The Diner After the lessons, my father took me to a diner and ordered me a cream cheese and jelly sandwich with chocolate milk to go. He said that all the diners were like trains and that’s why they sparkled. I remember seeing a row of rear ends on stools and having to be real careful I didn’t spill the milk when I reached up to the counter for it. One winter we sat at a booth and looked out the window at all the lights on cars coming up the pike shining through the snowflakes . I liked the sound of the cups being set down on the saucers and voices like a soft rope that frayed in the middle when everybody laughed.