Fast Food Nostalgia

Every now and then, I think about how much I enjoyed grabbing a chicken fajita at the drive-through for lunch during my time as an auto parts driver in the early 1990s. I drove a white Ford pickup with a red interior; it had a standard transmission, and I learned how to drive standard on that job. 

When things were slow and I could take a true lunch break, I'd sit in the truck and read while eating my bagged lunch. When I was busy, chicken fajita time. It was a simple meal: just a couple of pieces of plain roasted chicken, chopped onions, and slices of red and green bell peppers in a plain flour tortilla. But boy, were they good. Those fajitas and CBC 740 AM got me through that job. (It wasn't a bad job, but some of the customers were pretty mean to me, and I've never had a very thick skin.) 

I liked McDonald's pizzas. They, too, are gone. One day, perhaps in our lifetime, McDonald's itself will be just a memory. Nothing lasts forever, including civilizations. 

Two Cars

Photograph, 1988. 

The Pickup That Roared

Here's an old image from 1991. I don't remember who shot the photo; it might have been Dad, who managed this Fort Ignition store for a number of years. While looking for a more permanent job, I delivered auto parts to Edmonton garages.

A few Photoshop tricks make the image a little more dramatic, but this result is a far cry from what I initially imagined. I was trying to emulate the great Will Eisner, who created story titles from that flowed from the opening scene; a bridge or a building would spell out "The Spirit," for example. Using opacity, blending options and the text bending tool, I tried to make my title appear as though it were painted onto the truck. Obviously the effect isn't at all believable, but I feel compelled to continue experimenting anyway. While I'm a writer by trade, I'm fascinated by the visual arts and sometimes it's nice to push in more challenging directions.