Wave of the Future 2/5

The next day, the Oleson’s are meeting with Major Guffey to discuss the progress of the renovations. The dining room has a lot of bare, rectangular, Ikea tables set up in rows. According to Guffey, seating capacity has increased by 22%. Of course, with additional tables and chairs I would think the fire capacity would decrease, but that might not be relevant until act three. Mrs. Foster stops by to peek at the progress. Mrs. Oleson quickly shoos her away, actually pushing her out the door. That’s some quality customer service there, Harriet.

As Mrs. Foster is leaving, Almanzo is pulling up with the latest stool delivery. He and Mrs. Oleson call them chairs, though she is alarmed at the fact that there are no backs on any of the seats. Major Guffey’s theory, or “secret” as he calls it, is that if the customers don’t sit around all comfy like, there will be more customer turnover, thereby bringing in more money. Stop drooling, Harriet. You see, this is where I start to have a problem with the whole conceit of this episode. Walnut Grove is the Guam of this developing fast food nation at this point with a population that couldn’t possibly support this sort of franchise. Yes, people will leave the restaurant eventually, but not everyone in Walnut Grove is going to be dining out on the same night. Besides not being part of the lifestyle of the community, there are several families that couldn’t afford to eat there even if they wanted to. Unless Sleepy Eye became a booming metropolis while I wasn’t looking, the economics of the situation do not make much sense.

Anyway, Harriet acquiesces to the stools so Almanzo leaves to bring in the rest of the shipment. “Thank you Zaldo—um---Almanzo,” stutters Mrs. Oleson. Hehe. Another man enters the dining room with a box that he places on the table. The box contains all the franchise accessories, from plates to custom napkins. The color scheme is Emerald City green with Price is Right yellow lettering. Best of all, the Olesons are required to buy the accessories from the parent company. Nels balks at this, but Major Guffey brings out the contract quoting the article and paragraph number about this stipulation without having to read the document. Yeah, you’re in trouble if one party of a contract is able to do that sort of thing.

Mrs. Oleson tries to negotiate changing the green (not a bad idea), but is interrupted by the delivery of the new sign. The Olesons are not as ecstatic about the sign as Major Guffey is. Since Harriet didn’t actually read the contract, she wasn’t aware that the name of the restaurant was going to change from Caroline’s to Mrs. Sullivan’s. Guffey pulls Mrs. Oleson aside and tells a ridiculous story about a man lost in the wilderness who sees a beacon in the darkness. That beacon is a Mrs. Sullivan’s Restaurant, with all the garishness that is about to befall Walnut Grove. I’m not sure if the man lost in the wilderness is supposed to be Jesus, but whoever it is, let’s hope he’s color-blind. Guffey’s point is that someone should be able to know what to expect regardless of which Mrs. Sullivan’s Restaurant one finds himself. Harriet falls for it, but Nels knows pure hogwash when he sees it.

It is opening night and Harriet is putting the finishing touches on the aprons that Hester-Sue and Caroline are wearing. “My troops are ready,” Mrs. Oleson giggles as she heads to the door, ready to let in the large crowd that has gathered. She then does a countdown because…the contract told her to? I’m sharing Hester-Sue’s worried glance right now. Ernie leads the charge of the crowd, taking time to admire the fanciness of it all. He would just about die at the luxuriousness of Denny’s. Ernie asks to see a menu, but there are only three options: Beef Stew, Roast Chicken, and Pan-Fried Steak. Hester-Sue has to repeat the list louder (“HUH?”), which causes Harriet to come over, shush Hester-Sue and then explain in way too much detail why the menu has changed. Hester-Sue appears to be mumbling the Serenity Prayer to herself as Harriet finishes taking the order. “You see,” Harriet condescends, “it’s called the ‘Wave of the Future’,” to which Ernie replies “IT’S WHA?” That’s one point for Ernie.

Hester-Sue delivers the order to Caroline. Harriet asks Caroline how things are going and things seem pretty easy so far. Hester-Sue takes out Ernie’s order and gets the thumbs-up (“THUMBS WHA?”). Nels comes in to see how the grand opening is going. Harriet sees him and for whatever reason becomes frazzled at the number of people in the restaurant. She asks Nels to help out even though neither of them have had their own dinner yet. We then go into a montage of cuh-RAY-zee food service, ending with Nels and Hester-Sue crashing in the doorway.

Later on, a weary Caroline and Hester-Sue leave as the Olesons tally up the opening night receipts. It was their largest one-day haul and Harriet is beaming that everything the Major said has come true. Nels is less than thrilled, mainly because they worked harder in one shift then they ever had before and the goal was to lessen their collective workload. Harriet reluctantly agrees, but says that the Major said that the volume should taper off a bit. I would agree, since the grand re-opening of the only restaurant in town is probably going to cause a spike in visits. “Trust me,” Harriet says, playfully pinching Nels’ chin. He smiles.