For
those of you with taste, you might not know that's comedian
Larry the Cable Guy's catch phrase.
Translated to English, it means "get her done,"
and people have adopted this phrase to replace any semblance
of original thought. If you use this phrase, you might
as well be saying, "I tried having my own opinion,
but I give up. I'm sorry, I just don't have a thought
process." But that can't fit on a mesh hat.
There
is nothing International about the House of Pancakes.
Calling it that is like Major League Baseball claiming
to host the World Series. Sure, Canada shows up every
now and then, but the event is really based in America.
I
wonder if IHOP's clientele is proud of their diversity
when they eat there.
"Come
on kids, we're expanding our horizons. Let's go eat at
that International place. I hear some of their maple syrup
is from the far off land of Vermont."
I
eat a lot of fast food, so I have time to contemplate
things like this at length. During a recent trip to Denny's,
I began wondering who Denny was, and if he'd had his cholesterol
checked out lately. When the healthiest thing on the menu
comes with eggs, sausage, and pancakes, regulars ought
to get a check up once in a while.
"I
don't understand why I'm so unhealthy, Doc. I mean, I
eat three square meals per meal!"
McDonald's
has a cool feature where when you order, you see the average
wait on the register. I think it would be more interesting
to see the average weight instead.
"The
average wait is 90 seconds. The average weight is 315
pounds."
"Great.
Can I have a double-quarterpounder with cheese? Make that
a large meal."
"316
pounds."
I
love fried chicken, and my favorite chain is Kentucky
Fried Chicken. Which is the only thing I know that's made
better by the use of the word "Kentucky" in
front of it. I've never sought out a Kentucky Public Library.
For those Kentuckians offended by that joke, take a look
at the motto on your state signs. "Welcome to Kentucky
- Where Education Pays." Is that because if you have
your GED, you make more than anyone without it? Maybe
I'm still bitter because Kentucky is where I totaled my
car. Though I still allege that accident was caused by
a cop parked on the interstate, I also admit I was driving
erratically from laughing so hard at the "Education
Pays" sign.
I
haven't eaten at a Jack In The Box yet, but that's because
I'm afraid of anywhere that sells Burgers, tacos, and
egg rolls on a value menu. Maybe it would be better to
have jack in that particular box.
It's
gotten hard to find local restaurants, outside of big
cities. Country cafes aren't nearly as common as they
used to be. America's landscape is now littered with Chick-Fil-As
and Waffle Houses. Most of the country looks like a poor
man's Las Vegas, where the Bellagio and Venetian are replaced
by True Value and Dick's Sporting Goods. And those lit
signs need to be fixed. More often than not, you'll end
up eating at the FLE HOSE.
I
don't think A&W should serve more than Root Beer,
I hardly go to Hardee's, and Papa John sounds like the
creepy guy who gives you pennies on Halloween, But since
it's increasingly difficult to find a privately owned
business and it's not worth an extra $4 per meal to see
crazy stuff nailed to the wall during dinner, I end up
eating fast food more than I'd like to. I can't really
resist. The tastes are familiar, so when I see a sign
I begin craving what I know. And while I love the convenience,
it's a tough world to be healthy in. Most religions have
a version of the messiah who went on a hunger strike.
That'd be almost impossible now. Instead of fasting for
40-days, it'd be fast food for 40 days. And by the end
of it, you'd have Jesus Christ Super Size. I wonder if
he could still walk on water if he polished off a few
orders of Moons Over My Hammy.
Though
Jesus came from the Middle East, so maybe he would be
more at home at the International House of Pancakes. Or
the Internal Hose of Pances.
"Git
R Done!"
Steve
Hofstetter is the author of the Student Body Shots books,
which are available at SteveHofstetter.com.
He can be e-mailed at steve@stevehofstetter.com. |