On Sunday, Rachelle and I drove back to Toronto from Ottawa. On the way we stopped at one of those service centers just before Gananoque. Whenever I see one of these places, which usually include a gas station and four fast food joints, I always think of a mother ship. They look a little bit like a flying saucer, and I’m always intrigued by all the disparate people, from all over the place, gobbling food and fuel, who pass through the place on any given day.
Serious-minded young children stepped out of minivans, and walking three steps in front of their parents, headed directly to Wendy’s. The father, pulling up his khakis, would hurry along behind them, a large Tim Horton’s coffee on his mind, while his wife took the dog for a brief walk on the thin strip of green near the highway. The Lab squated to do his business, the woman looking politely away in order to give the animal it’s privacy.
Inside, a line of four 14 year-old girls worked the cash registers. They glistened beneath the heat, their cheeks full and rosy, their fingers plump from all the clandestinely devoured fries. Older teens, some aware of their beauty, others without a clue, slouched in the line-up, yawning, before ordering the boneless Asian chicken wings.
Outside in the sun, a van full of tricked out gangsters stood around their vehicle. Wearing ball hats at a slant and oversized Raptor’s jerseys, they struck menacing poses and blasted music that made little kids stare in wide-eyed amazement and parents hurry along, avoiding eye contact.
A small man with a bushy mustache walked quickly across the parking lot with his wife and two sons. The man was angry, and he was barking at one of his boys, “ YOU KNOW WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN TO YOU? I’LL TELL YOU! WHEN YOU GET TO HIGH SCHOOL YOU’RE GOING TO POP OFF LIKE THAT AND SOME KID IS JUST GOING TO DRIVE YOU! THAT’S WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN! YOU’LL SEE!!”
The boy was barely listening, his eyes fixed on a car around which three or four people had gathered. Attached to the grill of the car was a bird that had obviously been unwittingly hit while the vehicle was driving down the highway. The owners of the car, completely unaware, had gotten out and went into the service station, while the bird, half digested by the car, twitched and flapped about. The boy stood frozen in the parking lot, staring, while his father yelled back at him, imparting valuable lessons about the nature of the world.