Depressed at Steak 'n Shake

Josh and Jared were very depressed in the years right after high school. Ironically, it was for opposite reasons: Jared was depressed for having had to leave Miami, while Josh was equally miserable for having had to stay. When Jared was in town, they'd often eat and hang out at Steak 'n Shake, a diner restaurant that had a similarly lonely, depressed atmosphere.

In particular, Jared liked it because it felt very out of place in Miami, almost like some kind of private getaway. There, the guys would sit, reminisce, and ruminate on how life used to be great just a few short years ago.

During one lunch, a server came up to their table and asked them a question. Neither of them understood him, and being too embarrassed to ask him to repeat himself, they both just said in unison, “Uh. . . yeah!” as quickly as possible. The server seemed satisfied with the answer and walked away.

For the rest of the meal, the guys never learned what it was the server had asked. He had not yet taken their orders at the time, so there was nothing to clarify. He also didn't take any orders there and then, and he didn't return with anything based on their response.

To this day, the guys theorize that he probably asked, “So are you guys gay, or…?”

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Another time, Josh went to Steak 'n Shake to meet Amanda M. for a meal. She arrived first, and instead of waiting for him, she ordered and even started eating her meal before he got to the restaurant. Josh was very upset.

(Similarly, years later, Josh and Sris were also to meet at a restaurant where Sris had also planned on ordering and eating before Josh was to arrive. Josh firmly told Sris over the phone that if he did that, he would not come at all. Sris got very quiet and apologized.)

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Steak 'n Shake was also the location of many failed script and story ideas. Over the years, Josh and Jared pitched many scripts where characters not unlike themselves would sit around and talk about their pasts, not unlike they did. None of those scripts ever led to anything whatsoever.  ❒

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