Question
Walk into any McDonald’s in the morning and you will find a group of mostly retired people clustering in a corner, drinking coffee, eating and talking. They are drawn to the McDonald’s because it has inexpensive good coffee, clean bathrooms, space to sprawl. Unlike community centers, it is also free of bureaucracy.
Almost all of them name their group with variations of a self-deprecating theme: in suburban El Paso it is the Old Folks’ Home, and in rural New Mexico it is the Morning Brigade. In the small rural town of Natchitoches, Louisiana, it is the Romeo club, an acronym for Retired Old Men Eating Out.
The Natchitoches group, like many of them, sprawls across a corner of the McDonald’s, taking over more and more tables as people join, and emptying them as they leave. Everyone who comes knows each other; have for many years, some since childhood.
Willard Jones, 93, tries to make it a few days a week. “I love McDonald’s. People are so nice. My friends come here. I see everybody. Coffee is good, and cheap.” He was born and raised here. “I had it real rough growing up, because times were real rough. Lived on a plantation, modern day slavery. When I was a kid, we used to get a special treat a few times a year, and go eat in town. That place was dirty and cost us a lot. Not like McDonald’s. It is clean here.”
These morning groups reflect America in another way: they are almost all segregated. There are all black groups, all white groups, and all Hispanic groups. Rarely are any mixed. The Natchitoches group is the exception. Mostly African Americans, there are a few white men who come and go.
In Natchitoches, the Romeo group isn’t the only social event at the McDonald’s. On Tuesdays, there is a bingo game. On weekends, a Bible group sets up in the opposite corner, and offers prayers and Bibles to whoever wants to come. It is run by Stephen Elliott, 63. “We come here every Saturday, and set up in this corner. The McDonald’s offers us room for whoever shows up. We have the space to gather and pray.”
What makes the Natchitoches Romeo group different from other McDonald's groups?
It takes place in a suburban location.
The members are all childhood friends.
They meet multiple days a week.
The men are of different races.
Almost all of them name their group with variations of a self-deprecating theme: in suburban El Paso it is the Old Folks’ Home, and in rural New Mexico it is the Morning Brigade. In the small rural town of Natchitoches, Louisiana, it is the Romeo club, an acronym for Retired Old Men Eating Out.
The Natchitoches group, like many of them, sprawls across a corner of the McDonald’s, taking over more and more tables as people join, and emptying them as they leave. Everyone who comes knows each other; have for many years, some since childhood.
Willard Jones, 93, tries to make it a few days a week. “I love McDonald’s. People are so nice. My friends come here. I see everybody. Coffee is good, and cheap.” He was born and raised here. “I had it real rough growing up, because times were real rough. Lived on a plantation, modern day slavery. When I was a kid, we used to get a special treat a few times a year, and go eat in town. That place was dirty and cost us a lot. Not like McDonald’s. It is clean here.”
These morning groups reflect America in another way: they are almost all segregated. There are all black groups, all white groups, and all Hispanic groups. Rarely are any mixed. The Natchitoches group is the exception. Mostly African Americans, there are a few white men who come and go.
In Natchitoches, the Romeo group isn’t the only social event at the McDonald’s. On Tuesdays, there is a bingo game. On weekends, a Bible group sets up in the opposite corner, and offers prayers and Bibles to whoever wants to come. It is run by Stephen Elliott, 63. “We come here every Saturday, and set up in this corner. The McDonald’s offers us room for whoever shows up. We have the space to gather and pray.”
What makes the Natchitoches Romeo group different from other McDonald's groups?
It takes place in a suburban location.
The members are all childhood friends.
They meet multiple days a week.
The men are of different races.
Answers
GPT-4o mini
The Natchitoches Romeo group is different from other McDonald's groups in that **the men are of different races**. While many other morning groups are segregated by race, the Romeo group includes mostly African American members but also has a few white men who come and go, making it an exception to the typical pattern observed in other similar gatherings.