The First Leg

I'm sitting in PHL international airport right now, in front of a gigantic window. Unfortunately, I can only watch planes roll by, but every time it looks like they are going to hit the same building. It's kind of funny. Anyway, I am headed to Jacksonville, Florida, where my mother lives. Then we will be driving to Asheville, NC to scope out some houses and explore the city. She is planning to move there this summer.

I had about an hour to kill before leaving my apartment and I was a little hungry so I decided to check out the Thai place near me. My friend gave me a menu for the place and I have been dying to try something there. The first entree on the menu is simply titled "Amazing w/ pork or chicken." Sounds pretty good.

You see, the restaurant may only be one and a half blocks from my apartment, but after crossing 15th street on Tasker a new world awaits. This mighty delta of a place offers a mix of four different cultures: black, hispanic, asian, and white. And within the asian population there are several nationalities represented, mostly Vietnamese, Cambodian, Chinese, and Thai. A distant hum resonated in the block, reminding me of birds in the spring. I realized later that this sound was actually coming from a fire alarm.

I found the restaurant I was looking for and well, it was pretty dingy. It was a little corner place with a ramp but no railings, the windows were obscured by iron bars and signs in a language I don't understand. I walked in and found the place to have the same adornments as most second rate asian eateries in south or north philly. The tiles on the floor didn't match, and there were the backlight illuminated photographs of food that unlike american fast food actually look worse than what you get. An obtrusive bullet-proof window with hand-drilled holes for speaking separated me and the staff. The woman behind the counter opened a little door and stuck her head out a little, to ease down the barrier of protection and foster human contact.

I ordered a coconut chicken soup and steamed dumplings. It came in at a mean $4.85 and I was happy with that. A little Thai girl about seven or eight was also behind the counter. She had nice black hair with bangs and smiled at me as I paid. It feels good to have children smile at you, especially through bullet-proof materials.

I sat down in one of the two chairs inside the cramped space. As I waited a man came in shouting for the woman who attended to me. He was very loud and held a cigarette in his left hand. He told the woman a story of how he is getting locked up and kept assuring her that he don't sell no drugs. His friend waited outside the place and kept a steady eye on me. I didn't appreciate it. The man left with a merry grin on his face. I too was smiling, pleased with his exit.

Soon enough my food was ready. I delicately grabbed my food from the woman, she placed it one of those plastic bags with smiley faces prompting you to have a nice day. I walked back to my place and opened my warm presents.

The coconut soup was delicious, the broth had a sweet & sour candy flavor that reminded me of Burmese dish I had on my birthday. The dumplings were also quite good and resembled shu mai typically found in Japanese restaurants. I was pleased with my meal and laid down for a little while, thumbing through a copy of Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture by Robert Venturi.

Well, my flight is about to depart and the sky has lost its golden hue. I'm excited for spring break this year but dread all the work I have to get done. It's a pity I am leaving this city just when it starts to get a nice again.