Friday, April 13, 2012

Jokers To The Left of Me

We stopped at Zippy's in Seattle for burgers, shakes, and onion rings after work on Wednesday night.  (Although somehow yours truly ended up with a Young's Double Chocolate Stout instead - not sure how that happened)

Zippy's is the kind of joint we love to eat at. Complete with Pac-Man and Pinball machines lining the walls, sparkly red plastic booths complete with tables made of Formica to eat at, and a sound system spitting out classics by the likes of Johnny Cash and GNR.

But another big part of the allure of eating there is also all of the pictures on the walls.  Old pictures, many black and white with signatures and short notes scribbled on them adorn the walls.  There are pictures of old restaurants, cars, storefronts, and of course, plenty of old advertisements.

When we first arrived, we had a good time relaxing and chatting with each other, mostly about Lukas' new LEGO Idea book.  But once our greasy fare had arrived we began to look around at all the interesting characters in the restaurant, and also at all those pictures.

It was then that Lukas called out in an excited voice "Look, it's the JOKER!"  He has got some kids and he is making a Pirate walk the Plank!"

Mrs. LIAYF and I just laughed when we saw what the Joker was up to.


"Don't worry!" Lukas continued.  "Batman will get that JOKER!" 

If you remember, this is the kid who has never been to a McDonald's. He had no clue who this red headed character really was.

It was at this point I asked him if the Joker was a good guy or a bad guy.  "He's definitely a bad guy" Lukas concluded.

Mrs. LIAYF and I just looked at each other, smiled, and kept the secret to ourselves.

Well, I guess Billions and Billions of victims can draw their own conclusions on that one. And, although we didn't see him show up to take care of this Joker, perhaps Batman prefers his burgers cooked fresh, and served with a touch of ambiance.

"Hooray for Batman." I offered.

Heck, he might even own his own burger joint.

8 comments:

Slamdunk said...

Ha, yes Hooray for Batman.

I had to explain to our crew who the other McDonalds characters are since they are no longer emphasized (Like Grimace). Worthless trivia for their brains indeed.

Diplo_Daddy said...

Yeah, keep that a secret for as long as you can.

You should see how popular McDonalds is over here in Kuwait. I'd even go so far as to say McD's is more popluar than Starbucks.

Hey Monkey Butt said...

Wish'n mine had never been introduced to McD's. I didn't know I tell you, I didn't know!!! I personally HATE it and we NEVER eat it. But given the choice (and sometimes we do) she picks McD's ::facepalm:: Love the post!

Danielle said...

Clowns are always scary. I have never understood how they ever worked to sell burgers...

Mrs. LIAYF said...

Scary clown, scary clown!! I've never been a fan of clowns and even as a child was a bit creepy out by Ron M'D. [shudders]

Perhaps that's part of why it's been so easy for me to not take Lukas to the golden arches.

Life of Dad said...

Isn't it amazing how something as simple as photos on the walls can entertain kids so much? Awesome.

Life of Dad said...
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James (SeattleDad) said...

@Slamdunk - I never got why Grimmace was there in the first place.

@Diplo Daddy - I wouldn't think it would be so popular in the Middle East. Starbucks either for that matter. Show how little I know.

@Monkey - So far we have avoided giving him the choice. I'm sure it won't be so easy as he gets older.

@Danielle - We should ask our parents. Maybe clowns were cool when McDonalds started up. Then we can ask: Why?

@Mrs. LIAYF - So, no clown party for Lukas. Is that what you are saying?

@Life of Dad: Old School entertainment.