As a child I loved hopping in the car with the folks to run errands or go for a trip. Looking out the window was a sight to behold. There were cafes and restaurants, stores and businesses that we didn’t have in our neighborhood or in our town even!

I’d drive the folks crazy; what’s that? Wonder what they do? Wonder what they sell? Wonder what kind of food they have?

Traveling was an adventure. We’d pull over at different restaurants and pour over the menu. Wonder what you think a burger or meatloaf, even spaghetti, is going to taste like? The menu read the same, but it was always an adventure so see what would come out of the kitchen.

When we’d visit people in their homes, their “stuff” was different than our stuff. Where did you get that? What is that? The answer was usually the same, but still different. A little shop downtown or we found this store next to a restaurant we stopped at on our way to visit Grandpa.

Gifts. For the season gift or just because gifts. Often there’d be a little something I’d be fascinated with and the visitor would just give it to me. I can get another when I get home. They couldn’t get it here in our town, but it was available in their town.

I used to love to shop for presents for people to be mailed for their birthdays. I could usually be fairly sure they wouldn’t be able to find this exact thing in their town or at their store. They’d be excited to have something unique. When I got presents, I’d never find the exact thing on the shelf in my local stores. It was a wonder.

Now days, everything is the same. For the restaurants, it seems to have all started with McDonalds. We’d go to our closest McDonalds for a treat now and then. After a long drive, if we saw a McDonalds, we’d get all excited because it was familiar. Sometimes we’d stop, sometimes we wouldn’t.

Recently I was on a long drive, thinking I was in the middle of nowhere. There were all the chain restaurants we have near my house!

Someone sent me a present. I found it on the shelf at Robinsons May. Or, was it Target? Pier 1? It’s all the same. Care for a burger?