Star Diner

From deep space is blackness absolute. The nothing of nothingness, open and hollow. Moving at light speed are streaks of light. Slowing they become dots, obvious stars. One is our sun with planets around it. One is a blue ball, our planet. Not entirely blue, bluish if you put a color to it. There is our moon. Neon ivory white and pitted. Half in shade is nearly unseen.

Moving closer, away from the other stars the blue planet becomes more defined, with features, land masses and clouds, and what appears to be China, Russia, Europe, water. America with it’s particular shape. Mountains appear. Inland from the east, over forested Pennsylvania, West Virginia with mountains, then Ohio. Zooming closer, lower and slower, closer. North is the lake Erie with islands. Inland a bit is the town of Norwhere, Ohio. Closer, lower, near the corner of two intersecting highways is a structure alone. An odd rectangular shape seemingly nothing in particular. The wind blows debris around it.

Star Diner. Nothing special. A mile from town, with nothing special around it. Not a gas station or a drug store. The building is on the road forking away in two directions.

It’s in small town Ohio; named by the settlers arrived in the seventeen hundreds, they think. Maybe Norhere was someone’s last name. It isn't clear, and now no one cares where the name came from. Local historians care that the Cleveland Indians won the pennant in 1953, and who was pitching.

Trucks fill the parking spaces at Star Diner every morning. Pickup trucks, seven or eight trucks parked along the front, a few more parked on the side and around back. Most are customers, some are the people that work here. This day is sunny, as is every day not cloudy, rainy or snowy.

Although from first glance it looks as if the restaurant was made like a dining car of an old train. What ever it was has been reconstructed so many time you can’t what it was meant to be. It’s wide with table on either side of the door, a counter on the right side. Off to the left side is a restroom. Opposite the front door is the kitchen and a small office area.

Despite modifications, the restaurant has retained this basic shape during my lifetime. Only one minor remodeling occurred that I remember, when a stock car race track opened about five miles down the road. They removed a mounted fish from the wall, and glued a plastic model Chevy truck on the wall. A year later they removed the truck. Walls are blue.

Nicky in blue jeans, t-shirt and red scarf around her neck, is one waitress this morning, rolling in smooth motions, from counter to coffee pot from table to table. No music plays, no radio or TV. A lot of talking goes on in the café. Chairs are filled with locals on their way to work, or stopping by to meet friends, drink coffee and chat.

“So when I was a kid I go to school and there’s forty-eight states. Then they tell me, no. there’s fifty.” The guy speaking put both hands in the air and looks around puzzled. "What happened? Did two states go missing? How the hell did they find two more?”

“They ought’a have only two states. North and South. We’d have fewer politicians.” A cheer of agreement erupted.

A customer raises his cup to signal for more coffee. Another pores sugar into his cup while watching the younger waitress reach up toward the doughnut rack. Her skirt hikes up in back revealing a bit of thigh and he keeps poring sugar. Another customer opposite him sees him poring, and shakes his head.

A full house means about twenty-five customers, if anyone cared to count. The place is open from six a.m. until two in the afternoon and is usually packed. When Buzz and his wife came in they wandered to their usual table. It was vacant and they sat down. Looking around, they more or less recognized faces, but don’t know anyone by name. The waitress, of course, knows them as regulars and came over in less than a minute with their coffee.

Marge was chatting away, telling Buzz the things she has to get done that day. As always shopping and work in the garden. Buzz casually looked around to see who was there. He was thinking of the work he has to finish that day, paperwork and two appointments this afternoon to take orders for replacement windows.

A guy at the next table loudly pontificating and reading the paper to two or three of his friends.
“There’s been a big science meeting and they’ve decided to go to the moon to search for water.”
A customer says “Well, where do I have to go for a glass of water?”


Florida -

Meanwhile, like the view of a high flying bird. We see in Florida preparations underway for another launch at the space center. Steam from the morning rain shower is coming off the pavement in the sun as crews are transporting bombs in long trucks, at the same time others are loading more bombs, many, many bombs. Truck movement continued in an out of hangers. Nearby in the marsh the alligators sun themselves or scurry in the shallows.

Neatly dressed helmeted men with checklists are talking among themselves, pointing to other parts of the hangers and giving instructions. A runner comes over with papers to be examined and initialed.

From miles away you see the large rocket slowly towed...moving out to the launch spot. It looks as large as an office building or a lighthouse and freshly washed, it gleams in the sun.

People were coming into work in the control room area, the gymnasium size, well windowed room on the top floor of a huge office building. Some days they come for practice. Today it’s the real thing.


launch day -

It was the morning of the launch and private vehicles out beyond the fences were pulled off the side of the road for a good spot to observe.

“The whole thing is full of bombs,” a guy says to his family. The wife looks skeptical.

“They’re going to look for water, up there,” he explains, with both hands pointing in the air. The wife has a “heaven forbid look” on her face.

In another car a boy is giving a girl an engagement ring. They kiss and hug and see nothing but each other.

The countdown begins, and then ignition, launch, and up to the moon.

the boy and girl’s car in rocking. you can’t see in the fogged windows.


Someone in a car outside the Star Diner is listening to the radio and hears,
“…when the rocket gets there it will go into lunar orbit...while every movement is checked. rechecked by the NASA engineers on earth.”
Scene shows men in a backroom at NASA playing checkers.


To the moon -


Five days later the scientists are set to begin and the signal is given to start dropping bombs. tremendous bombs.

“I wanna do an orange one.”

The drop bomb button is jammed. They keep pushing a jammed button. All three men aboard are pushing and punching at that button, at the same time, unknown the them, all the bombs are falling.


Night scene from the diner where a waitress goes on smoke break and sees the explosions on the moon. “look how pretty”
colored flashes light up the diner, waitress outside staggers back half blind. she bumps into a car and falls down.

Aboard the spacecraft -

The scientists about the space craft orbiting the moon are rocked around as the repercussions from the blast move the ship and the moon.


Back on earth -

Within hours it’s reported the explosions have apparently shaken the moon out of earth orbit.
“It is not unusual and there is nothing to worry about,” says an obviously young voice on the radio.


Days later -

It becomes evident the moon is moving closer to earth
People outside are pointing and talking about the moon.
Because of the gravitational pull the earth has been knocked off it’s regular rotation.
Sometime it’s rotating faster, sometimes slower.
birds seem to be walking more and flying less.

At the diner -

People in the Star Diner are eating and talking as if it were normal day/night/day.
A big shadow sweeps across the Star Diner, then light, then shadow again.
Then the shadow swings across again – this time going the other way.
only half of the customers seem to notice. Half are panicked near tears.
One woman is sobbing at the counter. Another customer taps her on the shoulder and then asks her if she is going to finish her toast.

as a result of the change of moon orbit -

naturally, time is screwed up world over.

Twelve hour plane rides take thirty minutes, Airline schedules are ruined.

passenger: “What time is it?”

another: “four o’clock”

passenger collecting baggage after flight.

“This flight is scheduled to leave in five hours and we’re here all ready.”

another: “Why don’t you go back to the counter, cancel your flight and get a refund.”

An employee goes to work on Friday and an eight hour shift ends on Tuesday.
guy comes into diner and asks for “two eggs scrambled.”

“Were not serving breakfast right now. You’ll have to wait until day after tomorrow, or yesterday, which ever comes first. Care to wait?”
The customer nods.


Three weeks later -

The moon now rotating in orbit only a few thousand miles over the earth. it is unnerving to see it so close.

Freeway commuters are driving and looking up. Many collide.

City walkers with the moon overhead bump into each other.

“It’s getting closer,” a child says to his mother.

A golfer in mid swing with the moon overhead keeps his mind on the game.
dog walking by as moon passes and dog looks and barks...rushes off with tail between his legs.

At the star Diner a guy says he bought tickets for a game in Cleveland - a day night day game.


The moon slows down to get in sync with the earth rotation.
Lowering gradually, the moon finally touches earth in the vast area of Siberia. Camera shows happy Russian military jumping up and down urging it down. Finally they rejoice in celebration. Russian champagne uncorks.

A news broadcast shows a soviet speaking. The camera pulls back to show a reporter who translates that “Because it is on Russian property, the moon now belongs to Russia.”

We see the moon in a long shot and it rolls once, as if settling.

Weather is wild the world over.
a weather map on TV screen is shown with a woman pointing to areas.
“High winds, high water, heat and cold.”

Newspaper headlines about the weather changes.

The shadow of the moon causes only three hours of sun to hit parts of Europe and Asia.

And there it sits – the new earth with moon attached. A long photo from space view.
the moon starts to leak water all over Russia.

A scientist during a TV interview explains that, “The earth is rotating faster than normal for about seven hours, then slower than normal for sixteen hours, then quickly again for twelve hours.”

Interviewer, “That’s the new pattern then.”

scientist, “Well, it’s changing.”

The man holding the microphone shakes his head as if agreeing, then says, “Okay, then Rod, back to you in New York for sports.”

At the Star Diner all runs normal. The earth is on a wobbly irregular rotation now, sometimes faster, sometimes slower. Some trucks are piled with baggage and furniture as if moving out of town, or into town...somewhere.
Someone runs by through the parking lot screaming.

Outside the star diner the area looks trashed, boxes on the side of the road with abandoned vehicles and furniture.

The restaurant is filled with regulars and some fleeing to God knows where.
We hear their chatter.

A man plans vacation to Russia to see the moon.

“Can you climb on it?” a youth asks.

“What kind of winter do you think it will be?” says Austin.

“I’m not sure. What season do you suppose it is now?” Mikes asks.

“Are you serving breakfast now?” another said.

“Course we are,” replied the waitress, “Now were serving breakfast all day or all night – whichever comes first!”