Member-only story
Dating The Old-Fashioned Way
When charm, skill, play, and persuasion won the day
Last Friday, I had a massage appointment in Emeryville. I was early, and my phone had died two hours before. I had forgotten to charge it, and left the house with 1% battery.
I strolled around, found a little shop called Inna’s jam, and bought a small jar of preserved lemons. I had forty minutes to kill. The young woman behind the makeshift counter (probably Inna herself) told me about the Emeryville Greenway nearby. I made my way there and set out on a graveled path lined with trees, shrubs, and flowers.
I walked the equivalent of five or six blocks. I noticed I felt free and that time had slowed. It occurred to that was because my phone had died.
At the end of the greenway, where it stops near Ashby Avenue in Berkeley, stood a food truck with “Royal Egyptian” emblazoned on its side. Nearby were several picnic tables scattered about a lawn. At one table sat four or five people. A man stood at the head of the table, regaling the others.
I peered into the truck, curious. It’s not every day you see an Egyptian food truck. Plus this one had cute slogans painted on all sides.
“Royal Egyptian Cuisine advises the following: Your food is your medicine. Don’t eat it if your grandmother does…
