QUOTE : I wanted that Diet Coke. But the lines to order made no sense. Most people were huddled in random patterns, gazing up at the menu boards, eyes glazed over, touching their chins, pointing, nodding. “Are you in line?” I kept asking them. Nobody would answer me. Finally I just approached a young black boy in a visor behind the counter. I ordered my Diet Coke. “What size?” he asked me. He pulled out four cups in ascending order of size. The largest size stood about a foot high off the counter. “I’ll take that one,” I said. This felt like a great occasion. I can’t explain it. I felt immediately endowed with great power. I plunked my straw in and sucked.