Hanging out at Wawa with the ‘Cronies’
On any given weeknight you’ll find a small group of guys hanging out at the Wawa at Baltimore Pike and Bishop Avenue in Clifton Heights. Most are retirees from regular blue-collar backgrounds, a number of them veterans. They do nothing more than drink some coffee, smoke their cigarettes and shoot the breeze.
Lawn chairs, and sometimes a bucket, create a circular formation for everyone to sit around and let the conversation flow with each other, or at each other. The iconic Wawa trash cans located right outside the store entrances increases its use from a convenient dining table to a place to read the newspaper or to lean against if there are no chairs to sit on. Of course, the remnants of cigarette butts, used coffee cups, hoagie wrappers and other trash finds their way into said waste receptacle. (True to the Delco way of life, there are no qualms about using the trash can as a table.)
It’s a very casual hangout that doesn’t warrant an invitation to join. You just show up.
The conversations vary from the horses that used to drop off fruits throughout the South Philadelphia neighborhoods to the prevalence of cable news networks and fake news.
“Watch out, you got a fake news guy here,” Ralph told Jim, hinting at my presence during a recent get together. Jim didn’t seem deterred by my being there, nor did he blame me as being part of any one conglomerate system to spread any fake news.
Ralph’s comment didn’t make me want to toughen my skin and defend myself. I took it as a jab that any one person there would have tossed at another for nothing more than a laugh. Offense was left in our cars. With this group, the talk was unfiltered, forceful and even humorous. It was a little blue and potentially offensive to some. This isn’t the senior crew you find sipping coffee at the local
“We used to protect the street corners. Now we protect the Wawa, much to my chagrin.” — Jimmy, part of a small group of guys hanging out at the Wawa at Baltimore Pike and Bishop Avenue in Clifton Heights
McDonald’s every morning.
Donned by one man’s wife as the “Wawa Cronies,” the gang of non-misfits just want an open space to air their open thoughts. They don’t need the bar or the Denny’s next door; the Wawa is just fine. Oh, and they have an unofficial mascot in a dog named Pooch.
“We used to protect the street corners. Now we protect the Wawa, much to my chagrin,” said another man named Jimmy with a laugh. Jimmy is the owner of Pooch, and a slightly older, perhaps 15-year-old, car whose alarm has become the butt of jokes for others.
But how does he know it’s time for a new car? “The ashtray’s full,” he quipped at one point.
People like Jimmy, Ralph and a varying rotation of others meet at Wawa thanks to Tony, the man who started it all 15 years ago. He has a laid-back demeanor with nicely coifed white hair, lounging with a silver travel mug filled with a beverage of his choice never far out of his reach.
“You get a better education here,” he said of his frequent meetings in front of the Wawa compared to a formal education. In the few days I met with the
“Cronies” the educational subjects ranged from the significance of the letters used in the Italian alphabet to historic and current racial relations. The conversations were meaningful, and it replaced the online bickering on social media where being right replaces the need to listen, to understand.
The face-to-face interaction with the “Cronies” provided an open forum to hear something. The ideas and language may have been a little less than appropriate considering today’s standards for political correctness, regardless if you agree with the messages or not. Such conversations subsided quickly anyway.
Local comedian and author Nick Kupsey said the longstanding appearance of this one group at a single store is representative of a changing social world.
“Wawa is the last vestige of a small store in the county,” noted Kupsey, who tackled Wawa’s infamous culture in the book “The Five People You Meet in Wawa.” “It’s no different than when you see a bunch of people hanging out in front to of the general store (in rural areas).”
In his book, Kupsey referred to a small gathering of older gentlemen as gargoyles, characterized as retired men who stand around and smoke cigarettes. Thee term is a tongue-in-cheek ode to gothic visuals of stone monsters perched all around centuries-old buildings
to ward off evil spirits. On that latter point, the “Cronies” claim to thwart off robberies because of their constant presence.
“When you see people there, especially at night, it makes you feel safer seeing someone smoking a cigarette or eating,” said Kupsey.
Wawa spokeswoman Lori Bruce could not be reached for comment.
Kupsey has yet to personally meet the “Cronies,” but he said he would enjoy their company, and their jokes.
One night, a man named Taylor, nicknamed “Tiny,” was in his van speaking to the guys under the canopy by a front entrance. He was furthest from me so hearing him among the other cross chatter was difficult. Jim, the one notified of the fake news reporter in his presence, must have gotten an earful from Tiny sitting next to him. Tiny said his lack of upper teeth can inhibit his speaking volume.
“You don’t need teeth, you need to be quiet,” Jim said, his voice of the same deep authority as news commentator Keith Olbermann. “I have a hearing aid (in his left ear) thanks to North Vietnam. You just blew the wax out of my other ear.”
Tiny paid him almost no mind. It was male-to-male banter at its prime.
On the topic of romance, a self-employed HVAC man named
Bruce said he recently took his wife out for dinner at Media’s Dining Under the Stars for their 36th wedding anniversary. He was greeted with plenty of congratulatory remarks for reaching that landmark to which he matter-of-factly replied, “It’s over.” The thanks came a day late and a dollar short; the romantic day had passed.
The dynamics of the “Cronies” may be comparable to grumpy old men being grumpy old men. To a point, they are dealing with a society of changing values and norms - don’t get them started on extremely prolific Democrats - nothing like the “dull life, but enjoyable” one they all grew up with when times were easier. They don’t have time to be listening to blasting hip-hop/rap music from a car fueling up at the pump, seeing young children out at midnight, or guys who walk around with pants so low you can see their underwear. They also don’t care for leaving their trash and cigarette butts around.
Cleaning up their space is a simple gesture that they know they should do. When viewed through the kaleidoscope of social change they’ve all experienced, that simple act of throwing out their coffee cups and butts says they will continue to make this country as good as the one afforded to them, the one many of them defended in the military. It sounds better than the people they’ve allegedly seen eat products in Wawa without paying and leaving the wrappers strewn around the bathroom or hidden in the candy racks. They don’t understand how people could do such a thing. Who could?
The Wawa clientele is just one of many topics covered by the “Cronies;” it’s people watching at its prime during those late night hours. Certainly more entertaining than other areas they could be a man named Mike said to me. On top of that, you can hear the people burning rubber and doing donuts in the Home Depot parking lot right across the street. The smoke from the rubber-to-asphalt disintegration looks like a summer haze, but it’s really just a wafting sign of trespassing.
Just an hour with the “Cronies,” or the “gargoyles” if you prefer that term, and you’ll have plenty of laughs and a sense of nostalgia. Remembering the Bazaar of All Nations and bygone watering holes is just a sliver of the experience; knowing how to make friends and communicate on something that isn’t a screen is the biggest takeaway.
“You view things from a more personal perspective,” said Kupsey about the “Cronies.” “The camaraderie is great. We’re so distracted from the media and social media, this is a last vestige of being with other people.”