A 86-Year-Old French Woman Tries a Burger for the First Time

[Tennesseer]

Interesting human interest story and a break for politics and current events. Excerpted from the book Let Them Eat Pancakes: One Man's Personal Revolution in the City of Light by Craig Carlson.

An 86-Year-Old French Woman Tries a Burger for the First Time

When Breakfast in America first opened in 2003, most customers were students in their twenties—and of those 70 percent were American. Within a couple years, it had completely flipped and 70 percent were français. And thanks to “regulars” who’d been frequenting the diner for nearly two decades, the average age was now 30 to 35.

That said, it was rare to get anyone over 60, unless they were dining with their extended family or babysitting their grandkids. And seniors over 70—almost unheard of. That’s why I was so excited when our 86-year-old neighbor said she’d never been to an American restaurant and wanted to try mine.

I first met Mme. Hubert on the fifth floor of her apartment building while the two of us were waiting for the elevator. It was 2005—a full year before I’d met Julien and five years before the apartment with the pigeon man. I’d just purchased my very first property, a 9.22-square-meter pied à terre (roughly one hundred square feet—or about half the size of a standard room at a Motel 6). Although too small to live in full-time, the tiny space was meant to guarantee that, should Breakfast in America fail, I’d never be homeless. Fortunately, business was doing well enough for us to open a second location in the Marais. And since the pied à terre was only a couple blocks away from BIA #1, I decided to convert it into an office.

Mme. Hubert lived at the opposite end of the hallway from my bureau/safety net. Built in the 1930s as a “workers hotel,” all the apartments in the eight-story building (unusual for Paris, where most topped off at six floors) were the same tiny size as mine—except for “double units” at the end of each floor, which included Mme. Hubert’s place.

Complete excerpt here: An 86-Year-Old French Woman Tries a Burger for the First Time

[sesfw]

Love this ............

[Happy prose]

That's a great story!