"24 Hours at The Golden Apple"

"24 Hours at The Golden Apple", was a great example of American Landscape. I really enjoyed listening to everyone's story and liked hearing the everyday life of others. This 24 hour shift of interviews really gives us an insight of how other people live their lives; something that we see and dismiss. Taking the time and listening to the stories, you can just visualize these people going about their everyday lives, day after day.
In the recording you hear of a waitress named Donna that has been on the night shift at the Golden Apple for 26 years. You hear her story of being a single parent of 3 children and deciding to work the night shift, so she can be there for her kids during the day; and she isn't even a night person. She started out doing this because it was her duty for her children, and she has grown to feel it is her duty as a waitress to her regular customers and the nighttime patrons of the diner. Her working the night shift has turned into a life for herself. She has seen plays, she has gone to see musicians play and she has seen artwork, all by patrons of the graveyard shift.
There are people that come in, just because they are lonely and looking for conversation. There are people there that come because it is a place they can just sit and relax, while not being alone. There are children that have grown up to bring their children there, just to get the forbidden Mickey Mouse pancakes, that every child knows about who lives in the area.
There are ex-daters, best friends, police officers, retired people and many more who walk through that door every day. Stopping in to say "hi" to each other, and to the owners, Pete, Nick and Tom. We even hear a story about a woman on her way to a viewing of a friend at the church across the street. Her name is Katie "Keen" and she is 75 years old. Katie has lived in the neighborhood her whole life; even after her family moved to the suburbs. She tells us of another landmark that sat in that exact spot when she was in high school. A pharmacy stood in that same wedge shaped piece of land, and was the hangout for high school kids while she was younger.
The most profound thing that stands out in my mind about The Golden Apple is that there are no locks and no keys. No one is turned away at anytime of the day or night. The diner stands there open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week just like it is telling the outside world "come on in, sit down, and tell us your story."