Wilbo Beats Lee S. Brown in the Breakfast Game and Buys The Famous Sculptor A Burger King Croissanwich with Bacon and Cheddar

May 2016

I was driving out to my gig of the day. Time of my life, I am dating jobs rather than being married to them. Everyday is a different destination, this morning a school on the west side of Muskegon. A constant, I drive to the Burger King near the courthouse and pick up an order of pancakes and sausage. 

Soon, I was following a truck with a topper. A rectangular Muskegon Watch Us Go had been applied to the window perfectly balanced. Not too high. Not too low. Level as a building cornerstone. Adjacent, and in a harmonious relationship with the rectangle, a round Julia and the Greensides logo had been applied. 

This informal work of art identified the driver with certainty, an art director and sculptor. I checked his rear view mirror and saw that distinguished hair cut and slight grin. Lee S. Brown was on his way to the Muskegon Museum of Arts where he serves as the Preparator.

I checked his rear view mirror and saw that distinguished hair cut and slight grin. The guy always has that grin, whether he's lifting a pint or hanging a gallery of paintings or picking out logs to carve. I've never seen a frown on his face. He turned the corner left, made a hard right and drove to the drive thru kiosk. I was in a hurry, so I drove to the second kiosk, knowing this might reveal my identity. 

I heard the woman say to him, "Welcome to Burger King. I'll be with you in a moment". I ordered my hotcakes and sausage and pulled ahead to the first window, the pay window. He must have heard my voice because he waved as I glanced back. At the pay window, I asked, " What did the man back at the kiosk order"? She looked it up. "A bacon cheddar croissanwich, ice water". "Wow, cheap date".

"Wow, cheap date! Put that on mine and add a senior coffee to his". I have no idea of his age although he's a few years older than I am. I qualify for a senior coffee. 

He's built like a tree trunk, though. I called him for a studio tour at his studio loft at a Lake Muskegon marina. Torrensens Marina loves the arts. Plus, the entire campus runs on solar power from the panels on top a storage facility. He volunteered half way through the tour to step the mast with me for a sailor we knew from the art museum. 

I was picking up my pancakes and sausage from the second window, and I saw him getting the news in the rear view mirror. He chuckled and that signature grin grew to a smile. He waved. I waved back. And I drove on my way, good deed done before breakfast. He messaged me at lunch hour: "Thanks for breakfast this AM. I had the same thought and you beat me to the window". I like to win, especially in the breakfast game.

Lee S. Brown

Earth Wheel