Should you ever find yourself near the Sunrise Cafe in Boardman, Oregon, I recommend their Breakfast Sandwich for $3.25.

One heck of a deal.

And if it’s Saturday morning, you might run into Harry, Karen, Steve and Bob. They meet there for coffee.

Last Saturday, they discussed politics, salmon, dogs, and Steve’s ability to turn off TVs by looking at them.

They sat at two tables in the corner of the cafe, no doubt their regular tables. The TV in the opposite corner was turned to CNN.

Bob: Did you hear what he said, Karen? Think it’ll end his campaign?

Karen: I don’t know. I’m not trying to guess anymore. I just don’t understand it.

Bob: Well, I keep thinking the party should just put Jeb Bush in.

Steve: But didn’t he end his campaign? I thought that happened a while ago. (He picks up a coffee pot from the burner behind them and starts refilling everyone’s cups.)

Bob: Doesn’t matter. They should just put him in… well, thank you, Steve. That’s mighty kind of you. What’d ya say there, Karen?

Karen: I said I like Paul Ryan.

Bob: Oh, do you? Well, all I gotta say is, I’m really fed up with the Republican party right now. How about you, Harry? What do you think?

Harry: I stopped caring long ago.

Bob: Yeah, I don’t blame ya. Still think they should put Jeb Bush in.

(Steve walked to our table and offered us a refill, but we were drinking tea. He said that’s what he drinks too. Meaning the tea drinker is refilling everyone’s coffee. Making Steve a mighty swell guy, don’t ya think?)

Karen: What are they saying about seafood?

Harry: Something about how healthy it is.

(Steve puts the coffee pot back on burner and returns to his chair next to Karen.)

Karen: Good thing we like it.

Steve: Sure is.

Bob: I don’t like it.

Karen: Oh, don’t you like seafood, Bob?

Bob: No, never did like it.

Karen: You should try it with lemon.

Steve: Not even salmon? Salmon is good.

Bob: Not really.

Harry: I like trout.

Steve: Trout is good, but I like salmon better.

Bob: Don’t much like either.

Steve: When I was working in Alaska, you could eat salmon all the time. It was everywhere. They even feed it to their dogs.

Bob: Is that right?

Steve: Yeah. All the time. They actually feed salmon to their dogs.

Bob: Well, I guess they would. Probably the stuff we don’t eat, right? Like… chunk. Something like that.

Steve: I think it’s good enough to eat. But they feed it to their dogs.

Harry: Well, you gotta feed them something, right?

Steve: They could feed them bear. You could feed a lot more dogs with one bear than you can salmon.

Bob: There are probably more bears eating dogs than dogs eating bears.

(laughter)

Harry: I think bears eat salmon.

Steve: Criminy. Everyone’s eating salmon.

Karen: The TV just turned off.

Bob: (to waitress) What’d ya do, Maria? Did you break it?

Maria: No, it just does that sometimes.

Bob: You probably broke it.

Maria: It wasn’t me. It was Steve.

Steve: Me?

Maria: Yeah. It happens every time you’re here. You look at it and it turns off.

Bob: Is that right, Steve?

(Steve shrugs, smiling)

Karen: Must be true. Somehow ours turns off whenever Gilmore Girls is on.

Maria: (uses remote) Okay, it’s back on now. Steve, you let it be, okay?

Bob: Yeah, Steve. You better not watch TV anymore.

Steve: (Laughs) Okay, don’t worry. I won’t be missing much.

Gee, but Steve is a swell guy.