Automats of Readiness

Automats – those fast-food vending machines – were before my time. I wasn’t born in Gotham. I wasn’t raised in the Windy City. I grew up hopelessly suburban and automats were mostly out of vogue before I showed up. Still, whether seeing an automat in an old film, photos, or a period piece, I always thought they were cool. I was fascinated by them. Not so fascinated, even at a young age, to know if I ate from one of those machines I’d likely find the food horrible. Grab a sandwich and find the bread either stale or soggy? Grab…