as simple as a donut
this morning at 400am i woke to my alarm. not something i do on a regular basis. i have a career that allows me to wake when i want so i rarely start my day to the piecing sound of beeps.
headed to the airport I’m flying back home to los angeles after a few weeks away on thanksgiving vacation. i absolutely hate booking flights anytime before 11am but for some reason the 645am was $80 and the 2pm flight was $300. honestly i contemplated what it was worth to me to sleep in those few extra hours but in the end my business mind said “come on benjamin once you are up you’ll be happy you saved the money”
by 430 i was on the road and headed for the airport. after a quick shower and locating my entourage dvds for the plane ride we drove thru starbucks to turn this boys frown upside down. a few sips of coffee and i was begging to wake up.
on the drive we talked about thanksgiving, the fun we had, and our upcoming plans for christmas which is just around the corner. we both listed what we wanted to do, where we wanted to eat and where we should go to see the best christmas lights. wait you need to know by ‘we’ i mean my dad and i. he was taking me to the airport to see me off.
about 25min into the drive i noticed we took a different route then i was use to. my dad drives 1000s of miles a year so i figured he new some short cut or he wanted to take me down a scenic road instead of the usual I-5.
10min later we exited. this was not the airport exit and his tank is always ‘nearly full of gas’ “benjamin” he would say “always keep your tank about 1/2 way. you never know when you’ll hit traffic, or a storm, or any other problems.” i like to keep mine gas needle in the red. red is a fun color right?
before i could say “why are we exiting?” up over the off ramp horizon was a bright green, red and white sign lit up like the vegas strip. surrounded by other neon signed none of which were lit up this sign stood loud and proud as if to say we are open and we are ready for you…..
as far back as i can remember which is around 4-5yrs old, on saturdays my dad would let me sleep in then when i woke would take me still in my pj’s down to get donuts. it was only a few miles from my house this ma & pa donut shop that served a full breakfast which i dont think i ever ordered. right when you walked in there was what seemed like miles of glass cases filled with donuts. the waitresses wore white aprons with lacy frill around the edges like a country kitchen. i think their outfits gave it the look that they have slaved all morning baking these donuts fresh. my eyes always caught the texas donuts. those huge circle donuts that are as big as a dinner plate. i never ordered them but i sure liked to dream. we would order our donuts then find a booth to sit in. id get a huge glass of milk a donut or 2 and he’d have coffee with his. my choice of donuts changed, i like maple, i like glazed, sugar coated, cinn rolls, not a chocolate fan but my favorite was when they would put those solid chunks of sugar shaped as santa or a pumpkin right on top of the donut. i would pick it off, lick the frosting off the back of it then set it on a napkin next to me. i would eat all my donuts then pause. pick it up, look at it with a smile and pop it in my mouth. most the time i can remember sucking on it letting the sugar dissolve on my tongue. since those days my dad and i get donuts when we can and we always have a blast finding new places to get them.
krispy kreme became popularized a few years back. they popped up all over but for some reason it took a few extra years to plant one near my dad. after a shop finally opened he was up there right away and ready to test this legendary donut. it took 1 trip of his to krispy kreme for me to get a phone call (1200 miles away from him) he was so excited. “o ben they are so fresh so warm they even have a code where they light up their sign when they are serving them hot off the machine” i said “i know i know dad krispy kreme has been around a few years.” just about every other time we would talk donuts would come up in the conversation. he was definitely a fan and maybe even addicted. i got him some krispy kreme boxers and a mug for that years christmas. at this point in time i myself had never had a krispy kreme donut. for some reason or another i had just not made it happen. after that christmas i made a promise. donuts had given me some great father son moments so i was not going to eat that 1st krispy kreme until i could eat it with my dad. this didnt seem that hard however living far apart and me being on the road so much with my clothing line sure led to some problems.
every summer i tour on the vans warped tour. if i have friends in any of the cities we are headed to i beg them to bring out some iced coffee’s and donuts for me and my crew. i love traveling the east coast because dunkin donuts are everywhere! one night we were headed for bed and driving to indiana. a crew member said “my friend is coming tomorrow and he will bring coffee and donuts” until you have been on tour and realize how hard it is to get what you want when you are stuck in another hot parking lot all day long you cant realize how wonderful it is to get things delivered. i myself must have a coffee when i wake and i love to have another around 11am when the kids start to come into the show. around 7am i woke and was ready for the coffee. the friend was a bit delayed and would be there shortly. he ended up coming around 10am and i was overly ready for all this goodness. “there he is” she yelled. we all got pumped! i saw the large cups of iced coffee condensating from the heat. the brown bag that i just knew was donuts ‘LETS PARTY’!!!!
i yelled out loud “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO” everyone just stopped in their tracks and looked at me. “whats wrong ben? what happened?” i mumbled “krispy kreme….krispy kreme” someone said “yeah they are great this is perfect” i just stared at the 2 dozen donuts he had brought and was so let down. all day long those donuts stared back at me. all day long they said “just eat me, eat one of us youll be fine your dad will never know” it was the hardest warped tour day to get thru i think in my whole history of shows. needless to say i never ate one. i didnt give in. i still wanted to share that moment with my dad.
…..krispy kreme. that is where i sit right now. my dad pulled into the lot, the sun still an hour from coming up. i took pictures like a tourist, i stood in the window and watched the donuts fry then get covered in glaze. like a 5yr old at the ma & pa shop i was as excited as i could be. we walked from the viewing window over to the counter and i began to plot what i would choose. before i could pick the lady behind the counter said “hello ron” my dad said “hey there mary how are you this morning” ha ha ha. my dad was VIP at this place. unreal! he said i had to get a regular glazed so i got one of those, 1 pumpkin spice and 1 new york cheesecake. cheesecake is one of my favorite desserts and if you can put that into a donut why not eat it. we didnt have time to get a booth but i did get my milk and i even snagged a paper hat. its been a few years in the making but it was all worth it. something as simple as a donut became a new story and a new memory for us. we talked the rest of the drive and when he hugged me bye on the white curb he said “dont let the airport security take that donut from you”
make sure you enjoy the little things in life. a few little things can add up to a huge difference in who you are.
