That's All, Folks!

It happens in the best of families, and in the worst, and in the kinda-messed up but basically pretty good except the dad drinks and the mom's a shrill harpie kind of family.

Tastes change, people change their needs and wants, and what good is it to go on living a lie and pretending that our needs are being met and we are satisfied? Better to make a clean break of things and walk away with pride intact.

Therefore, with some regret and a nod to the past but an even firmer nod to the future, I must let you know that Peggy and I are no longer fans of the Woodstown Diner in Woodstown NJ, and have switched our BLT for lunch allegiance to the Elmer Diner in Elmer, NJ. It's right near where there used to be a Chrysler dealer called Downer Motors, which had to be a really uplifting place to buy a car.

See, Woodstown is on Rte 40, just about 1/2 way on our trip when we go to and from Cape May, NJ. The Woodstown Diner became our favorite place to stop, take a little walk, get a BLT - and until you've had a BLT with fresh Jersey 'maters in the summertime, you ain't had it all yet! - and go to Tinkletown. But over the past, oh I don't know, several years, the service at Woodstown has become desultory, and the food just not that great.

So, the other week, on the way home, we pulled into the Elmer Diner's parking lot, and I have to tell you, it felt a little odd. On the way back, you go through Elmer before Woodstown, so we ankled on in and had a wonderful meal, served nicely in the traditional diner fashion. The waitress even stopped by a couple of times, solicitously asking if everything was ok: a stark contrast to Woodstown, where you were pretty much on your own once the plates were slid down in front of you.

I don't think that losing our occasional BLT bidness is gonna hurt the old place, just as gaining it will not induce the operators of the new fave to knock out a wall and build a new Vista Room onto the back to handle the overflow crowds. I just thought I'd share how weird it felt to change, but I'm glad we did. I'm a diner kind of guy from a Chez Swank kind of family, and Peggy and I are proud to choose Elmer.

But don't you think that would be the perfect town for a Fuddrucker's franchise?