Hot Foo

My friend's one-man show, "South Pathetic," features a minor character, Najeem, who runs the Dickson Motel in Thermal City, NC. Through most of the play, his sign has letters burned out, so it reads "Dick_o_ Motel."

It reminded me of the seedy convenience store across the street from my old place in Travelers Rest, SC. The college friends who lived there before me noticed that among the hot rod and biker magazines, they carried one for gay bikers. They wondered, of course, if the proprietors even knew.

They also carried the "Mountain Monitor," a weekly newspaper that featured on every front page a photo of a local's car or truck wrapped around a tree. Flashy headlines about some political atrocity always quoted from (as the voice of truth in America) a neo-nazi publication.

While I lived across the street they put in a snack bar and a neon sign out front, but one letter burned out almost immediately. For months it read, "Hot Foo_."