Waffles and this amazing thing some call "life"

Today on my way to work...waiting for the N/R/Q or, perhaps, W...i had a thought.

one, simple thought:

waffles.

and it wasn't a general thought. it wasn't the all-encompassing waffle thought. it was very specific.

not eggos...

not dad's homemade sunday waffles...

it was those little small, square waffles that were one of the rotating menu items that you could get when you bought lunch at my grammar school in North Haven, Connecticut.

there would be two waffles and a little plastic thing of maple syrup...and, i believe, two little chain-link sausages. all for the incredibly affordable price of $2. (i think that's what it was, anyway)

there were also the days of French Bread pizza and the classic, cardboard quality grilled cheese. but it was all so good! what i wouldn't give for one of those little waffle plates right at this moment!

and i'm pretty sure it was some kind of smell near the garbage bags piled up in the corner of the subway platform that triggered this memory. i couldn't figure out what the smell was...and it wasn't the normal putrid summer stench of subway garbage...it was the smell of grammar school waffles.

then, i thought of my second-favorite waffle memory:

the first time i discovered Waffle House...on a college spring-break road trip to Florida! Waffle House was bigger than Starbucks in New York City. Who knew!? I had never even seen a Waffle House...and suddenly they are popping up like crazy...two on each corner. Seven on every block. it's quite a phenomenon.

when i went to North Carolina this past spring with Pants (aka Josh)...same thing. waffle houses everywhere. only sporadically broken apart by the occassional Cracker Barrel.

why aren't there waffle houses in the Northeast? maybe i should call my friend at Dairy Queen and find out!?

i guess, here in the New York...we're more into our Eggo whole-grain low-fat waffles.

...in their nice little yellow box.

and why is everything associated with waffles yellow? the eggo box...the waffle house scrabble sign?

what we have learned from this entry:

yellow = waffle

**

in other news, yesterday was one of those days that made me think...oh, this is why life is amazing.

and i won't use this time to get all personal and blog-gushy. but sometimes, life seems awful and you cry a lot. and some days, life is so exciting...like jesus.

yesterday was one of those.

in fact, there have not been a lot of those awful days lately. i haven't cried in a long time. (i think it's because i've been eating my Nutri-grain waffles)

anyway, back in 1952 i saw the original cast of Rent. It was amazing. I was in college at the time and I loved it. Yes, I did. I was never a "Rent-head" per se, but I loved it. And yesterday, as some of the original cast...now in their mid-to-late 70s...sang in Bryant Park (for the upcoming movie release) I felt like a little college half-jew all over again.

later that night, jay brannan opened his Ars Nova gig with a sarcastic a cappella "Seasons of Love." FYI - Jay hates musicals. Jay singing Rent = funny. And it was. Dave can love Rent and Dave can laugh at Rent. I am incredibly versatile.

the point is...and i don't really know this Jay guy...met him once...went to his gig...he was amazing. check him out. www.jaybrannan.com

i mean, seriously.

he makes bitterness beautiful. he captures being young and gay like a gregg araki movie captures child molestation. his music is incredible. he was incredible. if i describe it any further, we will end up with a mess of cliche that would undermine everything about him...so, forget it.

yellow = waffle. life is like jesus. the end.