For the Dairy Queen Team
Why I write
Now and then I wonder why I am writing.
One reason—I just can’t not write. I like words. I like putting them together and making them fit. It’s very satisfying. You are probably familiar with Legos and how they click and snap into place. Working with words is like that for me. Snap, click, snug and tight and right.
Another reason I write—attention. It is nice to see numbers ticking up, even if it’s only from a few views to 28 and then a long, long plateau before another jump.
The main reason I write? I want to connect. I want to reach people. I want people to matter. I want to tell their stories. Telling their stories, I tell mine.
Amber, Dairy Queen G.M.: I love how you always comin’ in here with a book to read! I used to read so much when I was kid, so much! And do some writing, and I really wish I could get back to it, but you know it’s hard, with my kids and all, and work and everything. Large cone?
The woman who lives between two grocery carts on the strip of grass between Dairy Queen’s parking lot and the adjoining pawn shop flies through the door one afternoon, swinging around a bag, trailing invective, her face empurpled, her voice rough. She knocks over a couple of chairs and crashes into a table by the bathroom. Amber hears the ruckus and comes over from the other side of the store where she was mopping. Hey! she says to the woman, you gotta leave! Tiny woman, Amber, tiny with a top-knot that shades from blonde to fuchsia and butterfly tattoos on her forearms. It’s a moment, and I am sitting in a booth and wondering how this is going to go down and if I am going to be some collateral caught in the crossfire here between Amber and the woman. Instead the woman stills and quiets and then tears out the side door. Amber trails her with her hazel eyes, steady with her hand on her hip, and then gets back to her mopping. Shew, I’m tellin’ you, she says.
Laneisha, D.Q. team member: What are you reading? she asks. Oh, it’s a book based on another book called Huckleberry Finn, I say. I never heard of that, she says. Is it good? Yes, I say, it’s good. The usual? she asks. Yes, please, thank you.
A tall, lanky man who camps out by the gas station across the street skips in and goes to the counter. Some days he goes right to the soda dispenser to help himself but coming in he’s seen Amber at the counter. What you gotta say? Amber reminds him. He is at least two feet taller than Amber, bouncing on his feet. Please, he says. Bounce, bounce. She gives him a cup from a stack by the register. Now what you gotta say? Thank you, he says. Alright, Amber says, you welcome. He skips over to the soda dispense, rattles some ice into his cup, and fills it up with root beer.
Joey, a new employee, is wiping down some nearby tables. He and another staff member are expecting a child in a few months. Boy or girl? I ask. Don’t know, he says, smiling, I’m hoping for a girl though, be a girl dad. I have twins, I say, one each, twenty-one now. Oh, wow, twins! Joey says. He stops wiping down the nearby table and looks across the street at the gas station. It’s a little nerve-wracking, to tell you the truth, he says. He scuffs a foot across the floor and tugs on one of the strings of his hoodie. You’ll be okay, I say. Thanks, he says, and goes back to the counter.
One afternoon I see Donovan behind the counter, a really skinny boy with a big smile and a wild head of hair. I haven’t seen him for a while. Morning shift, he explains when I ask him where he’s been. He’s taking classes in the evening, working toward a degree in psychology. Well, I don’t eat ice cream in the morning, yet, I say, but maybe I should start!
I post a piece about Amber's store. It is my favorite Dairy Queen. Amber sends me an email. This really made me cry a little bit, she wrote, it makes me feel so good that you really enjoy our store and our crew it means so much to me because I have came so far.
Did you see the story about your store? I ask Laneisha a few days later. Yes! she says, I never had got anything wrote about me before, thank you! Large cone?
Yes, please, and thank you.
For more about Dairy Queen, please see The Dairy Queen Dream Team.
You may also support my work at Buy Me a Coffee.
You are welcome, and thank you for sharing your thoughts. I met Amber's cousin this afternoon. She might make an appearance at some point too!
Thank you! Staff have new t-shirts that say Curl Crew. I want one!