A little piece of history...gone

So I get home this afternoon from work and I just on facebook, only to find out that a fire has destroyed the Dairy Queen in my hometown (Greensburg, KY). I was sad, but had not really fully absorbed the idea of what was lost. A few hours later, I return home again, head to facebook and begin to read the comments from so many of my high school friends about what the it meant to them. Now, it's my turn to reminisce...

When you grow up in a small town (population 2,500), the having a fast food restaurant is a big deal. By the time I left for college, Greensburg sported a Lee's Famous Recipe Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut and Druthers (somehow associated with Burger Queen). I can remember when construction of Druthers was taking place. As high schoolers, we hung out there after ball games...there really isn't much to do in a town with no theatre, no bowling alley, etc. It was either sit at Druthers or sit at Mercers parking lot. Somewhere along the way, Druthers gave way to Dairy Queen or DQ as my folks call it. It's been several years since I have been to the Greensburg DQ. It's another one of those things that you take for granted will always be there on your visits home. I am sure they will rebuild (or something will), but it just won't be the same.

I have 2 vivid memories of Druthers. They are nothing special, but for some reason, they are embedded in my mind. The first, I was driving my grandmothers chocolate brown full size station wagon...a tank. I hated that car, but it was available for my use and I took advantage. I pulled into the parking lot after a basketball game and parked in back row to hide my shame in driving such an ugly car. Unfortunately, I left my headlights on and someone came in and announced it. I had to shamefully retreat to the parking lot. Silly I know, but at 16, I was embarrassed to be seen in that vehicle! My second memory...I was having a "pool party" at Legion Park to celebrate my 15th birthday. The Legion baseball team had a game the same night and most of the players crashed the party. I ended leaving with some folks and going to Druthers. In my haste to be "cool" and leave the party, I left shoeless. No shoes, no shirt, no service still haunts me. I was wearing a pair of sweat pants, so I pulled them over my feet. I walked around on that greasy fast food floor with white sweat pants that needless to say were no longer white. I couldn't explain to my mom what had happened because I would have been in trouble for leaving my own party. All of this for a cute baseball player that I soon found out had a girlfriend. I eventually ended up dating that ball player for a couple of years, but it was awhile after that night that we finally went on a date. I recall that he didn't even remember being there with me. I guess I didn't make the impression I had hoped for! HA HA HA

And so it goes...another landmark and a piece of my past is gone...time makes you bolder, children get older, and I'm getting older, too.