Requiem For All Things Old

I stepped up to the cashier to pay my bill. Having just had a lovely breakfast and conversation with my oldest daughter on our Wednesday morning eat-and-groceries date. The young cashier asked me if I had a Cracker Barrel membership. I politely said no. She replied, would you like one?

I said no again. But I added with assurance that I eat there regularly so I didn't need a membership. She looked pale and discombobulated by my unexpected response.

The next week, the same young cashier, obviously not recognizing me, asked me again. I said no. Again. This time a supervisor was standing next to her and joined the exchange and asked me if I didn't want discounts and special coupons...and I interrupted her with a smile and replied that I did not need such amenities.

What I could have said, but refrained from, was that what I really didn't need was more promotional ads in my email inbox - five times a day.

It can be said - it's just business today. We might dodge and weave but we have learned to expect aggressive marketing.

[I might mention here that this particular Cracker Barrel is packed all the time. So, I make the leap that the long established food, good service and quaint atmosphere is the primary reason - not marketing.]

As I have pointed out before, all things, even old long established iconic entities, morph with the changing of the guards/rulers/policy makers. From the small companies/organizations/religions, even whole countries, the human condition cannot get past the cycle of starting well then decaying into self destruct mode.

Rise and fall, rise and fall. Rinse and repeat. We never learn.

If, and when, the new revised Cracker Barrel, as envisioned by the current brilliant modern thinking leadership decides to renovate/update the restaurant my family has frequented for better than fifteen years, and if that includes removing all the old memorabilia and unique artifacts that so poignantly stand for and remind of times gone by in Old America, I will most certainly grieve.

For me it's a bigger issue than just switching to the Waffle House next door in protest. It's about watching helplessly as we let go and lose touch with our foundations, our roots. Regardless modern business models, which care less about good products and service than profits, these things do matter.

I do understand that many will stand up against the change and stop buying a meal served in a museum. That's just about the only recourse consumers have to protest the way the wheels of commerce turn nowadays. But thinking back, I very much doubt Target missed me much when in 2016 I chose to stop shopping there because of the decision to allow men in the women's restroom.

It is clear the bean counters and business decision makers are not the least concerned about the humans who actually make the wheel turn, those who show up and cook and serve and certainly not the faceless consumers who willingly eat and buy products. So the truly sad part of this devolution is the real and ultimate impact. Should the staff who make the business run be punished for the short-sighted decisions made from lofty towers and deep pocket change-for-the-sake-of-change makers?

The underlying issue here is the slow degradation to the purpose of being human.

If 'follow the money' is the rule of thumb, If outrage, commentary, social media postings and complaints can be dismissed with the wave of an imperial hand, then withholding the money is likely the best and only communication devise we, as consumers, have to express what we like and what we don't.

The question is - what good will it do? Punishing the people who are just trying to pay their rent isn't going to cause the Beast of Moneymaking to reconsider the now established business model of 'out with the old, in with the new'.

When this dust up settles down in a few weeks or so, as it did with the Bud Light fiasco, and those who wield the power to force all things old to be replaced/removed/forgotten, we will carry on but with a bit more humanity removed as well.

Does this feel like maybe it's a long range diabolical plan?

Tiny threads pulled from the old tapestry slowly causes it to finally fall apart.

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Listen up people! I cannot stop these lyrics anymore - I consider this new hobby as my last big thing. Sorry, not sorry.

All Things Old ©2025 Meema Fields

[verse]

what if I told you

we're sliding away

the signs are all saying

it's late in the day

can't do this forever

bad choices galore

can we reverse being

one foot out the door?

[chorus]

when senseless is common

when bad apples rot

the barrel is ruined

gotta throw out the lot

[verse]

when the old things replaced

are tossed and ignored

then new things don't work

old can't be restored

now we're shortsighted

can't see where we've been

just doing the same things

over again

[bridge]

if we could stop this here and now

what would it look like what could we do

is there no resolution

are we cooked in this stew?

[verse]

it's never been perfect

man doesn't know how

just empty assurance that

change must come now!

over and over

this story is told

humans keep traveling

on this pitted road

sometimes there's a glimmer

of hope on the way

when reason steps up

and proclaims a new day

[chorus]

then

once again,

senseless is common

and bad apples rot

the barrel is ruined

gotta throw out the lot

can't see where we've been

just doing the same things

over

and over

again