Field trip

I went to The Yellow Deli for the first time today. It is definitely a one-of-a-kind restaurant. Mr. Nash took our Literary Journalism class there for a field trip. Emily is doing her project on the Twelve Tribes and the local one, Benyamin, owns The Yellow Deli.

We sat in the very front of the restaurant at a round table with half booth seats and half chairs. Warm sunlight poured in through the front window and splashed across lacquer of the handmade wooden table. A woman with long white hair hanging down to her waist in a limp ponytail passed seven menus around our table. The five who had been to the restaurant before told Mr. Nash and me what was good to eat. Once we made our decisions and closed our menus, a young girl (probably in her late teens) wearing a long skirt made from a piece of cloth covered in a nondescript small pattern, wrote down our orders.

We talked about spring break while we waited for our food, and then Mr. Nash decided to look around the restaurant. Four of us, followed his lead. I noticed the hippie theme as I walked up the spiral stairs to the second floor. A huge mural spanning the length of one wall met me at the top. Hippie colours and sayings intertwined with pictures of Jesus and joyful-looking groups of people. A scene at the front of the mural caught my eye. A small group of people were stepping onto a hippie bus. In white paint, stenciled over the front of the bus were the words: "We know the way. We'll lead you home." More homemade tables and chairs crowded the top floor. On plaques hanging between the tables were portions of scriptures with small illustrations. "Go to the ant, thou sluggard," was just one that I noticed. Near the back was a study area with a brown leather couch and matching easy chairs. A trunk sat as a coffee table in the middle. A perfect study haven. A Twelve Tribes magazine sat nonchalantly on the trunk. Several wooden stairs led to a door to an outside patio. Three tribe members sat at a table talking. The old lady who had given us the menus came outside behind us. They struck up a short conversation with Mr. Nash and the other students. I returned inside, went down a set of stairs at the back of the restaurant and walked around more seating areas back to our table where Emily and Rainey sat and the others slowly trickled back to their spots too.

Soon our food came. As we ate, we continued talking, more about spring break, about our classes, about what we were going to do in the summer and after we graduated. We finished our meals, Mr. Nash got the check and paid. We wandered back outside into the afternoon sunshine, piled into Mr. Nash's Honda Pilot and drove back to Collegedale. Rainey and Chris played the girls' Auto Bingo game. "I thought I would have one car ride with no kids arguing," Mr. Nash commented when they started quibbling about the rules. We listened as Emily gave us more information on her project and the research she has been finding. Rainey asked for advice with her project. We discussed, asked questions, gave suggestions. Then we were back at the school. Just that fast our short trip away from the pressures classes and homework and deadlines was over. It was a nice reprieve and an interesting time. Literary Journalism is absolutely the best class ever.