Chapter 14: Day for Night at Denny's

“Now at midnight all the agents
And the superhuman crew
Come out and round up everyone
That knows more than they do”
-Bob Dylan, “Desolation Row” (via Watchmen)

The most important time for going to Denny’s is the night time. I seem to remember that the ancient Greeks used to run their school days from sunrise to sunset. Even if that isn’t true I will apply that same sort of rhetoric to Denny’s attendance. The best time to come to Denny’s is the inverse. Of course, I haven’t been around to see a sunrise at Denny’s but I have certainly come close to it.

Denny’s during the daytime is a lot like a superhero’s secret identity. During the day it is prim and proper in the sense of how prim and proper Denny’s is ever going to be during the day. Normal people go there, get their meal, chat for a bit, pay the check, and leave. Its a regular restaurant during the day. But at night it become Batman. The atmosphere, despite any renovations, is dark and moody. There is something in the shadows that prowls.

For the evening denizens of Denny’s (Denny’sens?) it is not about being there quick. For me, I get there and I’m in it for the long haul. Even in recent years as the attendance has declined it is still a good idea to get there late and stay. We are vampires and the coffee might as well be blood.

Things that are unheard of during the day are not only acceptable during the night but are required and mandated as such. It is okay to be a little loud. It is okay to stay hours after your plate has been taken away and your waiter is telling you their shift is almost over and they have to cash out. It is okay to move to another table when one is getting too full.

I’ve written sketches and stories in these times. I’ve seen awkward dates, pissed-off waiters, and kids up way past any reasonable bedtime.

The Polis has a nightlife comparable to other similar-sized areas. There are plenty of open bars and restaurants. But there is an allure to Denny’s not afforded at other night spots. I may love the Raven but it can get crowded for the stupidest reasons. The amount of clubs that have the upstairs couches available on a whim is unfathomable. One time back in November I went there and the whole upper floor was closed off for some party. The downstairs was stuffed to the gills because of this. On the less sober-side, bars can get too loud and the people are given plenty of reasons to become full-blown idiots.

Denny’s has its share of such people as well. Its not like the management is telling the medical students to hurry up so the law students have a chance to sit down. And there are also plenty of loud, obnoxious idiots there as well. I remember once some kids smoking cigars there. Nothing screams “I’m a pompous ass” like smoking a cigar at Denny’s.

Denny’s has control. The good kind of control. If we want to be loud we do it on our own terms and stop when we‘re done. If we need to discuss some serious issues we can do so without having to shout over the jukebox that‘s playing Journey for the millionth time that night. If we need to make the 1,000th reference that night to Flight of the Conchords or continue to espouse positively about In Rainbows we can. Since the people there that late are going to be accustomed to that anyway there is no reason to stop us.

When I get to Denny's I am always with some people. It is usually the end of a day and I have some things to do. Over the course of a night I may have a writing project to develop. some personal issues to solve, or just stare into a cup of coffee and hope that something might arise from the steam. I will shift between all those areas as much as I will be shifting between tables to say hi to some people. Denny's can afford that. I cannot do that at a bar.

But once in a while there comes the time I have to be there when the vampires are asleep.

It was around exam time for SC4 5 years ago. For a stress-breaker the student government sought out the craziest, sweatiest, most liquored-up band they could. They called on Freudian Slip. Featuring RJ Mey, Rob Adamson, Matt Surline, and the enigmatic Mr. Andy, they were to make their public debut with this show. An EP had been recorded and assembled up to the minutes before they would take the “stage” at what was the West Commons of the College Center for an early afternoon show.

I introduced the band. I sold the CDs and watched the show. They did pretty good. But with so much rock all at once there was only one way to celebrate.

It was me, the band, and some of the fans/friends that came to Denny’s including Candice, a friend who had traveled out from Lansing to see the band. It was raining outside and was quite grey that day. But again, there was a lot of rock that we all had just absorbed so now it was time to absorb caffeine and French fries.

After being seated I looked around. I didn’t understand it. We were in Denny’s but it wasn’t the place where we go to confess our sins or succumb to new ones.

This was Denny’s, but what is with the natural light coming in?
Why can we see things outside?
What is with the old people here?
And why are the waiters attending to us so promptly?

I felt awkward being there and whether or not anyone cared to acknowledge it they did too. We may be awake during the day but day is not the time to be at Denny’s. We were scaring the straights.

We stayed for a little bit in order to bask in the glow of the after show but not as long as normal. Denny’s in the day is not our environment. In an early episode of Twin Peaks Dale Cooper points out that when someone is away from their regular environment they lose 100% control of their surroundings.

It was daytime and we should have stayed in our coffins instead of trying to survive the day. But that's what night is for; to recover from the day, survive the next, and repeat the cycle.