Dr. Ricky Rood's Climate Change Blog

Christmas at the 7-11

Posted by: Dr. Ricky Rood, 22:35 GMT 25. Prosinec 2007

Here is a piece I wrote a few years ago when living in Maryland. It appeared in the Bay Weekly, and here it is. Absolutely nothing to do with climate.

Thanks for reading the blog, the comments, and the notes.

Christmas at the 7-11

It's Christmas. It’s finally a little bit cold. In the low land where there is some standing water, next to the creeks, the frost is heavy enough that it looks like snow. The restaurants and bars on the water, the normal morning places of the fishing types, are closed. The charter boats are in their slips. Also closed are the little plywood places, the home of the soft serve and the commuter breakfast.

Deale, Maryland sits far enough from Washington and Baltimore to matter. We have a few retired presidential aids, some people who build rockets or spy or teach, and a lot of people who make their living fixing things, building things, and delivering things. There are lots of pickup trucks, and people who can tow cars and boats and push around snow. Then there’s the group that lives off the Bay in some way or another, most selling, boarding and fixing the play boats of others. A few make their living fishing and crabbing.

Every morning the 7-11 is full of men. If you walk in at five AM there’s a group in the back getting coffee. They have hats, and here in winter, rugged cloth jackets like you buy at hunting supply stores and K-Mart - the kind of jacket that used to be had at country hardware stores. The ones who smoke, sit or stand outside the door with their large coffees, some leaning on the window, some huddled around the big trash can like it’s a barrel with a fire in it. They talk, and nod at familiar faces that come and go. Inside is the non-smoking group - some migrate back and forth.

Most of the people who work in the store are women. They banter with the men, sometimes crudely, sometimes sweetly. They keep the coffee fresh; they put together egg and cheese biscuits and pile them under heat lamps. The Breakfast Bites are followed by the Big Bites and then Bigger Bites. There are modern Mexican Bites with cheese and meat and dough. They sell Gulps and Big Gulps and doughnuts and cigarettes.

The 7-11 is the sole refuge for those compelled to get out of the house on Christmas morning; everyone mixes in the confluence. The men are there, as always dressed like they are on their way to do something that might really need a big truck. They get their coffee, and wait for the alarm to call them to action. Locals who are spread across the county on other mornings come in. They talk, exchange holiday greetings. Folks who have come home from some place else walk in, get coffee, and the women behind the counter recognize them, ask about aging parents and new children. They find out that Miss Esther is really not doing very well, forgetting to eat, but is still on her own, and being on her own is what everyone wants.

The parking lot is full, crowded. There are trucks lined around the side of the building. Some sit in the trucks, drinking coffee. The trucks move slow, let the little cars slip through into the parking places. Large men in their cabs, cups in hands, gesture folks past with a wave of their finger. These are men who would come help you. Some write poetry; you learn this when they die and their daughters read it at their funerals.

Coffee, doughnuts, and the enterprise of conversation and commerce draw us together. It’s not elegant, or especially pretty; it’s a place of Christmas and family, a mixture of permanence and transience, of those who have come home.

Permalink | A A A

Top of Page

Reader Comments

Display: 0, 50, 100, 200

Sort: Newest First - Order Posted

Viewing: 1 - 17

Page: 1 — Blog Index

1. latitude25 22:42 GMT 25. Prosinec 2007
Ricky, that was great Not only can I see it, but thanks to you, I can feel it and smell it too. Thank you for sharing that with all of us. Merry Christmas Member Since: 24-08-07 Posts: 0 Comments: 3654

2. seflagamma 23:14 GMT 25. Prosinec 2007
Hi Ricky , wishing you and your family a Merry Christmas! Nice story. Christmas Glitter Graphics Christmas Glitter Graphics Merry Christmas from our home to yours! Love, Gams & Poppy Member Since: 29-08-05 Posts: 287 Comments: 40512

3. sebastianjer 23:23 GMT 25. Prosinec 2007
Merry Christmas Ricky Very nice been there done that, wonderful piece of writing. God Bless Jer Member Since: 26-08-05 Posts: 1030 Comments: 11197

7. shoreacres 01:06 GMT 26. Prosinec 2007
Ricky ~ Thank you so much for your post: descriptive, empathetic, and utterly true to life. Here on the Bay, we have our places, too: Angel's, and Skipper's, and the 7-11 equivalent. Tonight, some of the people you mention are still there, just waiting for the holiday, and the special loneliness of the day, to be over. Not everyone is blessed with family and home; thank you for bringing them to mind. Member Since: 04-10-04 Posts: 196 Comments: 14842

8. MNTornado 09:02 GMT 26. Prosinec 2007
glitter-graphics.com Member Since: 01-07-05 Posts: 139 Comments: 19088

9. SBKaren 15:30 GMT 26. Prosinec 2007
Good Morning Ricky, What a great story. We often forget that not everyone has 'blood' family to visit with over the holidays. But when folks gather together like your story tells, you realize you don't really need 'blood' to be a family. We're all one great big family and we'd best learn to take care of ourselves! Member Since: 21-02-05 Posts: 192 Comments: 14234

10. cyclonebuster 21:26 GMT 28. Prosinec 2007
Austrian region has warmest year on record VIENNA, Dec 27 (AFP) Dec 27, 2007 The year 2007 was the warmest on record in Upper Austria, a region west of the capital Vienna, with an average temperature of 10.9 degrees Celsius, 2.2 degrees more than last year, an environmental official said Thursday. Member Since: 02-01-06 Posts: 127 Comments: 19032

11. cyclonebuster 21:26 GMT 28. Prosinec 2007
Link Member Since: 02-01-06 Posts: 127 Comments: 19032

14. cyclonebuster 00:36 GMT 29. Prosinec 2007
Build my idea and save the corals! NOAA Seeks Greater Protections for Threatened Elkhorn and Staghorn Corals December 18, 2007 NOAA is proposing to extend most of the prohibitions of the Endangered Species Act - normally applied only to endangered species - to the threatened elkhorn and staghorn corals. NOAA biologists estimate more than 90 percent of elkhorn and staghorn corals have been lost because of coral bleaching due to rising sea temperatures, disease, and tropical storm damage. Both species were listed as threatened in May 2006. Link Member Since: 02-01-06 Posts: 127 Comments: 19032

15. sebastianjer 01:18 GMT 29. Prosinec 2007
"We have been so drunk with this desire to produce and consume more and more whatever the cost to the environment that we're on a totally unsustainable path. I am not going to rest easy until I have articulated in every possible forum the need to bring about major structural changes in economic growth and development". Rajendra Pachau A very biased scientific view by the man who leads the IPCC. The fact that he believes this is not the problem, he has every right to his opinion, but the very statement shows a bias that is not conductive to good scientific methodology or objectivity. If the majority of the scientist who lead the IPCC or have significant input into its conclusions believe like this, how can the science be objective? To me it is frightening. This is not an elected official of the US or any other government yet he has the power to influence the economies of the world. Based upon his statements, he intends to use all his power and influence to do just that. "to bring about major structural changes in economic growth and development" I will only add that the one forum he does have at his disposal is the IPCC which is quite influential, at least as a propaganda tool. JER Member Since: 26-08-05 Posts: 1030 Comments: 11197

17. srqthymesage 00:46 GMT 29. Prosinec 2012
Quoting latitude25: Ricky, that was great Not only can I see it, but thanks to you, I can feel it and smell it too. Thank you for sharing that with all of us. Merry Christmas Thank you, latitude and Dr. Rood. You speak the truth of every open heart among us. Peace among us is possible - theories welcome! Member Since: 17-08-12 Posts: 0 Comments: 47

Viewing: 1 - 17

Page: 1 — Blog Index

Top of Page

New Comment

Community Standards Policy Comments will take a few seconds to appear.

Post Your Comments

Please sign in to post comments.

or Join

Not only will you be able to leave comments on this blog, but you'll also have the ability to upload and share your photos in our Wunder Photos section.

About RickyRood