Jungle Red Writers: diners

Saturday, February 13, 2021

What We're Writing: Those Places You Love to Go Back To

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: What's really on my mind, writing-wise, is getting my taxes done, by which I mean pulling together all the documentation, summarizing it, and handing everything over to my accountant. Being self-employed and working from your home office is a pain in the neck when it comes to bookkeeping, y'all.

But I can't think of much more boring than talking taxes, so instead I'm going to talk settings. Specifically, those places in our series that show up over and over. Yes, we expect to visit the hero and heroine's homes, and the police department or other investigative agency. But I'm talking about the other settings we just can't resist - the places our characters get together talk or argue or drink or shoot off guns (I haven't actually seen any mysteries where the cops hit the range regularly, but as long as an author accounts for the hearing protection, it strikes me as an excellent locale to get to know people.

For me, it's the Kreemie Kakes Diner in Millers Kill. Named in a fit of desperately missing hot glazed Krispy Kreme donuts, the diner has been the site of multiple meetings between my protagonists Russ and Clare, as well as the location of a story - "A Collect for Noontime" - that became a short play: "Small Town."

There's something I love about sitting characters down and getting them talking between ordering, eating, and thanking the waitress, Earla Davis, for refills. And now, with everyone in Millers Kill using these newfangled cell phones, you can even get business done at the diner, as Russ and the former deputy chief, now acting chief, Lyle MacAuley, discover.

Lyle held up a finger. “Hi, yes, this is Lyle MacAuley, acting chief of police for Millers Kill. I'm trying to get some information about a former employee of ours who lateraled over to you folks. Name's Kevin Flynn. I believe he was in your Special Investigations division.” He paused. “Sure.” He clamped a hand over the phone. “She's bringing up his file.”

Earla appeared with their lunches on a tray. “Burgar, medium, no onions and a beef stew. Can I get you anything else?”

Russ demurred. Lyle picked up a french fry and hastily swallowed it as his contact came back on the line. “Yes. Yeah, that's him. Yes, I know he went out on leave, I wanted--” There was a long pause. “Please.” He popped another fry in his mouth. “She's transferring me to human resources.”

Russ blew on a spoonful of stew. “Maybe we should try calling--”

Lyle made a shushing motion. “Yes. This is Lyle MacAuley, acting chief over here in Millers Kill. The young lady I just spoke with said you would have some information about Kevin Flynn.” There was a pause. Lyle smiled in a particularly cozening way. “We have some questions about his retirement benefits we need to straighten out. We're just a little bitty shop, so the human resources department is either the chief or the second in command.” He laughed. “I know, I know.” His face grew serious as he listened to the person on the other end of the line. “Really.” There was another pause. “No, I was hoping you could tell me that. Was there anyone he particularly worked with over there?” Lyle removed the top of the bun and gestured to Russ to pass the ketchup. “Yeah, I knew he had a lengthy undercover assignment.”

Russ unscrewed the top for him and handed it over. “No, of course, I understand. There's only so much you can do.” Russ mouthed What the hell? Lyle waved him off. “No need to apologize. I appreciate you taking the time.” He paused. “Absolutely. If we find out anything. Thank you.” He hung up.

“We'll let them know if we find out anything? What's that about?”

Lyle replaced the bun and picked up his burger. “They haven't heard from Kevin since he took a one-month leave in October. If he doesn't get in touch with them by the end of December, he gets administratively separated.” He took a bite.

“Does that mean what it sounds like?”

Lyle nodded, and drew a finger across his throat. “Fired.”

Do you have any favorite settings in the books you love, dear readers? Or, have you gotten your taxes ready yet?

Thursday, January 5, 2017

What's for Breakfast?

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: What a week this is turning out to be! I say—let’s take a lunch break. Or—depending one where you are, breakfast.

How much do you love breakfast in diners? One little word: bacon. And okay, hash browns. And coffee. Why does it somehow taste better in a diner?

No one knows diners better than Geoffrey Mehl. (Well, maybe Edward Hopper.) And our Geoffrey has managed to blur the lines between fact and fiction so beautifully that I emailed him the other day saying—“Wait: what’s real and what’s isn’t?”

He told me. But you decide. (And isn’t it fun not to know?)

As Geoffrey (a fellow Guppy!) tells me:

GEOFFREY MEHL: Tommy, who is a southern rascal with a ton of money and Mandy is a classy New Englander who knows how to use it. He's addicted to adventure and troubleshooting, while she's passionate about social justice for the underdog. Their crew includes a discarded Russian badass spy, a brilliant and smartass computer hacker and a growly retired US Marshal -- i.e., a classic five-man band. High stakes, high style ... and sizzle.

Tales of the Puffin Diner is updated weekly -- the current one concerns new year's resolutions, which Mandy thinks are silly and Tommy manages to prove a larger point. Next story concerns a landmark barn that's being sold and distresses the old timers, that is, the melancholy that comes with change.

HANK: So sit back and hear a lovely story…and then at the end—tell us your favorite diner! And your favorite thing to order…

The Puffin Diner in downtown Jacks Ford, Pa., is
the social hub of a small town and serves up marvelous daily specials.

The Puffin Diner
Mandy Owens: If you’re just passing through Jacks Ford, Pennsylvania —
and not many people do — The Puffin is just another small-town diner.
It’s a cheap meal, cup of coffee, hopefully not too much indigestion,
and then on to where ever your fortunes take you.

It’s one of those late forties or early fifties steel eateries meant to
look like a dining car, but it never rode the rails. For reasons no one
seems to know, it has always been called The Puffin, the hub of a
community’s social fabric.

Outside, there always a place to park and unhurried life flows by.
Inside, it’s classic diner. A long counter, the kitchen on the inside,
strawberry-red booths along the street. On a tiny glass-case cash
register station right by the door, the basket of complimentary mints,
toothpicks, and a few candy bars below. The point of sale for a benefit cook book and local handmade soap. Specials of the day in colored chalk on an antique blackboard. Gently-lettered notes to identify pies, cakes, specialty desserts. Menus wrapped in plain-brown vinyl. A row of black and white snapshots from memorable moments in The Puffin’s history. A framed dollar bill from 1949. But no wi-fi, and cellphone reception is chancy.

Best time of day to visit is just after the merchants of Railroad Avenue have

An early 1970s watercolor painting of the diner by
Adele Guthrie, from the collection of the Jacks Ford Historical Society.

had breakfast and fanned out for another routine day in a rural town. You’ll miss out on the business and political pulse, like the latest scheme to oust Bob Ferguson from another term as mayor.

Instead, you see a lot of gray hair and the news is headlined by the
softer, social stuff. Current topics focus on a chicken dinner at the
community church, speculation about tricky trays for the historical
society’s annual fund raiser, or whether the Brewer kids really need yet another dog.

In my former life, I was an investigative reporter — please, don’t say
“intrepid!” Jacks Ford doesn't have a newspaper, so I was disappointed when fate and destiny dropped me into town to join the cast of /Nine Lives/. But it does have The Puffin. And wonderful waffles. Well, and Tommy Kane, too, but that’s another tale...

HANK: So, Reds, what’s your favorite diner... and the menu special that keeps bringing you back?

And see below—Geoffrey also is a gardening expert!

Geoffrey Mehl, who is often seen editing
drafts in the third booth from the end.

Mandy Owens appears as herself in two books by Geoffrey Mehl : Stray Cats and Nine Lives, and is currently working in a new thriller, to be released soon. When not involved in high-stakes adventure, she divides her time between Jacks Ford and a hideaway in the Bahamas.

GEOFFREY MEHL

Author of