The Red Wing (to be worked on later)

At the Red Wing

before the age when I could remember what age I was, my uncle who is now in his 80's and on dialysis, and my aunt, who passed away this summer, took their family and me, the tag along, to the Red Wing. That diner dinner remains a vivid memory, and the Red Wing, a place that I will never let go of, as long as it remains there, for I always manage to have the whim and will to go there. I have over the years, dragged family members along: come be a part of the Red Wing clan.

At the time of the dinner, back in the early 60's, my cousin, who fell off her bike and died at age 10, an example of why they have helmet laws, was still alive. Also, my cousin, who died at 25, in a small plane crash, was still alive; we were nearly the same age. And my cousin, who is still alive, the sisters' older brother, whom I always thought was strange, was there, he still lives near there with his father in the old house, I remember as a great place, where the wonders of nature, and life, and change touched me then and still remain.

At the Red Wing,
We sat at a table in the middle of the room, and had great food, I dont remember what it was, and my cousin, the strange one, used so many napkins, that the waitress brought him a stack 3 inches high, and my female cousins and I were laughing. Something else went array at that dinner, but I dont remember what it was, all I remember was that it was a marvelous time.

I had a lot of great times at my cousins' house when I was growing up, and it is sad now, as my aunt is gone, and my uncle is ill, and their son, the strange one, has no one but himself to carry things on. But his parents suffered in this life, not for loss of material, but from loss of lives, having two children of their three children taken from them. I think how different things would be now, if neither of them had passed on, and how the only memory that remains strong that I will have access to will be that Red Wing restaurant, for I havent been to their old house in years, nearly 20 years it seems to me, but so many memories from those days come back to me.

But the Red Wing ---
Back then I thought the place was old, a throw back from another time, wooden chairs at wooden tables, covered by laminate, not formica, but another material, that was the seating area up. Then there was not a makeshift wall of painted lattice to separate the one big room into two sections, nor was the wallpaper a marbled blue. But the ketchup squeezers, and tartar sauce squeezers,and metal napkin holders remain the same, as does the salt and pepper shakers, and the ladies room, that I never make it to, and the men's room, my husband doesn't go into because there are no doors on the stalls; I wonder if it was that way back then, I do not know, but the man finds the restroom uncomfortable. Soooo....

The Red Wing though, is famous, famous for old time prices, and really great food. No decor, but a good time. And the same waitresses, they've been working there for all time. It is like you walk into this place and there they are, two old women, one with white hair, the other dyed brown, both in need of dental repair, but kind, and yet scary if you were a child and had never been there. I was wondering today as I left the place, is it bewitched? Have those women really worked there all those years and never changed? Are they in my mind that way, or truly, truly, is the Red Wing in a special place that no one else can see, only those who have been there as a child can get in there, and know it is there, for everyone else who drives route 1 there is a vacant lot there...no little red house with a wing? I wonder.

On the other side of the restaurant there is a bar. I wonder what part of the little house is the wing, the wing that has a restaurant or the wing that is a bar? They are both wings with a little room inbetween. Anyway...

That bar is ripe with stories galore, for the Red Wing always has customers, from the moment it opens til after the lock of the door. We never go into the bar side. I remember it from long ago when I first saw it, and the few times I've peeked behind the opening. It is like a trailer home, with no chairs, only barstools and standing room only. A mirror as long as the room, and a rich chocolate bar as long as that too, laden with bottles and glasses, ready to serve up customers. I really must make it a point to go in there --- some evening just to be sure.

One thing about the Red Wing, it is not too far from the stadium where the Patriots play,so I can only imagine how the place is hopping from September through January... as we only go there on occasion. a whim, and a ride, to have the one dish no restaurant serves up as fresh and over the top as they...

the fisherman's platter fills two, or even three--- that is the plate we order and divide.

So there it is the Red Wing... A little place not many know of, but it is a story, now it I can ever find the time to write it out right, is is a place of horror, or a place of love, or a place of divide. Is it a place of happy people old and young alike with the same memories, the Red Wing, a wing of life.