Monday Artday: supernatural

Spread the love

is Susan friend coming wit her t'night?
In 1982, I was in my second year of art school. When I began my first year at The Hussian School of Art, Jimmy Carter was president and he was very generous with government money for education (if you can call “art school” education). When Ronald “There’s a Commie under my bed” Reagan became president, dollars that once went to education programs were now earmarked for bombs to keep us free from those dirty Ruskies! To pay for school, I worked three evenings a week at my cousin’s health food restaurant, Super Natural. Super Natural served veggie burgers and fresh salads and eggplant Parmesan and vegetable stir-fry and tempeh sandwiches and all sorts of organic and healthy shit. My cousin commissioned a local artist to create a mascot for the restaurant. He delivered Carrot Man, a super-vegetable who fought against fast food. (I actually redesigned Carrot Man several months later for a new in-store menu.)

Every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, I would walk (actually I’d run to make it in time for my designated 3 o’clock start) from 13th and Arch in center city Philadelphia to 16th and Spring Garden, just on the outskirts of North Philadelphia.

Super Natural was a cafeteria-style eatery that did a brisk lunch business. It was directly across the street from the Philadelphia headquarters of Smith Kline (now GlaxoSmithKline). Soon, Community College of Philadelphia opened in the 1700 block of Spring Garden Street, in the long-vacant former site of the Philadelphia Mint. (Incidentally, this building also served as Philadelphia Police headquarters in the 1983 film Trading Places.) Because the crowds were so big at lunchtime, my cousin Ron decided to open for dinner three nights a week. Unfortunately, Smith Kline employees and Community College students wouldn’t be caught dead in North Philly after 5 o’clock…lest they be caught dead. Needless to say, dinner business was light.

I worked behind the counter, making salads, stuffing pita bread, dishing out portions of tofu lasagna and grinding fruits and vegetables into fresh juice. Despite fitting the profile with my beard and ponytail, I was not a follower of the health food lifestyle. During the day, I ate hot dogs from street vendors or bacon double cheeseburgers and fries from Burger King. And no weekend was complete without a cheesesteak from Jim’s on South Street or a hoagie from Lee’s.

One Friday evening, — February 26, 1982 to be exact — my life changed forever.

Super Natural’s closing time was 10 PM on Fridays and my co-worker Tony (whose name was really Gary… who knows?) and I were anxious to leave as soon as the last casserole pan was washed and the last mop string cleaned the last floor tile. Around 9 o’clock on this particular Friday, a party of three — two girls and a guy — entered the restaurant. I was not too happy, as I had to greet, serve and get this crew out in under an hour. One of the girls approached the counter. I thought she was pretty, but I was more concerned with moving them along — out of the restaurant and out of my life. She asked about the various dinner offerings on display. She pointed to a container of shredded cheese in the salad section and asked, “Does the cheese have rennet?” I replied with five words. Five words that obviously melted her heart and won me her eternal affection. Five magical words. I said “What the hell is rennet?

“Rennet,” she explained, “is used in making cheese. It is usually from an animal source. I keep kosher and if your restaurant is truly and strictly vegetarian, I was wondering if the cheese has a vegetable-derivative rennet.” She smiled.

I looked back at her with an annoyed and confused expression and said, “Kosher? I don’t know anyone under the age of 80 that keeps kosher. My grandmother keeps kosher, for Christ sakes!” I looked at the clock. “This is taking too long,” I thought. The other girl approached the counter. She was cute. I thought I would attempt to charm her phone number out of her, so this night wouldn’t be a total loss. The three made their selections and sat down at a table to eat.

Already behind in my usual closing-time schedule, I began to close up the steamtable, clean the wok and wipe down the other tabletops. Tony (or Gary or….whoever) was in the second-floor kitchen, washing the evening’s dirty casserole pans. As I wiped the other tables close to the lone diners, I tried to make friendly conversation. I suppose I thought it was my duty. I gathered all the charm I could (for a Friday at 9:45 PM). I introduced myself and I asked their names. The guy muttered something I really wasn’t interested in. The first girl — the pretty rennet-questioner — told me her name and asked me if I had an older and taller friend. The other girl introduced herself. Midway through her name I asked for her phone number….several times…. which she refused to give. So I scribbled on a piece of paper and forced my number on her. Girl Number One, however, gave me her number for my older and taller friend. She also told me that I was one of the most obnoxious people she had ever met. Finally they finished their meal and left to go to the movies, a midnight showing of Grease.

I called Girl Number One the next day, to tell her to expect a call from my older and taller friend. On the phone she was funny and sweet and adorable and there was no way I was giving her number to anyone. We talked for almost three hours and I asked her out myself.

We were engaged nine months later. This July, we celebrate our twenty-fourth wedding anniversary.

Curiously, I have happily kept kosher for twenty-four years and I decided to become a vegetarian almost three years ago.

Maybe Carrot Man does have super powers — supernatural powers.

Comments

comments

7 Comments

  1. What a lovely retelling of one of the most important days in a young girl’s life! What I am wondering now is…..what ever happened to the rest of those people in that story? Ahh…who cares, I got the best deal…a wonderful life…an incredible family….and I never have to wear high heels!! Pudge’s Mom

  2. Dear Josh……or whatever your name is………I know that you do not consider youself sentimental, but the explanation of your SUPERNATURAL art brought tears to my eyes and my husbands as well. It was a beautiful LOVE STORY. Love, fran and Larry (your inlaws).

  3. hi Josh! i was wondering if carrotmans dance (i thought that’s some superstitional tradition of indians) but what a surprise from you: it’s really touching story! after reading that this sentence: “What the hell is rennet?” turns into a sweetheart lyrics 🙂 so: congratulations to your anniversary and your illustration, too!

  4. Ah, she was into the ‘bad boys’, eh? lol Smart alec guys like yourself always caught my attention too. It was so natural and sincere and yet almost offensive at times that I wanted to know more. I love that you hung onto the first words spoken to one another. Like in movies where they were so madly in love at first sight that they could tell one another what they were wearing the first time they met and what was said. I couldn’t. I remember what first attracted me to my husband, but I don’t think it’s nearly as memorable as your encounter.

    Congrats to 24 years and here’s hoping you two enjoy 24 more!

  5. Yep… that’s pretty much exactly what I would expect the ultimate Josh Pincus’ love story to sound like. Quirky, totally out of left field, and illustrated by a guy in a Carrot costume.

    Seriously, you are getting so predictable.

    I kid, of course. Great story!

Leave a Reply