Double-Wide Saturday Night

A night of culture and refinement..Pic courtesy of Wikipedia

February 28, 2016

Today it’s been kind of overcast and chilly – but still 20 degrees warmer than normal for Texas winter. I’ll have to adjust to the 62 degree cold spell. I’m in my new favorite hang-out, Central Market Café. I just had “linner” (lunch-dinner) which consisted of Thai coleslaw, Chinese tofu and artichoke hummus. The café is bright and airy, mid-century modern. The walls are painted intense orange-red and the tables all have a centerpiece rose floating in a vase of water. The crowd is riveting mix of trendy people – it’s better than sitting at the international terminal at DFW.

Topic Du Jour

But enough about that.. One might think from what I just described that I’m a high maintenance person with exotic tastes. This café is about as exotic as it gets. In fact, I’m fairly casual and low-key in my overall approach to life. I was pondering the other day what would be a perfect Saturday night for me now. That night has happened many times already if the truth be told. My perfect night doesn’t involve any big outlay of money; it involves nothing approaching a fine romance.

Perfect Setting

I like a comfortable family/living room. That means comfort over style – it means lazy boy recliners and heavily pillowed couches (with snuggies and blankets as needed). There might be a space heater, there might be a fireplace with a crackling fire. The overall ambience is “unpretentious, double-wide”. The floor is carpeted for lazing on the floor and the artwork is in the genre of Budweiser Ads or “Dogs Playing Poker”. There might be maple paneling as wall covering.

Entertainment

We’re not talking Opera here to be certain. My vaguely trashy living room has a 70 inch 4K HD television as a main fixture. What we saved on décor has been poured into a kick-ass TV for the many hours of luxuriant TV watching. Sports and NASCAR might be allowed for friends and relatives while I’m out of the room. When I come back, it needs to be something challenging like a Larry the Cable Guy / Adam Sandler type movie. The idea is for it to be silly enough that you don’t lose the plot by visiting the fridge or the bathroom. The quality of show may ratchet up to a TBS movie or Downton Abbey if the audience is small.

Refreshments and Furry Companions

Food and drink is very important. It should be something like the giant tin of flavored popcorn – available at SAM’s. There could also be leftover Popeye’s fried chicken, nachos, and 3-layer brownies. For the drinkers in the crowd, beer and boxes of wine should be on hand. Coke, tea and coffee for the non-drinkers such as me. Did I mention a double-wide ambience? 

To fill out the fantasy, there should be two cats and a dog or two dogs and a cat. The dogs should be receptive to sock tug-of-war or fetch games during the commercials. The cats can just be themselves, no special actions required. And yes – there will be animal hair as well as chew toys strewn about.

People and Miscellaneous

This room would probably be appalling to a clean freak or any finicky person. Stay off of my cloud if this is you.. In my re-imagining, I’m there with parents, brothers, in-laws and cousins. There is no romantic angle although there certainly could be. Nobody is wearing a tuxedo and nobody is trying to impress anybody else. Leave right now if this is you! But by all means grab a chicken leg and a beer if you’re amenable to this evening of comfort food and great companions. A perfect evening if ever there was.

© 2016 Snillor Productions