Yes good things are happening to me this Christmas season.
(This is a follow up to the previous posting.)
This story begins with a visit to friends and some good conversation before heading to the Outback Restaurant for our annual Christmas dinner. We have celebrated the Christmas Holiday by going to dinner together for many years. One year the Ford’s pay and the next year the York’s pay for the evening repast.
As it happened, it was the Ford’s year to pay for the meal. We arrived at the restaurant a little before 6:00 finding all the parking spots close to the entrance; even the handicapped spots were full.
I, using my excellent vision, observed the backup lights on a pickup truck leaving a parking spot directly in front of the entrance to the restaurant. I couldn’t back up to get the spot due to another vehicle behind us. I would need to drive all the way around the restaurant to get back to the parking space that others were also looking to take.
This drive took possibly 30 seconds but it seemed like an hour to me. When we made the final turn I could see it, “The Holy Grail of Parking Spots” to paraphrase a quote from an enjoyable holiday movie.
This parking spot was next to the handicapped spots and directly in front of the entrance. Possibly other patrons assumed it was handicapped parking or it may have been our lucky night. Regardless of the reason, we had “the closest parking space available”.
Entering the restaurant we found seats in the waiting area even though others were standing. I guess the younger people felt that we, “senior citizens” should have the seats. There was a short wait and we were taken to a booth which my wife did not like so they seated us at a table.
We enjoyed lively conversation as we sipped on our drinks.
After a few minutes the manager came to our table and said he had a request. I was fairly sure I had not been too loud and we had not told any off colored jokes yet. What could he want?
He had a request asking if we would consider moving to a different table. He had a group of ten and they could put our table against another table to make room for them if we would move.
Then the manager made an attractive offer. He offered to pay for half of our meal, to offset the inconvenience of our relocation.
Our group, being filled with the Christmas Spirit, and wanting to help others have an enjoyable meal, accepted the offer. We also liked the idea of a half price meal.
After moving to the different table the food was delivered. We discovered that three of the steaks were cooked more than we wanted. I should also explain that the steaks tasted excellent.
The manager stopped at our table to again thank us for moving, so we told him about the steaks saying, “we are not complaining we just want to inform you” that our steaks were cooked more than what we ordered.
I ordered medium which should have had pink inside but there was no pink. We also explained that the steaks taste very good.
The bottom line to this story, our total bill was only $27.00 for four people which was about 1/3 the total bill.
Continually being blessed by the Christmas Spirit is a good thing.
I hope you enjoying the Christmas season.
Don Ford
No comments:
Post a Comment