Jimmy’s Roadside Cafe by Ramsey Shehadeh

“Jimmy’s Roadside Cafe” is a 2008 science fiction short story by Ramsey Shehadeh. It is about a man who builds a ramshackle cafe on an interstate median after a deadly plague.

Non-Spoiler Summary In A Nutshell:

In between the mass of stalled cars that lie empty on the freeway is Jimmy’s cafe. It has been hobbled together from various automobile parts, and all it serves is left over food scavenged from the nearby vehicles. But hey - that doesn’t dampen Jimmy’s spirits at all! He calmly waits for the next customer to wander by, and then cheerfully greets them and gives them whatever assistance he can. Like Margaret, his first customer, who is searching for her husband while dealing with the plague. Or Patrick, the man who is taking his dead children to Florida. Along the way Jimmy suffers some setbacks, like the thrashing he takes for commenting on Patrick’s kids, but through it all he keeps plugging along. A true inspiration to those who have ever helped somebody who truly needed it.

Hello! he cried, and jumped up, waving frantically, then rushed onto the road and wended his way through the dead cars, toward the woman. He stopped in front of her, panting, smiling broadly, and held out a hand. Welcome to Jimmy’s Roadside Cafe. I’m Jimmy.

The woman stopped, swayed, put a hand on the side of a Corolla to steady herself. She was wearing a man’s trenchcoat over sweats, sneakers at least two sizes too big for her, a pink floral top. She studied him for a moment, then said: I need help.

Of course, said Jimmy, smiling broadly. Come inside.

My Two Cents:

• The good:

• Jimmy’s goofy good nature is really quite funny, and even inspiring.
• Although he seems like a nut job, there really is a deeper and more tender side of Jimmy. There is a scene that takes place in a grove of trees that is quite touching.
• Overall “Jimmy’s Roadside Cafe” is a well written and compact story. A great read that has you thinking about it for days to come.

• The bad:

• If you are the bothered-by-cussing type then be on the lookout for the several uses of the F-word in this story.
• If you are the queasy type then watch out for the graphic descriptions of how the plague kills its victims.
• And finally, if you are the melancholy type then beware of the sense of sadness and loss of hope that pervades some of the scenes in “Jimmy’s Roadside Cafe”.

Fact Sheet:
• Page Count: 9
• Word Count: 4,357

Where you can find “Jimmy’s Roadside Cafe”:

• This short story first appeared in the June 30 2008 issue of Strange Horizons.
• You can read a very nice online version of “Jimmy’s Roadside Cafe” for free at the Strange Horizons website.

Some Interesting Links:

• If you would like to discuss this story you can do so on Strange Horizons’ Discussion Forum.
• Did you know that Ramsey Shehadeh is a computer programmer? Yep. You can learn more about this science fiction author by checking out his blog, Glass Maze.

Craving More Stories?
If you enjoyed this story then you might also like Bears Discover Fire, about bears that have started making campfires on interstate medians, by Terry Bisson.

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