Going home to Chattanooga is always strange for me. Invariably, I end up travelling streets that I’ve been on gazillions of times, but so long ago that I don’t remember the landmarks well, or they’ve changed so much that I don’t recognize them. Of course, Siobhan and Darla don’t have the points of reference, so I feel like I sound like Grandpa Simpson describing the olden days.
No matter. Today was our down day, and that meant Ankar’s Hoagies.
When I was running around with the Chattanooga Science Fiction Association (CSFA) in the 70s, we would almost always invade the original (and, at that time, the only) Ankar’s on Brainerd Road. Aside from the terrific food, and the ability to manage 20+ folks hitting them at once, they also had an Asteroids sit-down coin-op. I cut my teeth on that machine, and it started me video gaming, something that I continued heavily for another ten years or more. Those were fun times, and really come back to the surface when I get my standard meal at Ankar’s: steak in a sack, onion rings, and and a limeaid.
So, I see my ghosts — locations and events — and just smile quietly, and see Darla and Sio with me, enjoying Grandpa Simpson chowing down on his history.