an unexpected friendship
I grew up in a small town in Kansas known for its Mennonite heritage. My great grandparents were German Mennonite immigrants that lived in Russian’s Ukraine. Then in the 1800’s, fleeing the Russian draft, my pacifist ancestors found their way to Kansas bringing with them turkey red hard winter wheat to plant on the plains.
Almost all of the five year olds in my kindergarten class were from Mennonite families. Twelve years later most of us graduated from high school together. Many of us then decided to attend Tabor College, the Mennonite College also in my hometown.
My hometown is known for its Mennonite heritage and wheat farms that surround it.
Kansas story #1
After a long night of studying in the college library, I needed a break, so I decided to walk four blocks to the the Wagon Wheel Cafe. The Wagon Wheel, which was located right next to the four-lane highway that bordered my small hometown, was already closed for the day.
There were no sidewalks and it was dark, so I had to walk carefully in that narrow space between the highway and the ditch. When I got to the cafe’s dark parking lot, I walked past overflowing and smelly garbage bins to the back of the cafe where I could see the bright kitchen lights.
Without knocking, I opened the back screen door, walked through the quiet empty kitchen, pushed open a swinging door, and stepped into the carpeted dining room. Sitting at a table for four was my friend Zoomer Boomer with a circle of visitors around her. Zoomer looked up and greeted me with a quick and generous smile and a chair was added for me at the table. There were several plates of leftover pie on the table.
Zoomer Boomer’s name was actually Evelyn. She was hired to wash dishes and clean the cafe after hours. Evelyn earned her nickname because she zoomed around the cafe with a cart collecting dirty dishes. I imagine Boomer was added because it rhymed and it just first her. She had a large personality and a booming laugh to match.
I was curious when my college friend, Don, invited me to meet Zoomer at the cafe after it closed. I knew everyone in my hometown of less than 3,000; a lot of them were my relatives. Who did my out-of-town friend know that I didn’t? And why were we going to visit her after hours? It seemed odd.
Zoomer cleaned dishes all day but late at night she owned the cafe. She was the matriarch welcoming her late night visitors. Every night, there was a different group of visitors sitting around the table with Zoomer. Visitors coming in the back door of a closed cafe late at night. On these late night visits, I discovered a hometown I knew nothing about, a social network I was oblivious to. My world and my heart opened up a bit.
Occasionally, a police officer I recognized parked his squad car at the back door and joined us at the table looking for conversation and a piece of pie. Sometimes the officer brought along some troubled soul that was riding along in the squad car. I wanted to know what crime this kid had committed, but I didn’t dare ask. Then, there were Zoomer’s friends Pete and Repeat. But that’s a story I have forgotten except for the laughs we had.
These visits were endlessly interesting and incredibly entertaining. Of course, I returned, to join this group of outsiders around the pie table.
Evelyn died in 2001 at the age of 89. I fondly remember Zoomer’s care and concern for me. She always asked how I was doing. I wish I could have said goodbye to her. She was an remarkable women; an unexpected friend who opened up my heart. Blessed is she among women.
Take it or leave it #16 Be open to unexpected friendships
