Introducing the Diner in “Paper Placemats at the Stack’em Up Diner”

Hunterdon County, New Jersey (29 March 2025) – New Jersey diners are as plentiful as steak fries in a side order to a Taylor ham and cheese sandwich and specially suited for various occasions.

How could these diner moments be forgotten:

• Stepping away, often, from high school for breakfast or lunch,
• Extending days down the Jersey shore for celebrations with friends, or,
• Stopping for midnight dinners at the Scotchwood in Scotch Plains after an evening of listening to R Band at the Arrow Lounge in Plainfield.

The last point echoes from the late seventies. For those mathematically-inclined, that is nearly a half century ago.

The diner in William E. Spear, Jr.’s short story “Paper Placemats at the Stack’em Up Diner” serves an equally memorable purpose—it is the first job for an eighth grader during the summer before high school.

The student wants to start saving for Christmas gifts and the Stack’em Up’s nearby location is convenient. However, there are a lot of people at the diner and the student doesn’t speak. To anyone.

Quoting, “Words are like swarms of bees. Painful and best to be avoided at all costs.”

How does the student overcome the intimidation of walking into the Stack’em Up and what does the diner do to ease the transition? That’s the story.

By the way, your order is ready.

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“Paper Placemats at the Stack’em Up Diner” is one of eight short stories being written and developed for release in 2025. Other titles include:

• “Freaks from Another Planet”: Two friends reflect on parenting and grandparenting as if they were discussing alien life forms,
• “Just One More”: Stranded in a blizzard, an individual learns the most wanted is not always the most needed, and
• “Plastered”: A husband and wife argue over her fatal automobile accident from seven years ago.

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About the author:

William E. Spear, Jr., born in the Midwest and raised on the East Coast, is influenced by classical music, the Temptations, and Bob Seger. He writes quiet stories; the ones that might otherwise go unnoticed.