Breakfast and Broccoli

          My good friend Judi and I settled into a booth this morning at the back of one of our favorite breakfast spots for a long-overdue visit with each other. The waitress was really hustling and it took a few minutes before she got to us with, “Coffee?”

          We said we were both tea people and in a few more minutes she swept by again, this time leaving two mugs of tea in her wake. No spoons, no napkins, and it was a good thing neither of us take milk or lemon.

          When she eventually returned, we gave our orders and she rushed off. We learned later that they were down two waitresses.

 Soon, a very tall teen came in and sat at one of the long tables next to us. After about 10 minutes, two more largish young men joined him, then another, and another, several in the same football jersey, and one so broad in the shoulders that I asked Judi if she thought he was still wearing his shoulder pads.

          It looked as though we’d been graced with the entire football team of that town’s high school. It was a little surprising since it was 9:45 in the morning and they should have been in school. But they were well-behaved and they reminded me of my three large grandsons. Particularly their hair.

          Face-timing with my 15 year-old grandson Eli, I noticed he was constantly finger-combing his hair over his forehead, but unlike almost every person in our family, his hair is straight and doesn’t lend itself to the current styling trend, kind of a curly version of the Beatles’ mops in the 60s. His brother Gabe, with his uber-curls, is more successful.

          According an article this summer in Newsweek:

“Mullets, move over—a surprising new hair trend dubbed "the broccoli" has taken Generation Z by storm. The rise of the broccoli cut, also known as the zoomer perm and bird's nest hair,”

 

          The group at our neighboring table had, I’d say, a 60% success rate.

 

          After a little food-theft from each other’s plates, and the appearance of a borrowed can of whipped cream to spruce up their waffles, everyone trundled out and we learned later that a water main break in town had been the reason for their unaccustomed morning off.