Cracker Barrel Visit
When I say “Cracker Barrel,” I’m confident others will think of many things – news stories, culture wars, overworked points and miles hobby jokes/punchlines, the list goes on. I’m not getting into all of that here for many reasons, including that plenty others have already. Rather, I’m talking about my most recent visit to said establishment. I subsequently, clumsily attempt to tie it into our mutual hobby.
Our Recent Cracker Barrel Visit
How It Came To This
Our two little ones had separate extracurricular commitments on a recent Friday night. So out of necessity, my wife and I employed the divide-and-conquer strategy, including the dinner portion. My younger one was at an event with my wife, and I was responsible for picking up the older one at the end of a school sports team tryout. I picked my older one up at around 7 pm. I could’ve taken the easy way out, stopping by a fast-casual joint for a quick bite or takeout. But no, I thought, I’m not going to be that guy – tonight, at least. We were truly going out to eat.
Unsurprisingly, my adorable creature wanted to wash up and change at home before going to dinner. As time dwindled, I considered our fairly-limited options nearby. The obvious ones were a no-go, considering it was Friday night. As I’ve settled into my firmly-middle age, I’ve found waiting for a restaurant increasingly appalling. (That said, certain family and friends would say I recoil at anything involving a wait.) I didn’t consider options farther afield, since I assessed an extended drive followed by a wait a higher level of torture.
My older one was ready to go. We did something we haven’t done recently, beyond our periodic pleasure drives – we got in the car and took off without a plan. We headed south, and something clicked in my head. “Hell, yeah, we’ll go to Cracker Barrel,” I thought. Now pushing 8 pm, I assumed (safely, I thought) it would be dead there. The food is predictable, with options for my kid that aren’t absolutely terrible. Service is relatively fast for a sit-down place. I asked my older one about Cracker Barrel. “Yeah, let’s go there,” my kid exclaimed. Hell, yeah, indeed.
Our Dinner
We probably end up at Cracker Barrel a couple times annually. The key there is “end up” – Cracker Barrel hasn’t been the primary endeavor in most any case. After considering other preferences, we choose Cracker Barrel, it’s fine, and we move on.
Something about this recent experience made it more special. It hit all those simple positives above, accentuated even more by our time and place conundrum. Plus, it’s nice one-on-one time with my older one, with just a hint of feeling fancy at the kid’s age.
The bubbly, teenaged host immediately sat us in the almost-empty dining room. We received a veritable Trapper Keeper of menus. The main one, limited time options, dessert, take home, all of it. But it was more of a pleasure to take these all in rather than the old Cracker Barrel menus – fuzzy, dark print on a burlap-sack-brown paper. My older one discovered a small menu, and I almost happy-cried. “Look, two can eat for $19.99!” It was my kid’s idea, and I just went along with it.
The deal came with a selection of two entrees and a choice of appetizer or dessert to share. I went with meatloaf, green beans, and mashed potatoes, and my kid chose the hamburger steak with the same sides. The waitress asked about the shared dish, and my older one chose the Coca-Cola chocolate cake before I even thought about it. But I rolled with it, cuz man, I know how to party.
All of the food was tasty and unremarkable. Waitstaff service was prompt and warm – our water glasses were never less than half-full. A high school kid clunked around with his broom and container thingy, sweeping away. We tried to time our conversation between his random bumps on the floor. The cake arrived, the waitress mentioning we got the last piece. She claimed it’s made fresh daily, and it tasted that way. Nonetheless, I was disappointed it didn’t come with a toothbrush.
My older one and I talked a good while more after finishing the meal. Unlike certain other experiences in more chaotic establishments, I wasn’t looking to escape. Quite the opposite, in fact – I wanted to make it last even longer. We eventually got to checkout, and I started pulling out my phone for the app’s QR code to earn points – probably the first time I thought about our silly hobby in the last hour or so. The cashier said, “just give me your phone number, there’s no need to mess around with your phone.” Fine with me! The points showed up, but I wouldn’t have cared if they hadn’t.
Elsewhere
This latest Cracker Barrel visit reminded me once again to enjoy things for what and who they are now. This applies to our shared hobby and life aspects beyond. In our all-too-familiar quest to optimize, we periodically accept suboptimal experiences along the way. We pull off convoluted, multi-tiered plays which often distract from the more-pure life experience. In that way, I should strive to give up on certain, overall-petty optimization to obtain a more organic, genuine existence.
I’m certainly not saying our quality of hobby endeavors and day-to-day lives are mutually exclusive. Indeed, I think they are overwhelmingly compatible when properly aligned with one’s goals. But we must understand this isn’t always the case. We should periodically set aside our hobby to have more fulfilling lives. This may sound obvious, but it doesn’t appear to be quite that when I look at certain behaviors.
Conclusion
Cracker Barrel isn’t perfect. But in that moment a few weeks ago, it was perfect for the two of us. It was a heartening moment and the periodic reminder I need. Life is an ongoing series of moments, and it’s on me to value them along the way. Importantly, those moments are routinely at home or around town, during what others may consider the mundane. Adding travel to the life mix can augment certain moments, but it’s certainly not required to attain a given level of fulfillment.
But worlds can collide. Maybe I’ll be at Cracker Barrel with my family during a road trip soon enough. I’ll be the guy confounded by the menu – by the end, forgetting where I began. Stop by and say hello.
