Stumpy's

Eighth grade was the year in which I transitioned from home school to public school. Up until that point, I had lived a very sheltered life and I was really scared to be around all new people. The only reason my parents convinced me to go was because my best friend and neighbor, Anna, also attended Lincoln Prep, and she promised to show me the ropes. Fast forward a year: I was still that awkward homeschooled girl and everyone thought I made my own clothes(????). I was getting used to the public school life, and finally starting to enjoy my time there, however, Anna hated it. Our freshman year, she transferred to another school in the district, and two years after that she moved to a private art school near our houses. I was afraid that we would grow apart once she transferred, and that I wouldn't fit in at Lincoln without her. I texted her a few days after school started freshman year, and asked her to get lunch at our favorite restaurant, Governor Stumpy's Grill House. It was two blocks away from our house, and every other day when our busses dropped us off, we would wait for one another and walk there. When we stopped riding the bus, we would await the familiar "Stumpy's?" text from one another. We didn't have much money and we both have really small appetites, so we only bought the kid's meal items or appetizers. All the servers there knew our names and got our drinks ready as soon as they heard us come through the door, laughing hysterically. Eventually, I got a job there and worked as a hostess for almost three years, before I left for college. Even know, when I come home from Kirksville, Missouri, and when she comes home from Liverpool, England, we immediately go to Stumpy's and sit and talk for hours while eating french fries and a spinach-cheese dip. Stumpy's has been there facilitating our friendship for the past six years, and it's classic food brought us many great conversations and inside jokes that I will forever be grateful for.