Brandi's World Famous Hotdogs - more

Yesterday I met my cousin Johnny for lunch at Brandi’s World Famous Hotdogs. Now Johnny lives out of town, so Brandi’s is a special treat when he comes back to his home town.

When we met at the front door and went inside the eight or so tables were full. All the stools at the counter were occupied. Maybe as many as eight to ten people were standing waiting to grab the next available table.

There is no lobby or waiting area. You have to stand in between the tables. Man, those hotdogs looks delicious as the waitress delivered trays full of the dogs to the various tables…. And just as they walked by you got a whiff of the meat and chili and a steamy bun…. Umm ummm!

Finally we grabbed a table. We each ordered a hamburger and a chili dog. I got coleslaw on my dog. The chili is spicy and has tiny little onions bits blended in to complements the spices… my sinuses always loose up and I have to dab my nose with a handkerchief … or otherwise, I would look pretty disgusting.

I noticed Brandi had two new ladies working for her. One seemed to be manning the cash register and the takeout orders and the other was the waitress for the tables…. Neither one of them look like they belonged there.

The customers were the same genre as always, the working class – I notice many were wearing service shirts with company logos and there names sewed in above the breast pocket and probably a good percent of them are natives.

Brandi wasn’t there.

Johnny and I both had our Brandi stories and our Ravan stories. Before it was a world famous hotdog dashery it was a barbecue joint owned by Judge Ravan.

We both got into trouble at high school by getting caught for skipping class, leaving campus, and going to Ravan's BBQ for lunch.

Johnny had one up one me on the stories. His grandmother Frasure lived around the corner on Campbell Hill and he used to take his grandmother and Mrs. Ravan trout fishing up in Gilmer County.

When we got ready to leave we were waiting our turn at the cash register to pay up and get out and Johnny mentioned it hasn’t changed since the last time he ate there two or three years ago.

Then I happened to remember the last time I was there picking up some chili dogs to go I heard a hammering and whamming noise in the back left corner near the rest rooms. They called Brandi up to take my money. She had a hammer in her hand – she was doing some type of remodeling herself.

I looked in the same corner yesterday and saw that a shelf had been added with a television blaring. I told Johnny, “Except that!” and pointed to the TV. He agreed.

Then I wondered why a small television in that corner. The only people that could hear it was the last one or two people sitting on stools at the end of the counter and even that, they would be facing the other way.

I wonder if Brandi watches her soap-story after the lunch crowd clears out?

Oh well, I’m sure there is a reasonable reason.

I asked the new lady where Brandi was. She said she took her baby to the doctor. Johnny asked did she had another baby. The lady said not recently, that one was two years old.

Outside in the small parking lot we saw Rupert. Everybody knows Rupert and Rupert knows everybody. We spoke to him and his friend spoke to us also and introduced himself. He was an charming man. His last name was Hood.

When they walked away Johnny told me the Hood guy was head of the Marietta High School Basketball team.

I farted chili fragranced the rest of the day.