The Golden Apple response

The Golden Apple

               From the broadcast produced by This America Life, taught me that people really do shape the public space. Personally, I always thought that it was the place that shaped the people. I used to think that different restaurants presented a different atmosphere that attracted a curtain crowd, then I listened to this broadcast. At The Golden Apple, the people really do shape the restaurant. For example, the morning crowd is a very mellow group that comes strictly to eat. With tables that only have one person dinning the restaurant is silent, all you can hear are the forks clinging on the plates. The dinner crowd is usually filled with couples. The restaurant is filled with conversations about "couple stuff". Conversations about their future or the drama about their unresolved pasts. Then there is the late night crowds, usually consist of the drinks or people that are looking for a good time. The noise level in the restaurant grows and is full of more laughter. Each crowd that was interviewed was very different from the previous and brought in a new atmosphere.

              One specific example of how the people shaped the restaurant was the dinner crowds. There was a couple interviewed that had dated each other 3 years prier but were now seeing other people. In fact, the women at the table is engaged and the man can't stand the thought of it. Even though these two people are no longer a couple, they were still having the same "couple conversations" as every other couple in the restaurant. The only difference was, was their conversations had a hidden meanings to them. For example, a women walked past the window of the restaurant and the man at the table followed her every step with his eyes. The women at the table shrieked and told the interviewer that he does that all the time and i used to bother her when they were dating. The women explained to the man that when he stares at other women it shows her that she is not interesting enough to keep his attention, but the women is. Every conversation they had was secretly about their past.

             If I was to compare The Golden Apple to a chain restaurant like In-n-out, the two restaurants have some similarities. Although In-n-out is not open 24 hours a day like The Golden Apple is, they still have similar crowds that come in and make In-n-out what it is. The first crowd of the day is the early 11:00 lunch crowd, which is most all elderly customers. Most of the tables are parties of two and the mood is very quiet just like The Golden Apple. The dinner crowd at In-n-out is more of a family crowd, and the atmosphere is full of a consistent chatter. Families talk to each other about their day, as other parents are trying to control their screaming kids. The difference here is The Golden Apple is not a kid friendly place, actually very rarely a parent will bring their child in. The late night dinner crowd at In-n-out is more of the party crowd like at The Golden Apple. At In-n-out you will see all the people coming home from bars to get a bit to eat. The conversations are louder and full of laugher just like at The Golden Apple. You may even find people at In-n-out sitting there eating only because they have nothing else to do, or they are hoping to find people they know. At The Golden Apple the late night diners are almost identical to those at In-n-out. Although Inn-n-out is a fast food resturant, the people eat there change to feeling of the place just as those do at The Golden Apple.