"Burgers And Fries" was written by the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member Ben Peters and recorded by the Country Music Hall of Fame member Charley Pride.

Charley Pride recorded 68 songs written by Ben Peters. Six of them reached the Number One position on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart.

Charley Pride was one of the bestselling Singers for RCA Records. He recorded 52 Top Ten songs, 30 of which reached the Number One position on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart.

Ben Peters also wrote Hit songs recorded by Eddy Arnold, Lynn Anderson, Freddy Fender, Kenny Rogers, and others.

Released in October of 1978, on the RCA Records label, "Burgers And Fries" reached the Number 2 position on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart.

"Burgers And Fries" was featured in the Paramount Pictures 1997 Thriller "Breakdown" that starred Kurt Russell.

Pertinent lyrics from "Burgers And Fries" included:

"Burgers and fries and cherry pies
It was simple and good back then
In a world we used to know."

"All the things we used to say
little things we did each day
oh I long to do the things we did before"



****************************************************************************************
****************************************************************************************


HIS RIGHT HAND RAISED HIGH IN THE SKY, WITH HIS PALM EXTENDED IN AN EXAGGERATED "HELLO!", A TWENTY-FIVE FOOT TALL INFLATABLE RONALD MCDONALD GREETED CUSTOMERS AS THEY ENTERED THE RESTAURANT. The iconic clown's crooked teeth, black eyes, red hair and shoes apparant. My heart raced for a fleeted instance. An unruly emotion overwhelmed me of how the switchblade knife in the pocket of my jeans could pop him. KER-BOOM! Though an activity I did not want to miss out on, and curious how loud the noise of the air suddenly escaping from the balloon would be, I thought better of performing the act.

"Ever hear the expression for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction?" This was the first question Dusty West asked after we'd placed our orders at the counter.

At the time, I did not know his question paraphrased Newton's Third Law of Motion, nor was the relative truth on my mind. I had much to learn. Instead, I eyeballed the girl behind the cash register and reckoned she couldn't be much older than me. At least, with her auburn hair tied in ponytails, she did not appear to be. Her nametag listed her as Veronica. After we left the counter with our Egg McMuffins in hand, and located a table away from the hubbub of other customers scattered around the dining room, I never saw her again.

For those unfamiliar with this unique breakfast sandwich it included a slice of Canadian bacon, and a slice of American cheese, on a grill-fried, broken-yolked egg that had been cooked in a Teflon ring surrounded by an outer metal structure. These items were served on a toasted and buttered English muffin covered in hollandaise sauce. Veronica even threw in a small tub of strawberry preserves, for appeal no doubt, intended to add a sweet and savory taste to the McMuffin. Its cost? A whopping sixty-three pennies! I didn't have nary a one in my pocket.

My response to Dusty's question was an innocent, "What?"

Dusty said, "Don't what me, pipsqueak. You did not do so, but, I could tell by the gleam in your peepers as we entered you had something mischievious on your mind pertaining to that balloon outside. When I saw that, I almost turned around and walked away. Destroying someone else's property for no valid reason is not the proper way for you to behave."

Busted! Off to a rousing rocky start. I stared back at him but did not utter a sound.

Dusty unwrapped his McMuffin, and sipped a swallow of Pepsi through the plastic straw in his cup. Not letting up, he asked, "What I'd really like to know is what a runt like you is doing on the streets? I mean, here you are with no money, nobody with you, and that's a good way for you to get yourself killed. Where did you come from anyway? Let me take a wild guess. You are a runaway. Your dad got on you about something. You didn't like it, so you ran away from home. Didn't you?"

I realized Dusty had a gazillion questions he expected answers for. Somehow, the thought of him being a danger to me never crossed my mind. Quickly, without properly chewing my food, I gulped a bite and replied, "Hermitage Hall, that place everyone thinks is a great big pie in the sky."

Before I could say anything more, Dusty replied, "From what I hear, and read about in the Tennessean newspaper, that's a good location for boys who have nowhere else to go."

I about choked on a piece of bacon and more than slightly rolled my eyes upward into my head.

Dusty looked flabbergasted by my response and said, "Tell me what I'm missing."

Staring straight at him, I remarked, "Only The fact they treat us worse than criminals!"

Dusty glanced at the wolf imprinted on the front of my weather-faded pullover like he did not know what to make of me. I wore the garment loose under my unbuttoned jean vest. Ten minutes earlier, I had never crossed his path.

He said, "Three square meals a day, and a warm, comfortable, bed to go nighty-night in, are nothing to sneeze at. You stay on the streets long enough you will learn real quick many homeless people don't have that much going for them."

He wasn't telling me anything I had not recently experienced myself. However, I did not share that information.

As we sat there and talked openly about whatever came to mind, Dusty continued, "Activities galore. What more could you want?"

I recalled my encounter with King Tubbo's lethal reform school strap, Big Bertha, earlier that week and stated, "Somebody who doesn't whip the hide off us for every little thing we do wrong would be a good start."

The remark grabbed his attention. I divulged the gory details that surrounded the incident and watched Dusty's demeanor turn to stunned rage. I told him, "So, you see. I can't go back to Hermitage Hall. I'm gonna get it again. Only worse!"

I half expected him to impart to me I blew the situation way out of proportion. To my surprise, he did not.

Dusty seemed unsure what to relay except, "Perhaps you should have considered that option before you ran away again. Not smart. Their rules are their rules and they must be in place for a reason."

I wasn't totally sure I liked much of what this man presented. Perhaps a little more sympathetic understanding on his part would have been more appropriate to me.

(TO BE CONTINUED:)

In Chapter 24, Dusty and I continued talking while eating Egg McMuffins at Mickie D's. But, will the iceberg between us fracture?