Well here I am, sitting in Purcell’s Country Style Buffet on Highway 36 South in Brenham, Texas, taking in the whole scene. Brenham is a small Texas town of 14,161 residents that exudes rural charm. It sits happily between Austin and Houston and boasts of clean government, good schools and fair justice. Single family houses line tree-shaded streets, and Texas history rings this town in a necklace of proud monuments to its heroes.
Here in this local and unadorned hangout, a delegation of Chinese officials whom I am accompanying are eating good size portions of fried fish, rice, slices of beef, salad, beets and some fruit. Their American hosts, across the table, dig in with them, dishes replete with mash potatoes, gravy and deep fried chicken. Over this prototypical American cuisine, they’re discussing the nuances of corporate social responsibility and American companies doing business in China. The mood is amicable, engaging and the talk drips with a sense of importance. This is not idle conversation.
Yet, it’s not so much the content that strikes me, but the contrasts of this place, these people, the quiet and unassuming dignity of this town — all of which is small– pushing up against all of that which is big, industrial, global and mostly incomprehensible. This day in Brenham, the people at Purcell’s Country Style Buffet are taking their best shot at making their own micro-history, looking for what personal knowledge may be gained in this rare encounter; to test themselves against the unasked question: how do these people who we are seeing, here, right now, in front of us compare to what we have been led to believe? The conversation doesn’t answer the question so much as broaden the dimensions of the investigation.
A deep dish of Blue Belle ice cream eventually completes the meal and the conversation. The combined effect is really quite satisfying.
