Beautiful day

[Venturous Randy]

Had a great top down ride today in the Miata with temps around 80 to 85 degrees and very sunny. Drove down to the western side of the Smokey Mountains and views were so clear.

We were hungry when we got next to Pigeon Forge, TN and my lady wanted to stop at Joe's Crab Shack. They were open with every other booth and table open for spacing. The first problem we encountered was they were out of most of the crab meat and I like crab cakes. The other real aggravating problem was there was a couple about 30 years old that had four kids with them. They were behind me and at least one of them had a spoon or something and was beating on the table as loud as he could. The parents were completely ignoring him and another one was beating on the table with his fists.

I decided that if I was going to spend $50 for a meal that was not really what I wanted, I was for sure not going to tolerate the racket. I got up and found the manager and asked him to do something about it. He did go talk to them and I am not sure what he said, but they got mad and got up and left. I think at this time that had only received their drinks.

If you encounter a situation like this that is making you miserable, what do you do?

Randy

[cowpuc]

I just wrote this over on Mama's Party thread.. It applies directly to my answer to your question too Randy so instead of retyping everything,, I will just copy/paste it

 

been crazy here.. On top of this virus thing we have a domestic dispute going on down the street that has resulted in one of the disputers going crazy and dumping nails and screws out on our street corners.. Its been going on for a couple weeks now and its getting old. The police have been involved all along but are having a hard time nailing (pun intended) the perp.. Found out from the LEO that is working the case today that the varmint has expanded his horizons of terror by including 5 more intersections and about 8 mores miles of roadway in what appears to keep his girlfriend boxed in with nails/screws..

Couple that together this crisis that everybody else is dealing with and local/state officials here changing the rules they want us to live by like my 3 year old grandson turning my lights on and off (he is sooo cute when he plays the lights on/off game but not so much when those in power do so) and yeah,, life can get frustrating..

Matter of fact,, I got so frustrated with all the rule changing and the punctured tires today that I looked at Tip curled up on the couch and said - LETS GO FISHIN!! With no idea really whether or not doing so was legal at this point, I tossed our flat bottom boat in the back of Clyde (our historic vehicled ex-Airport plow truck) with the fishing gear stuffed haphazardly underneath the boat,, fired em up and away we went.. Headed for a small inland lake up in Michigans State land that knew of.. It took some doings to get down to the lake once Clyde's granny gear in low range had crawled and knawed Clydes way out thru the sticks and down the extremely steep hill to the lakeside.. Dumped the boat into the water,, pulled the spare batter out of Clyde for the trolling motor,, admired how pretty Tippy was walking in the black muck on the lack shore in her knee boots,,, jump in, pushed off and away we went,, FISHING!! I knew the old battery that was Clydes plow batter couldnt be in to good of shape so I was not surprised when I pressed the battery check button on the motor and it proudly displayed "RECHARGE".. By now though,, being used to what life has become in Michigan,, I just laughed in Murphys face,, grabbed the oars and told Tip we would save the motor for trolling as the sun set and the big ones starting getting hungry and just row around the edges and see if we could snag a pan fish or two. Of course, the pan fish in this particular little lake had no internet access (the lake is wayyyyyy back in the sticks,, only reason I even knew about it was due to my many many years of riding my dirt bikes on those thousands of acres of lands that are owned by us tax payers of Michigan) so had not read the same claim that they were suppose to not be able to tell the difference between the little rubber worms I had purchased online and the worms I used to dig as a kid in the wilds.. I pointed the fish beds out to Tippy and told her it was obvious the place was loaded and that it was to bad they didn't know they were suppose to bite on the little plastic worms.. I then told her to pull in her bobbered line as I was gonna bust thru the brush and go find us some REAL worms.. After untangling our lines hundreds of times from the lakeshore brush growth and standing up in the boat and using an oar like one of Mike Finks river boat men operating a push stick,, we arrived back at shore.. Yes it was mucky,, yep Tip got a big chuckly at me sinking in the muck just to get some worms,, yes Tip - having many years of motherly experience, happen to have a sandwich baggie for me to gather worms in so I wouldnt have to use my Harley hat.. As I tipped the first log over and saw nothing but ants,, I began to tell Tippy that many many many many years ago, at a time wayyy before the evil Syth Emperer who was playing the on/off rules games with our lifes was even thought of,, people used to actually go dig worms to go fishing with just to have food.. As I picked up a great big fat worm and stuffed it into the sandwich bag I told Tip that what I was doing, back in those times,, was serious business...

After we got back thru the brush with several very nice big fat leaf worms staring at us thru the clear plastic of the sandwich bag I randomly grabbed one of those worms, stuck him on the hook on Tippies pole (chivalry is not dead in our 40 marriage,, I dont care what PC says),, watched her give that wiggly little worm a toss into the lake water and WHAMMO - instant NINE INCH SUNFISH!!!! BINGO,, JUST LIKE THAT ALL OUR DULDRUMS OF THE DAY BEGAN TO MELT AWAY!!

The melting away actually continued to melt and came to full fledged outpouring of an amazing feeling of a return to sanity as Tip later hooked into and LANDED a great big Northern Pike while we were trolling!!

[CaseyJ955]

Glad you had a good top down ride, I really dig roadsters!

 

For noisy diners, you did the right thing. Unfortunately quite a few folks are just plain rude and inconsiderate. Some people really need to figure out that their little bundles of joy are NOT everyone else's bundles of joy. I live near a city (Rapid City, SD) that is renowned for rudeness so I'm often disappointed but never really surprised.

 

Normally I go out less and go to places that are a rung above family dining which drastically cuts down on the chances of someone bringing young children in to **** up everyone else's dining experience. Expect it at Denny's or Perkins, but not at Stonewalls.

 

I was at a steakhouse over the Tacoma waterfront and was seated as it opened, first ones in. This place had dim lighting and nice soft music, clearly catering to couples and adults maybe trying to get a quiet break from their own kids. Minutes behind us came a family that was seated right next to us (the whole place wide open), and they had an infant. This kid screeched and fussed unchecked, no sound is more grating! I pulled the waiter aside and told him politely that this was not the atmosphere we were paying for. He moved them and we got to stay by the overlook. The family was not happy but we were able to enjoy our $75/plate meals. IMHO it's just rude to drag kids into anything other than family dining places, and even then there is no reason to let them terrorize the place. After our steak dinner the waiter apologized profusely and offered us a discount. We paid in full and gave a good tip because he did the right thing to quickly resolve it, then served us amazing steaks followed by a free desert.

 

Often when I go into a place I ask for a child-free seating, or something quiet. I also never dine during meal rush times when everyone else is dining, I slip in and out during the less busy hours. Many nicer places or more astute wait staff will seat families and couples/individuals away from each other, they deserve an extra robust tip. If I'm forced to sit next to a noisy family and the waiter is not receptive to doing something about it I will just get up and leave. There will be no tip and I'm only to happy to explain why. IMHO if you cant afford a sitter you cant afford Anything over $15-20/plate, which should buy you some atmosphere as well as a decent meal. Inflicting ones Ill-supervised ill-disciplined children on the general public is the pinnacle or rudeness.

 

I would rather snarf a Culver's burger from the drive-thru while steering with my knee and shifting with my forearm, with the fries precariously teetering on the console. I would enjoy that more then enduring noisy kids. I have to believe that most families understand this and do the considerate thing, but everyone else suffers over the few who feel they are exempt from the use of common courtesy. This problem actually keeps me from dining out quite a bit more.

 

I feel your pain brother, you were right not to tolerate it!

Edited May 4, 2020 by CaseyJ955

[cowpuc]

 

I would rather snarf a Culver's burger from the drive-thru while steering with my knee and shifting with my forearm, with the fries precariously teetering on the console. I would enjoy that more then enduring noisy kids. I have to believe that most families understand this and do the considerate thing, but everyone else suffers over the few who feel they are exempt from the use of common courtesy. This problem actually keeps me from dining out quite a bit more.

 

I feel your pain brother, you were right not to tolerate it!

 

LOP EARED BROTHER BY A DIFFERENT MOTHER VARMINT IF THERE EVER SO EVER WAS ONE!!

[Venturous Randy]

Last summer Linda went into a nice restaurant near Grandfather Mountain, just off the Blue Ridge Parkway. We were camping and decided to get a nice meal. As we came into the restaurant, which was about half full, I mentioned that I wanted a table away from kids if possible. This host took up to right beside a table with about ten people with at least three kids about three or four years old. Linda started to sit down and I just stood there staring at the host and I shook my head no. I turned around and started walking away. I motioned for Linda to come on and as she stood up, the host stepped toward me. I reminded her that I wanted away from children. She looked at me like I was some kind of mean old monster. As I started for the door, she said wait a minute and moved us to another area.

This was an upscale restaurant and served mix drinks and wine. As the evening wore on and more alcohol was consumed at that table, the kids were ignored more and got louder and louder.

Yep, that was one time I was glad I stood my ground to start with.

Randy