Norman starts with the happiness of two young people as they enjoy a night of feeling
“grown up.” He emphasizes the magic of the evening by contrasting them against the
mundane world of a dingy truck stop.
He draws attention to their youth and innocence by dressing both in gleaming white. And he sets them beneath a beam of light from above that illuminates them and the
appreciative cook. They are undisturbed by other customers, and even though Rockwell
puts a dirty floor beneath them, they seem set apart from the dark interior in this
perfect moment. Rockwell even echoes the viewer’s reaction by adding a bemused truck-
driving spectator. Like him, we might observe this unforgettable moment with a smile of
recognition, and perhaps recollections of our own.