visiting McDonald’s with my Grandmother

March 27, 2017 9:56 AM

visiting McDonald’s with my Grandmother
posted by and they trembled before her fury (15 comments total)

visiting McDonald’s with my Grandmother
and they trembled before her fury

eponyshortstory
posted by zamboni at 10:12 AM on March 27, 2017 [25 favorites]

...and then the murders began.
posted by dr_dank at 10:17 AM on March 27, 2017 [16 favorites]

I appreciate the sentiment of this tale. Grandmother finding a new, liberated life, liberated to be as poor as she could tolerate, and still find joy. Cooking is such a fine skill, it makes a modest life, pleasant. If I could only find something my grandson would love, as much as shrimp tacos from the East Side taco van.

I am gladdened by the respect shown, in this brief and succinct writing. It is so good, spare, no maudlin meander through over description. Perfect.
posted by Oyéah at 10:25 AM on March 27, 2017 [13 favorites]

This is great! My American grandmother always used to treat me to McDonald's when I visited from Germany with my Oma. My mom used to joke after we started reconnecting once I turned 18 that it was McDonald's Happy Meals and Coca Cola that lost me to her. At that time in the late seventies and early eighties in the South, it was seen as an indulgence and my grandmother was never reluctant about indulging me, which meant by high school, I had to deliberately wean myself off McDonald's food because I associated it so closely with feeling safe and secure with her that it became a comfort food I would reach for anytime when stressed or sad. It's interesting to read about what McDonald's meant to other people in different circumstances. It used to be such a massive icon of American culture.
posted by saulgoodman at 10:31 AM on March 27, 2017 [5 favorites]

My grandmother also looked forward to each McDonald’s Monopoly period, that marvel of synergistic marketing that turned every McDonald’s purchase into a scratch-off prize opportunity. This allowed her to scratch the gambling itch in a socially accepted way. For a brief period I, along with every other person I knew, went temporarily deranged over going to McDonald’s as frequently as our wallets and waistbands would allow.

Me too, granny. That feeling of being just a single game piece (either Boardwalk or Park Place—the Holy Grail piece alternated from year-to-year) away from a total Life of Luxury! Alas, it was never to be.

A sweet little article.
posted by Atom Eyes at 10:32 AM on March 27, 2017 [4 favorites]

It's interesting to read about what McDonald's meant to other people in different circumstances. It used to be such a massive icon of American culture.

This made me think of a piece in The Grauniad from last year: McDonald's: you can sneer, but it's the glue that holds communities together

Also, this was a lovely piece of writing.
posted by ndfine at 10:49 AM on March 27, 2017 [4 favorites]

Aw, the detail about her grandmother buying 10 cheeseburgers at a time and keeping them in the freezer for later is something MY grandmother did, as well! My grandmother was married twice: The first time to a man with a good job who found out he couldn't have kids, so she left him. She then married my grandfather, who "wasn't cut out for working," so she bought a house that was cut up into 4 apartments and rented out the apartments so they could have money. She knew a great bargain when she saw one. We always had PILES of things at Christmas, all of them slightly off-brand that she found god-knows-where, and she made pennies last.

Reheated McDonald's hamburgers were such a treat. We always felt like we were getting away with something when Gram would heat them up in the oven for us.
posted by xingcat at 11:29 AM on March 27, 2017 [9 favorites]

This was a lovely piece of writing. Thank you for sharing.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 4:27 PM on March 27, 2017

My Gran lived a long way away (by British standards) which meant when she came to visit she'd stay for weeks and weeks. Eventually she moved in with us permanently which was a joy for all concerned.

To my memory now, I spent all my childhood Saturdays with Gran, either staying at home "looking after" her whilst watching the World Of Sports Wrestling, or else going out food shopping (sweets, comics and Woman's Weekly from Smiths; various fruit and veg off the market; hamburgers from the butcher; Woolworths last for cat food and often a Zoid or "Star Ward" figure for being good [spoiled, moi?]). Halfway through shopping we'd usually go to a smart cafe for tea plus a toasted teacake which I always enjoyed, but sometimes Gran would agree to go to McDonalds instead. Tea for her and either a viscous milkshake or Coca-Cola ("It's McDonalds Coke, is that OK?") for me, plus a basic cheeseburger each (because I wasn't that spoiled, comealongpole lied glibly).

After we moved away, we didn't have a local McDonalds, so those visits stopped. Instead, going there was always an exception, or paired with a minor event, so memorable in the same way that I can just about distinctly count the gigs I've been to or the films I've seen at the pictures (yeah, I still call it "The Pictures").

tl;dr - Great article. I love/d my Gran to bits and if you had one too then you probably know what I'm on about. Also, McDonalds is composed of memory and gristle. Delicious, delicious gristle.
posted by comealongpole at 4:55 PM on March 27, 2017 [3 favorites]

Hrm, I probably need to stop posting personal narratives on MetaFilter. Plz don't identity-theft me, kthnxbai.
posted by comealongpole at 5:08 PM on March 27, 2017

Reminds me a bit of visiting my immigrant grandmother when I was a kid. I remember once we were supposed to meet up at her work for lunch, and for some reason the idea of visiting her there was terrifying to me. But in reality, all we did was stop by to pick her up on the way to McDonald's which was comforting.

Another article in the genre of surprisingly emotional connections to McDonald's: What It Really Means to Eat a Big Mac at the Arctic Circle.
posted by timelord at 5:45 PM on March 27, 2017

Oh yeah, just remembered another McDonald's anecdote: the first time I visited Germany as an adult after my kidnapping, my mom told me to meet her at the McDonald's in Frankfurt airport. So after the plane landed, the first thing I had to do in my then extremely halting and self conscious German was ask the guy in customs "Wo ist hier die McDonalds?" and he instantly broke out in a big grin that let me know he had spotted another American idiot trying to pass for German but immediately giving himself away with his clunky, ungrammatical speech and addiction to American fast food.
posted by saulgoodman at 5:55 PM on March 27, 2017 [1 favorite]

This was lovely. Thank you.
posted by veggieboy at 7:06 PM on March 27, 2017

McDonalds came to New Zealand, or at least to the nearest big town to us, when I was nearly five. So I begged and begged and my parents agreed that for my fifth birthday, I could take two friends and we would all eat there (nearly an hour's drive from home). I still remember that. It was such a big deal.

We didn't eat out when I was a kid, except for on birthdays (sometimes) and special occasions once or twice a year, and then it tended to be the NZ bizarre low-price restaurant that is Cobb & Co. So I didn't really get to eat McDonalds again until I was a teenager with my own money. Then I'd occasionally get burgers and fries there with my friends before a movie, but there was only a very brief gap between being old enough to be allowed to go into town with friends, and being old enough that my friends thought McDonalds was hopelessly uncool. (Then we went to Burger King instead.)

So deep down I still kind of feel like McDonalds is a little bit fancy. And it totally blew my mind a few years ago when I realised that some people buy two hamburgers or cheeseburgers when they go there. Like, you can do that? It's allowed? It's pretty exciting really. I should go there again sometime.
posted by lollusc at 4:26 AM on March 28, 2017 [1 favorite]

And it totally blew my mind a few years ago when I realised that some people buy two hamburgers or cheeseburgers when they go there. Like, you can do that? It's allowed? It's pretty exciting really.

I generally loath McDonalds, but if out of some poor fortune I end up having to eat there, I get two double quarter pounders, with nothing but cheese on. Then I peel the uncheesy bun off of each and stack them together. This block of meat is known as a Salty Pounder (avec fromage). The mouth delights in the brief moment of interaction, before the true horror sets in to lay ruin upon body and soul.
posted by FatherDagon at 2:23 PM on March 28, 2017