Speaking of Arby’s, have I ever told you the story of My Brother v. Arby’s? Here it is:
Except that first, I need to tell you this: I cannot begin to imagine making a 12-hour drive with a 4-year-old and a 9-year-old without a backup adult. But when we were little, my dad did that twice every year. (We did, of course, change ages. But you get the point. Long drive, small kids, one parent.) More than anything else, this is what told me Dad loved us, even though we lived so far apart.
Now, when Rockford and I take a long trip, it’s punctuated by lots of short stops. This is not the way my dad operates. His counts it as a badge of honor if he can make the whole trip with only one or two stops. If he could go without a fuel stop, I’m certain he would.
The point is, those 12-hour car rides with dad were twelve full hours in the car. We’d stop for fuel and sometimes go through a drive-through, but for the most part we were in the car.
On one trip, though, Dad asked me where I wanted to eat. I picked Arby’s, because I loved it and we didn’t have one in my hometown. And then, Dad pulled into a parking spot. We were going inside. This was unprecedented. Which made my brother’s response even more reprehensible.
“Nooooooooo,” he wailed from the back seat. “I haaaaaaaaate Aaaaarrrrrby’s.”
This, from a child who had never eaten at Arby’s in all of his 6-or-so years. The wailing and gnashing of teeth went on for about five minutes before Dad said, “Alright. You won’t eat, then.”
And then he got out of the car and walked into the restaurant. I was a little dumbfounded at this turn of events, but I was also very hungry. So I followed him, and my little brother stayed in the car, screaming the entire time.
This, I realize, would most likely be frowned upon today. But keep in mind that this story takes place in the late ’80s, which I understand was at least 100 years ago in Twilight & Hannah Montana years. My dad also had a van in the ’80s that had no seats in the back, so my brother and I would lay down and roll around while we traveled. If the ’80s were such an innocent and carefree time, can you even imagine the ’50s? I can, because in addition to traveling without a seatbelt in the ’80s, I used to watch a lot of “Nick at Nite.” The ’50s were idyllic, and sometimes I wish I lived there.
Anyway, where was I? We went to Arby’s and my brother was a big baby about it and had to stay in the car. And guess what? Now he loves Arby’s. I think it’s his favorite fast food restaurant.
The moral of the story is this: Try new things, because they could be your favorite and you don’t even know it. Also: Little brothers can be wildly annoying, but someday you will love them anyway and you will write embarrassing stories about them on your webblog.
