Slow

Every year, for Mother's Day, we drive to the city my parents live in to take Grandma to one of her favorite restaurants.

It's an Italian place, and my parents know the owner. He drives a white Corvette which he parks in the middle of the parking lot if there isn't a space for him elsewhere. On Mother's Day the manager lady always tells him to please move, he's going to trip the little old ladies on walkers as they try to get around it. He does so, with mock indignation as they laugh at each other.

The food is very, very good. Fancy, the kind you expect in a four star place. Not quite 5 star, maybe, but close.

The restaurant only has one problem, and that is the service is so slow.

Yes, they are probably trying to match the pace of an earlier time in history, and yes, they want it to be an experience to linger over. Somehow, though, the erratic timing, one appetizer at a time, soups or salads that take 45 minutes after ordering to appear, and the fact that at least one entree for our party is ten minutes behind the rest just makes me frustrated, not relaxed.

We had a lovely Mother's Day meal with my parents, though. That's really all that matters.


Today is

Accounting Day

Europe Day -- European Union

Independence Day -- Romania

Lemuria -- Ancient Roman Calendar (to get rid of the spirits of the malevolent dead)

Liberation Day -- Guernsey; Jersey

Lost Sock Memorial Day -- they go to the hozone layer!

National Butterscotch Brownie Day

St. Beatus of Lungern's Day -- (apostle of Switzerland)

Tear Tags Off of Matresses Day -- yes, you can! If you bought it, you're allowed to.

Victory Day / Victory and Peace Day -- Armenia; Russia and the former SSRs

Yom Ha'Atzmaut -- Jewish


Birthdays Today:

Rosario Dawson, 1979
Steve Yzerman, 1965
Tony Gwynn, 1960
Billy Joel, 1949
Candice Bergen, 1946
James L. Brooks, 1940
Albert Finney, 1936
Glenda Jackson, 1936
Mike Wallace, 1918
Howard Carter, 1873
J.M. Barrie, 1860
John Brown, 1800


Today in History:

The first battle recorded with what is considered historic accuracy and detail, the Battle of Megiddo between Thutmose III and a large Canaanite coalition under the King of Kadesh, BC1457
Christopher Columbus leaves Spain for his 4th and final voyage, 1502
Thomas Blood, disguised as a clergyman, attempts to steal England's Crown Jewels from the Tower of London, 1671
British inventor Joseph Bramah patents beer-pump handle, 1785
The city of Reno, Nevada, is founded, 1868
The Vienna stock market crash (Der Krach) heralds the Long Depression, 1873
The first horse-drawn bus makes its début in the city of Mumbai, 1874
Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show opens in London, 1887
The first horseless carriage show in London opens, featuring 10 models, 1896
The lawn mower is patented, 1899
Australia opens its first parliament in Melbourne, 1901
The steam locomotive City of Truro becomes the first steam engine in Europe to exceed 100mph, 1904
The Australian Parliament first convenes in Canberra, 1927
Edgar Bergen and Charley McCarthy take to the airwaves, becoming an overnight radio sensation, 1937
Rainier III of Monaco becomes Prince of Monaco, 1949
Sam and Friends, with Jim Hensen and his muppets, debuts, 1955
The FDA announces it will approve birth control as an additional indication for Searle's Enovid, making Enovid the world's first approved oral contraceptive pill, 1960