There I was, trudging home from work at the end of another fun-filled day. I was really trudging, this time. Drained of energy and willpower, I made my way past That Rusting Mexican-style Food Establishment and… the craving hit.

“I must have a bacon double cheeseburger, plain!”

So I crossed the street to the Masculine Royalty-named Food Establishment and made my way inside. Upon coming into reading distance of the menu board, I halted and perused the items looking for what I wanted. It wasn’t there, however. What to do?

I asked the guy behind the counter, “Can I still get a double cheeseburger, even though it’s not up there?” He assured me that yes, indeed, I could do that very thing. I promptly rattled off my order for a double cheeseburger, plain, with bacon, and followed that up with a large order of fries and the traditional family french-fry dipping sauce. (That would be a chocolate milkshake, if you didn’t know.)

Here’s the fogey-stogey part of the tale: While I waited for my order, I pondered the fact that when I was Alexander’s age I could just order a “bacon double cheeseburger, plain” without anyone on either side of the counter batting an eyelash, and the fact that neither the “bacon double cheeseburger” or even the regular “double cheeseburger” was on the posted menu peeved me just a little.

You know your mind is getting older when you not only look back wistfully to the way things were, but tend to resent the way things are because they’ve changed. Bah! Humbug!

Still… it was a yummy little burger, just the way I remember it. Ahhh, bliss.