The Wilmington morning star., 1946-04-22

LILO WdS VIC 4OOl Ill IdStS1
you'd spent away from home.
There was the Utah Easter, two
English casters, and now you
were sitting down to Easter din
ner in a Wilmington restaurant.
You sat at the counter. Your
water glass had Coca.Cola
printed on the side. To the right
OF your chicken soup a knife
fork and spoon lay on a paper
napkin. Facing across the coun-
ter were three coffee urns. One
of them leaked. Someone had
placed an aluminium pitcher
under the tap and drop of cof-
fee fell into it every six
seconds. AS you spooned your
soup you watched the tap
and counted. One thousand and
one, two, three, four, five,
six-and drop of coffee fell
into the pitcher.
The door would open every
few minutes and a group of
young women would come into
the restaurant. They wore
corsages on their topcoats.
Plainly they had expected a
warmer day. The topcoats
weren't new but the dresses
and suits underneath We're just
out of the box.
Your steak came and Just
about the time you found that
it was going to be hard to
cut, somebody sat down on the
stool to your left. When you
drew in your left elbow you
lost some pressure. 1t was diff
ficult keeping the meat on the
plate. 1t wasn't easy keeping
the plate anchored to the slick
counter table.
The waitress wanted to tell
you how rotten it was working
on Easter Sunday when you
had e brand-new dress hang
ing in your closet.
You had pie and ice cream
for dessert. And coffee and a
cigarette.
Last Easter, dinner had been
served on the Plaza rnezzanine.
The Plaza was a restaurant in
Great Yarmouth, a seaport and
beach resort on the east coast
of England. 1t was the only
good spot that stayed open on
Sunday.
The head waitress had plac-
ed you at table near the win
dow. She had cut you out of
a herd Of people that waited
at the stair head and piloted
you to your chair with con-
siderable style. Then she went
far away and forgot all about
you.
When you finally got a menu,
diners who had been seated lat
er were engaged with their
meat course.
But there was table cloth.
There were six pieces of silver
ware. The soup when it came
was in shallow bowl that was
sitting on platter.
Going to wash your hands af-
ter the greasy goose and the
dessert involved a lot of walk
ing and demanded a superior
sense of direction. You went
downstairs. You went through
the Kitchen You went through
a sliding door that should have
had hydraulic controls. After
that you floundered across the
rubble of a large brick build
ing which had been leveled in
the Al raids. You found the
wash basin behind an oily tar
paulin in a little tin shack about
a block from the Plaza.
When you'd found the restau-
rant again you paid your bill
and went down to the prom
enade. The approaches to most
of the amusement piers were
still closed with barbed wire.
The big wooden dance palaces
and recreation pavilions were
shabby from the neglect of
five years. There was barbed
wire on the beaches and mines
were still Luried under the
sand.
On the wide sidewalks you
saw small squads Of Tommies,
bulky in their battle dress,
keeping to themselves, they
clumpet along. in their hob
nails in a vapor Of Player
cigarettes. Army Territorial
Service girls, Wrens, and w. A.
A. F. S took snapshots of each
other, walked with Americans,
fingered their hair, passed
loud comments ON civilian
girls.
There We're some people lid