Hamburger Helper and Chad

One of my favorite places to dance was the Eagle in Columbus. When traveling across the country with Andy, we had to visit a lot of Eagle bars so he could write about them in his book. Most of them were dark, dingy and uninviting. Much less, not fun. Not the Columbus Eagle. The bar didn't cater to just one group of guys- it was always a diverse group of people and it had a great DJ and dancefloor. They had their nights where it was very crowded and other nights where they would play some remixed 80's music. Jeff and I used to hang out there when there wasn't much else going on in the rest of the city. I remember they played the remix version of Stevie Nicks' Stand Back and Jeff used to request that they play it for me.

Most times when I danced at the Eagle, I didn't drink much. I used to just love the music and I'd be on the dancefloor by myself most of the time. Sometimes my friends would find me and dance for a little while, but they always needed to take a break or get another drink. Not me. I'd just dance the night away and pay no attention to anyone around me. It was a great escape. The one thing about the Eagle is that I felt comfortable there. I didn't worry about how I looked, or feel insecure because people were checking me out. I could dance and not be noticed without a care for the rest of the world.

One night, I was with a few friends. I remembered that I had walked there, which is quite a trek from my ShoNo apartment. I didn't think I would walk home, I could probably catch a ride. When the bar closed, I was one of the last ones off the dancefloor and when the lights came on, I worked my way to outside the bar. After the bar closed, there were so many people just hanging out on the sidewalk out front. We used to call it the Sidewalk Sale. But I was just waiting for my friends to come out and give me a ride home.

While standing there, out of everyone's way, I caught the eye of a guy and he just walked over to me, didn't say anything and just kissed me. He was very good looking and had a nice smile. He said, "Wanna come with me and my friends to have a couple of more drinks?" Sure. Well, little did I know they all lived 45 minutes away in Newark, Ohio. Oh well. I was off the next day.

He introduced himself as Chad and we ended up back in his little one bedroom apartment in Newark. We had a couple of more beers and we started talking about Stevie Nicks. He didn't really know much about her, and she is of course, my favorite. We started listening to her music and he became an even bigger fan than I am. One time, several years later, I referred to a song and he corrected me that the title was different. I thought to myself, "Wow, he has come a long way with the whole Stevie thing, he hardly knew her when he met me."

The next day, Chad asked me to stay for dinner. He said he wanted to cook for me. Hey, I'm all up for free food and happy to oblige. I didn't know what was for dinner and he told me it was nothing special. He just said he normally eats alone and wouldn't mind the company before driving me back to Columbus. Chad lived simply and didn't have much. He liked it that way. He just went to work and came home, ate dinner and watched a little TV, maybe some music and off to bed. He was proud of his apartment and he kept it extremely clean.

Chad served me Hamburger Helper. I don't remember what flavor it was. I remember it being delicious and reminded me of my childhood. Mom used to make Hamburger Helper and she would have a side of vegetables to go with it. Peas and Carrots, maybe. He asked if I liked it and I remember really liking it more than I should have. I realized that it's okay to like foods like this one- out of a box and over-processed. Sometimes it can be the most comforting food and draw on a particular memory like this one.

Chad invited me for many more dinners- he cooked a pot roast for me, which was the most delicious pot roast I've ever had. This is the one I remember most though. Chad and I kept in touch and became friends for a couple of years. We lost touch at one point and then out of the blue he called me when I was living in Santa Fe. I thought we would be friends again, but never heard from him again. It's been about 10 years now. I bet he is still living in the same place in Newark.