Hard Times Café

Yesterday I began Overseas Americans Week the same way I do each year -- with a long lunch at the Hard Times Café in Alexandria, Virginia. As usual, I enjoyed a Hard Times specialty called the "Chili Bubba" -- two large pieces of cornbread smothered in veggie chili, sour cream and jalapeños -- while I worked on this year's OAW talking points on my laptop.

Hard Times Café is built on a theme of simpler, humble times. From the decor to the food, it's a no-nonsense, unpretentious experience. At Hard Times, you remember days long past when economic turmoil left millions in doubt and confusion. Sound familiar yet?

When Mollie and I discovered Hard Times while we were living in DC almost a decade ago, the idea of simple, hearty home-cooked meals for people on the down-and-out was essentially just a unique theme for a restaurant -- no more personally relevant to us than, say, the theme of an Outback Steakhouse or a Johnny Rockets.

Now it's a bit different. As I walked up to the restaurant, I realized that in the current economic environment, we are literally in hard times, which is on most people's minds (and lips) every day. The same thought had not occurred to me a year earlier at the same spot.

This all served as a reminder to me that we are coming to Washington at an extraordinary time for this country and for the world. Like so many others, we are approaching Congress to demand the redress of our grievances with various aspects of federal law and policy that uniquely affect us. We have to keep in mind that ours are not the only demands being made upon their time. A lot of people are going through some very hard times.

At the same time, some of our requests can be part of the solution. Our demand for fair taxation, for example, would allow American companies to more easily compete overseas, generating much-needed exports of American goods and thereby protecting export-driven jobs back home. In any event, we have to remember that ours are not the only issues in town; this year in particular, they will be viewed in the light of a larger context of hard times all around.