The Summer When Chicken Fries Came Back

In August of 2014, I was reading Jason Aaron and Jason LaTour’s comic Southern Bastards and Burger King announced that Chicken Fries were back. It felt like a mood.

@BurgerKing "Chicken Fries Are Back" but can they ever really come home? http://t.co/TtBQ2Y9MQa

— Rajiv Moté (@RajivMote) August 22, 2014

A complicated mood. Sure, Chicken Fries had come back to town, probably not by their own choosing. But they’d have to reckon with what changed, and what hadn’t.

Chicken Fries are back. Everything looks smaller, older, but still more familiar than not. That's more comforting than they'd dare admit.

— Rajiv Moté (@RajivMote) August 22, 2014

Chicken Fries are back. But Whopper and Onion Rings are having the same old arguments and Chicken Fries would rather sit alone on the porch.

— Rajiv Moté (@RajivMote) August 22, 2014

While Chicken Fries reckoned with what had and hadn’t changed about the town they’d long ago left behind, the town had its own opinions about what Chicken Fries had made of themselves.

Chicken Fries are back. Filled with big ideas, mouthing $100 words, feeling superior. But we know you're not all that. You came back.

— Rajiv Moté (@RajivMote) August 22, 2014

Chicken Fries are back. Nobody's surprised. It's not that we didn't wish them well, but not everyone makes it big. We had dreams once, too.

— Rajiv Moté (@RajivMote) August 22, 2014

Not everyone was so harsh. There was someone who was waiting, quietly and patiently, for Chicken Fries to come back.

Chicken Fries are back. That doesn't mean everything goes back to the way it used to be. But that talk can wait. Maybe a coffee? OK a drink.

— Rajiv Moté (@RajivMote) August 22, 2014

Chicken Fries are back. That's NOT why I'm wearing my red dress. It's just a drink, to catch up. I bet Chicken Fries barely remember me.

— Rajiv Moté (@RajivMote) August 22, 2014

Welcome back, Chicken Fries. Maybe this time, we can say welcome home.

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