“Outside the rain has started to fall. Perhaps I can find a restaurant that will let me sit by a window and stare at the lightning. That would be moving. I see no difference between romance and solitude. It turns out I only need to drive 45 seconds to find the establishment I desire: There is a Cracker Barrel across the road. Cracker Barrel is sublime: You can order chicken and dumplings with a side order of dumplings. That’s advanced. I buy a newspaper and tell the hostess I want to sit by the window, buy only families get to do that — you need at least five people to get window seats. Instead, my booth overlooks the Cracker Barrel outlet store, a cluttered shop where travelers buy $22 sweatshirts promoting the flag of North Carolina. It reminds of the Chilean flag. I see no difference between commerce and patriotism.”
~ Chuck Klosterman, Killing Yourself to Live: 85% of a True Story (New York: Scribner, 2005), pp. 67-68.
