and order homemade fries, burgers, shakes, and so forth, or you can sit inside the very small seating area which seats maybe 10-15 people. Other than a small building right next to the drive-in, there is pasture on all four sides of the building. And when stepping out of the restroom which is located on the outside back of the building, you can literally see the Missouri hills for a few miles. The area where the employees make the delicious food is not much larger than the seating area, and I can’t imagine that the entire inside of the building is much more than about 1200 square feet. Amber and I had been in before, but this time I paid more attention to this small restaurant.
Although I don’t consider myself to be an especially sentimental or nostalgic person, something about this quaint little restaurant in the middle of nowhere led me to ask the gentleman behind the counter a few questions. I learned that it has been in that same location for almost 50 years and that, even though the time frames are similar, he did not believe the restaurant was named after the TV show which aired from 1961 through 1966. Surprisingly, he did not have or know of any written history on the restaurant, including the exact year it was built. He did know that the original couple who owned it had passed away and that it was now owned by another local couple who had purchased it a few years prior.
Eating establishments come and go, especially chain restaurants, and those in towns and cities are often bulldozed quickly when needed to make room for a new strip mall, hotel, etc. So any establishment which has made it half a century has truly seen some remarkable events. No doubt there have been many first dates at Mr. Ed’s; probably a marriage proposal during the last five decades, a breaking up, fistfights, a health scare or emergency, a baseball team’s victory, a meal before prom, a business lunch, and so on. All of these important life occasions, and the walls must observe without being able to record or say a single word. I can say with confidence that somewhere in America is an older couple (probably many), married several decades now, who can fondly recall several days of “courting” and sharing ice cream sundaes at Mr. Ed’s on a Friday or Saturday night many, many years ago.
When my wife and I took Colton in recently, none of that occurred to him. Like any three year old, he was just excited that they had french fries, hot dogs, and ice cream. Someday I will likely explain to him how many three year olds have been excited to sit in those booths and chomp on a hot dog. And just maybe at that time, the same thoughts will cross his mind. He may very well walk into a beautiful little restaurant in the middle of nowhere like Mr. Ed’s and wonder, “If these walls really could talk, I wonder what they would say?”