Just try going through Wiscasset, ME--boasted "the prettiest little town in Maine" without hitting a traffic jam! Right there in center city is Reds Eats--been there since God only knows when, serving fried anything you want to eat. The Lobster Roll ("Lobstah," that is!) gives you the whole thing (yeah, without the shell) -- and it wins consistently, best lobster roll in Maine. The lines do not even go away in the rain! Sure it is good "eats," but there is culture to it, the very stuffing of tradition that brings people here.
When the first owner of Red's Eats died, yes--his name was "Red," the obituary ran in several major newspapers including The Washington Post. You can read the full story from the book that highlights the history of this eatery.
Now we can ask, how does the lobster feed the soul? And I will tell you that it will be served up in heaven!
The Red's tradition is even highlighted in its book to tell its story. And as the Amazon ad says, we need to "Look Inside" to deeper ways that we are fed.
How about the stream of tradition? We drink from the living stream of tradition when we take part in it. Look inside at the living tradition of a family Mom & Pop place and their heritage. We are fed when we too take part in tradition.
On many summers, my family joined me in the ocean going trip to Red's from the neighboring harbor--it was our own family tradition. For the boys, it was always the burgers, dogs and fries that we could have gotten anywhere. It was the family tradition that fed.
But beware the difference between the living faith of tradition and the dead faith of just keeping the tradition. The difference lies in how it gives life. There just may come a time when the boys outgrow Red's Eats and hunger for a different kind of food!
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