America Runs on Dunkin

I have been sitting in Dunkin' Donuts for the last hour watching people come in and out, ordering donuts and breakfast sandwiches and coffee with cream or milk or Splenda. And I have made a great realization about Dunkin' Donuts.

I should first perhaps confess that I have a great love for Dunkin' Donuts. The midwest, or atleast the regions of Iowa in which I resided, were greatly lacking in Dunkin' Donuts. The greater love, it seems, for the residents of those areas is Krispie Kreme Donuts. But to me, Dunkin' is the mark of superior donut-making, of artisan-ship and quality. I can't remember when I first started this passionate love-affair but I can tell you that there were three things I missed most during my time in Iowa: the ocean, the boardwalk, and Dunkin' Donuts.

Sometime while I was departed from this great, Dunkin' Donuts-filled land, Dunkin' began a advertising campaign hinged on the slogan, "America runs on Dunkin'." And I have thought, since returning, "Now, Dunkin' is great, but can we really claim that America runs on Dunkin'? The good people of Ames, Iowa certainly don't."

Today, I have come to believe that this is a perfectly legitimate claim.

You're probably thinking, "Elena, seriously, sitting in Dunkin' for over an hour on a Thursday morning? Why aren't you home sleeping like usual, or doing laundry or scrubbing the tub or baking a three layer banana-peanut butter cake"--I do tend to do these things at strange hours of the day (or night)--"like usual? Out? At Dunkin' Donuts? Your love must be great..."

My love is indeed great. But that's now why I've chosen to be here now. I drove Michael to work today, and rather than driving an hour back home to Vineland and then and hour back to his office and another hour back home, I packed up my bag with lots of reading (and my laptop) and have made myself comfortable in the all-American haven that is Dunkin' Donuts of Northfield, NJ.

See, America does run on Dunkin'. I, being somewhat stranded in this strange, new town have found a safe place to be. And I have watched everything from BMWs, Acuras, and Lexus...es? all the way to dingy AC Repair vans and pick-up trucks pull in to order their morning fix. Through these doors have walked business men in suit and tie, retired folk, moms and summer camp bound kids, secretaries, plumbers, and high-power career women. Dunkin' Donuts is the great equalizer, the place we all come to, regardless of of walk of life, to get geared up for the epic journey that lies ahead of us each day.

Yes, America, we run on Dunkin'. (But what does this say about us that, unlike the Chinese who love a good workout routine in the morning, we all love a good donut?)