February19, 2022, Bullhead City- The large dining hall, filled with picnic tables that are meant to encourage families to sit together and strangers to follow suit, getting to know one another, at least in cursory fashion, is the enduring draw of Great American Pizza and Subs, in Golden Valley, AZ-about a twenty minute drive from this thriving town, itself just across the Colorado River, from Laughlin, NV.

The family-owned establishment, open Thursday through Sunday, draws people from as far as a hundred miles away. It is, as the name implies, a place that celebrates patriotism and a conservative view of life. I happened upon Great American, by chance, this evening, and put politics aside, for the sake of a fine meal-a robust “conservative”, meaning “small”, calzone. Taking up one corner of a large table, and spotting a family of seven looking about for seating, it was easy to invite them to take up the rest of the space.

We had a pleasant conversation, centered on what the adults and children noticed of the posters, paintings and other memorabilia which filled the walls and mantles of the great hall. These ranged from the serious (A warning to all patrons to mind their manners) to the whimsical (A Billion Dollar bill, featuring the likeness of Donald J. Trump).

The most important things, though, were the welcoming ambiance and the quality of the food. The rest, however tightly held people’s convictions and tenets are at any given moment, there is much in those areas that will neither be remembered or matter, fifty years hence. Kindness, generosity and respect for dignity stay in the person’s mind and heart for ages.