Red Room Where the Writers Are

I helped my friend Lilly-Marie move yesterday. Mostly it was just helping her carrying in boxes,but as a person who has moved four times in ten years,  you need all the people you can get, you know?
After we did unpacking we went to dinner. We were planning on going to Oscar's, this great hamburger place a couple of blocks away, but my friend's roommate was expecting Comcast to come. This isn't a big deal but she's in a wheelchair and the elevator isn't wheelchair friendly yet, so she was worried she wouldn't be able to let Comcsat in. So my friend and I decided to go to Mel's across the street so if Roomie needed her, we could run across the street and let Comcast in.
Mel's is this chain which tries to be this fifties retro place. It was featured in American Graffiti and the food is half way decent. We sat down and because my friend is sight impaired, I started to read aloud the menu. Three minutes later the waitress comes by and says: "Have you decided what to order?" while we were still reading the menu.
Anyway, after we decided what we were going to order, the waitress came back and we ordered two starters (Cheese fries and Buffalo wings) then our meals. She left and then someone put music on the jukebox-and we could barely hear ourselves think.
So she brings EVERYTHING we ordered at the same time, except the Buffalo wings. I asked why all of it so soon, and she shrugged and said: "We bring it when it's ready. We do that for desert as well."
She quickly disappeared before we could find out what happened to the Buffalo Wings.
We ate as quickly as we could to get the hell out of there. Then a woman approached us to sell carnations for a peace group. I gave her fifty cents so she could leave us alone.
When the waitress finally came back (TWENTY MINUTES LATER) we asked her what happened to the Buffalo Wings. She said "Oh, I thought you changed your minds." This is the first time I didn't tip a watiress.
We finally left and went to a Peet's across the street. I gave my sandwich to the first homeless person I saw.
While we were waiting for our drinks we were talking about the meal and the bartista said: "Oh, you went to Mel's? It's not even Mel's anymore. It's called The Original. Plus the service is terrible."
So now we know.
After we ordered drinks, we walked around the neighborhood. I love Berkeley, faults and all, so it was great to show her the neighborhood. A man sang Sinatra songs while people stood around and listened. Someone watched Hillary Clinton do her speech in Boulder. It was a lovely summer night. "Welcome to Berkeley," I told Lilly-Marie.