Alright, alright, alright! I am a career waitress by choice-I love the culinary world, I love ensuring an awesome dining experience to the people I wait on, I love the rythym of the rush, I love the wine, the food.....but most of all, I love the conversations with the people I meet. Oh yeah, the money helps!
Tonight was no exception:
A little background..... my husband and I live year round on Cape Cod, I work at an upscale lobster house and my husband is a fisherman. Proud blue collars, we work hard but we make a decent living for ourselves and our two children here. The clientel at the restaurant I work at is definately some of the wealthier families from all over America, classy and gracious old money families as oppossed to flashy, new money types.
I was sat a table of 7 people, Dad at the head, mom at the other end. Early 50s I guess, their two grown sons,a fiance, their daughter and her fiance.
I was clearing their table from the first course while they discussed politics, mom and dad were obviously republicans, but all three of their kids had very liberal points of view. They were discussing the 2004 elections.
"We would NOT be at war right now if John Kerry had won!"....the youngest son said.
The mother gaffed, gaffawed and maybe even a slight blurp crept out......
"Well, well, well-aaaaaaa....you know, George Bush got better grades than John Kerry, at Yale....or was it Harvard?"
I had to leave immediatly before I busted out laughing, then I wanted to cry.
THIS is why you voted for him....?
OMG, was that the only comeback you could think of?
As I was bringing their main course I could hear the heated debate continuing, the youngest son battling it out with his mother to the scolding of the father. When I put his dinner in front of him, he out right asked me what I thought about Goerge Bush and his warhawking. Opps, wrong person to ask, but I had to be honest....I replied, "Well you just asked the only person who has an "Impeach Bush" sticker on the back of her Jeep at this restaurant."
"Uhhhhhhh?"
"She"s one of THEM!"
Then I saw the horrorific look on Dad. "Um, but it came with the car....!?!?" I added laughingly, just in case my tip be in jeapordy. "But, I do agree with your son, if Kerry had been president, I do not think we would be in this deep."
He high-fived me!
The son stood up (knocked over his dinner) and announced to his family (fiance included) that he had just enlisted and was going to fight the battle, he felt, his parents had helped to create. He pulled from his pocket some papers he had brought along to prove it. He had planned this attack.
He was 22 years old and felt it was his duty to go fight "for YOUR country, mom and dad." "Thanks for creating this, you will pay your dues."
The mother fell apart, the fiance just about fell out of her seat, but dad was the best one of all.......
"To hell you"re not, not MY son!"
"I will not have you worrying your mother like that.....!"
Oh yeah, I booked it!
By the time dessert came around, (they actually continued on with their dinner) talk had turned to boot camp and the realities of enlisting. He had a huge hot fudge sundae, probably to make up for the lost prime rib that so digustingly splat on the stone floor earlier.
Dad was very generous, he still left me $50. on his $175. check even though I helped his son break his fathers heart.
I was amazed at that young mans honor, I hope he comes out clean on the other end.....