“Isn’t it hard sometimes?
Isn’t it lonely?
How I still hang around here
When there’s nothing to hold me.”
~Patty Griffin, Florida
Joanie Carlson works as a waitress at the City Cafe in Ulysses, Kansas; has for the last six years. It’s not a glamorous job by any stretch of the imagination–the work is hard, the tips are meager, and the wages are barely enough to make ends meet.
“I always told myself I’d move on after I got back on my feet,” she confided as she searched for my ticket. “I know I should probably be looking for something better, but it’s really not all that bad.”
As she hands me my bill, I can see that moving on in a small town is a hard thing to do–especially when you’re a solo act.
“After a while you get to know people–good people, decent people. I guess I hate to admit it, but the truth of the matter is it’s easier serving up day-old meatloaf in this rundown restaurant than it is going home to an empty apartment…at least I’m not alone watching re-runs.”
It doesn’t matter where you go, every small town has a City Cafe. And, as long as loneliness remains the emotion that is feared above all others, there will always be a Joanie to fill out an employment application.
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