A couple of things worth blogging about while out for food at a favorite eatery. This might take many turns, but hopefully it won't bore anyone.
First, in over-hearing some of the conversations that were going on around me in the eatery (Fuddruckers, one of the best reasonably priced burger places I know of, almost always satisfying), I caught a line from a woman that was talking to someone else at her table. She casually mentioned that she had completely forgotten it was Veterans day.
For a variety of reasons, I never forget Veterans day. One reason is it's my father's birthday. Another is that the day before Veterans day many years ago my wife broke her leg badly just a day before one of the nastiest winter storms ever virtually paralyzed the Washington D.C. area on Veterans Day. But most importantly, and leading to another blog entry when this article is finished, is that I don't forget our Veterans. I don't let myself forget them, on Veterans Day, or on Memorial Day.
The people that have served this country are by and large great people. They may not all be great individuals (I am sure that most are, but given the broadness of the group I'm talking about, there may also be a few Lindy Englunds and others in the group that are not so great), but collectively they have gotten this country to where it is now, and helped other countries get to where they are too. If not for our Veterans most of Europe would not be where it is now, and much of Asia might also be vastly different. If not for our Veterans, we might all be speaking German, Japanese, Russian or a few different languages depending on where we hail from.
In anycase, it was somewhat disappointing to me to catch those few words in passing: "I had completely forgotten it was Veterans day." As if the only reason one might remember it is because of some sales that are going on at the mall. Sad.
Next, somewhat humorous, but potentially tragic, was getting to see a mother horrified with panic at not knowing where her son was. I hate to say it was partly humorous, but the shrill "where is my son??!" and the look on the woman's face didn't wipe away the look of mischievous wonder that was on the toddler's face as he walked right through the seating area in the restaurant and headed off to see what he could get into.
He had wandered around the corner, apparently leaving ma-ma behind. He never even turned back to see where she was. Just toddled on thru, went off to see what else was there in the restaurant, and was still exploring approximately 4 - 5 minutes later when I heard the shrill "where is my son?!?" and started pointing back to the corner of the restaurant.
I don't want to find laughs as the expense of the mother, really, I don't. But throughout the rest of the time we were in the place, ma-ma carried that child around with her every time she moved. I guess she had learned her lesson of putting the child down even for a minute. My wife and I both commented that he was apparently the kind of child the leashes for children were invented for.
I hope that ma-ma really did learn her lesson though. I hate seeing or hearing stories of lost children, especially ones that are lost to abuse and other unspeakable crimes. I've never knowingly witnessed anyone that lost a family member, and I hope I never do. I'd much rather hear stories with happy endings that revolve around someone that was lost being found and returned to their happy family.
Enough for this article, but please see the next.....
