Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Whole World Gonna Be Gettin Mixed Up

Everyone is becoming a generalist. My favorite Chinese restaurant in Sea City now offers Filipino cuisine. In the past, if you wanted to dine in the Philippines way, you had to go to a Filipino restaurant. No more. The Asian buffets now have a Korean section so I can get Kimchee with my won ton soup. On the way back to my table I can stop at the Mongolian BBQ section. I thought I was in a restaurant, but instead I was taking a world tour.

I'm used to this. I live in Smalltown. All little towns are places for generalists. You can't really specialize here. There aren't enough people. The smaller the town, the more hats everyone wears. I remember my first church north of here, in Microtown. One of the first businesses I saw was John Walters' Gas Station and Dry Cleaning Service. Next door to it was the Hatfield Real Estate Office and Copy Shop. Now big cities are getting into the act too. Customers have many choices, just like I did at the Asian restaurant. Life is turning into one giant buffet. Maybe God likes it that way. We have been so separated from each other for so long, perhaps it's a good thing we're meeting, greeting, and eating each other's food. Last night I stopped by the Middle East Market to pick up some hummus and pita bread. In the corner next to the baba ghanoush, baklava, and tabouleh salad was the alcohol. It is now possible, with one stop at this market, to wash down your couscous and goat cheese with Boone's Farm Strawberry Hill, Fuzzy Navel, or Blue Hawaiian.

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