I HOLD A JOB at a local diner to supplement my rather meager writer’s income. The atmosphere is relaxed, and the people I meet are often a source of inspiration. Down the street, a tall man from Cuba runs an outdoor hot dog stand, open every day but Sunday, even in the bitter Wisconsin cold. He drops by now and then to get a cup of coffee to go, or to use the bathroom. When he came in today we started chatting, and I asked how long he’d been in the city. “Oh, about seven years,” he answered. Then I asked if he’d always lived here since his arrival from Cuba, to which he replied:
“I’ve been everywhere man…New York, California. It’s a big world, you don’t gotta stay in one place like a lot of people do. Sometimes you’ll do better someplace else. America’s a 50-state country, people forget that.”
Spoken like a true traveler.
