Hot Dogs and Philosophy Pt. 2
Posted on Tue Jun 30, 2026 @ 6:11pm by Lieutenant Commander Curtis Thibideaux
Edited on on Tue Jun 30, 2026 @ 6:23pm
1,378 words; about a 7 minute read
Mission:
Jubilee
Location: Brother Boyle's Hotdog Bus. The Promenade
Timeline: First few days of Jubilee
He caught sight of the orange and blue VW bus that had it's roof opened to allow brother Boyle stand within the bus, where he'd set up his street kitchen. They joined a small queue and he continued. "Communicating is communicating. We learn by doing and this is a perfect example, two highly attractive, interesting people going out to get to know one another better." He grinned depreciatingly as the line moved slightly as customers joined the line behind them.
"Listening, I am adept at. I believe that you are correct, it may be my directness that could be the issue or the unwillingness to hear what I actually say. I have notice that humans, especially, would rather hear sympathic tones or words rather than actually address the problem and fewer actually want to address the problem. For some reason, they would rather wallow rather than be proactive. I have spent some time learning how to mimic emotional tones but I am uncertain that I always apply them appropriately."
She looked directly at Curtis after being informed of her attractiveness and said, "If there is anything that you desire to know about me, then you are welcome to ask. That is customary on a date," T'Lul confirmed and then considered herself for a moment. "And I welcome you opening up about some of your background. I know little about you that I cannot find in your dossier, so additional information is helpful for determining interest and compatability. I am curious, though, what made you decide to leave a commercial life and apply to Starfleet."
As they moved up in line, Curtis said, "See. Getting to know one another like this is more of an exchange of information than an interrogation. It's all about the delivery. As to how I ended up in the fleet, well I decided I wanted more of a challenge than herding a transport around from port to port, worrying about bottom and dead-lines. The life did form my preference for small, sleek space frames though. That's why giving up command of the USS Valiant was a hard choice. But you don't say no to Admirals. Or at least you don't if you want more rank."
Curtis was curious about the Vulcan, but not the work face. "You've been on the station longer than I have. What's the most interesting place you've explored here? What people do with their free time says a lot."
"Is increasing your rank important to you?" T'Lul asked Curtis. "Is that your primary desire or something else?" she wondered. "The most interesting place that I have explored?" T'Lul mused. "I do not know how to evaluate that. There are no definitive criteria for that determination. However, in the category of food, I am partial to Pierre's Patisserie. However, the Box of Delights often has an active crowd. I used to spend more time there when the owner, Yolanthe, was there."
They'd reached the front of the queue and brother Boyle smiled down at them from his position in the bus, master of the grill. "Good evening Curtis. And whomever you might be lovely lady. I am Brother Boyle of the Healing Hand society and I welcome you to our vending van, Boyled Dogs." His tone was deep and rich as he smiled at the two, clad in simple robes and a red and white checkered apron. "Curtis, your usual?" Glancing at the Vulcan, he said "And for you, we do have vegan options."
"My name is T'Lul," she told Brother Boyle. She then gave him a Vulcan greeting. "Live long and prosper, Brother Boyle. Please tell me what vegan options that you have so I can make a selection." T'Lul looked over at Curtis, "How often do you come here?"
Chuckling, Curtis said "More often than I likely should. But they're hard to resist. I'll have the same as T'Lul, Brother B." To T'lul he said, "No pressure. And you definitely need to be exposed more. I'm glad we're doing a walking, talking evening."
Boyle beamed at the two and with his deep rumble told T'lul, "Our main dogs are a mixture of different proteins, usually meat based. In the case of our vegetarian dogs, we use the same spices and mix in a plant based on beans and tofu with a little of this and that. They're all given a beer bath and then grilled for a time to make them extra delicious."
Taking a long cooking fork, he took a moment to turn some dogs on a grill off to one side. "After that, toppings are anything you wish from a host of veggies to a vegetarian, bean based chili. Our special this week is the Columbian. Our Boyles awesome dog, veggie style with ketchup, mustard, mayo, pineapple chunks, crushed homemade potato chips, and with or without a quail egg. Something of a mess. And I'd recommend our fresh cut, double fried potatoes of course."
T'Lul turned Curtis and said, "You may have your usual. It will not offend me, if that is your concern."
Then, turning to Boyle, she said, "Nothing meat based, please. As this is new to me, I will take your recommendation. However, as we are in public, it would not be practical to have anything that could potentially cause a mess. This evening has been intriguing thus far and ending it early because of a mess would be inopportune."
Curtis winked toward Brother Boyle and replied, "Doctor, part of this outing is the experience of things we might not normally do. By us both sharing the same food this time out, we can discuss that. And if we grab one of Brother B's standing tables, we can enjoy while mitigating the mess. Getting a little messy isn't a bad thing, by the way. Trust the experience."
Brother Boyle nodded approvingly and said, "Indeed. Better words I couldn't have spoken myself, though I certainly could have expounded on the subject. The whole idea behind our humble stand is to be an experience, no matter your station or prominence, all can enjoy our food equally. If you would do me the pleasure, I'll get your dogs ready while you two grab that table. The cooler there has ice drinks of various types and the food can be ready in minutes while you two watch the life flow about us."
T'Lul hesitated at the concept of making a mess. After all, she had dressed particularly for this occasion. However, she was curious why sharing the same food would be worthy of discussion. Nonetheless, she wondered more at Brother Boyle. She would have to ask him a question or two when he returned with their food. She moved over to the cooler and looked at the drinks. "Is there something here that you would enjoy?" she asked Curtis.
"Grape soda," Curtis said without hesitation as he moved to a table, taking one of the complimentary trays of french fries that were set up and watched her with appreciation. "It's grape and fizzy and absolutely too sweet. You very well may hate it. But, grape has been my favorite since just about forever."
Brother Boyle busied himself within the bus, getting fresh dogs and buns onto the grill. Steam wafted up from the water hitting the coals and he stepped to drop a fresh order of fries.
T'Lul took a grape soda out of the cooler, as well. "Tell me what makes grape so special a flavor to you," the Vulcan asked as looked intensely into Curtis' eyes as she inquired while standing at the table. Idly, she grabbed a fry and placed it into her mouth, and took a small bite.
Smiling as he bit into a fry of his own, he chewed to give him a moment to think then said, "As a kid, grape was my favorite flavor of anything. As a treat, my mother would let me have a grape pop once a week. For some people it's cake or ice cream. Pies. Pastries. But for me, the grape soda reminds me of my childhood."
A joint post by:
Lieutenant Commander Curtis Thibideax
Strategic Operations Officer
DS5
Lieutenant T'Lul
Chief Counselor
Deep Space 5
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