After parking the car we entered the building, checked our coats and made our way to the maitre d’ to give our name and confirm our reservation. We were greeted warmly and escorted into the dining room. The place was called “The Grand Concourse” and more than lived up to its name. The high barrel vaulted ceiling overhead was a curved expanse of stained glass augmented by the marble floors, plush carpeting and generously accompanied by mahogany paneled walls. While we did not frequent it often, my wife and I considered it one of our favorite places to dine for a special occasion.
After being seated at our table and all the preliminaries of wine, appetizers being ordered and specialties being recited by our server, we settled in for an enjoyable evening of dining, conversation, a bit of flattery and renewed love. The occasion didn’t matter, just the fact that we were there to enjoy it together.
It was not long before we both noticed, at a table near us, a woman and her daughter, a child of about eight or nine years old. The lady was smartly attired and my wife commented on how sweet the little girl looked in her velvet dress. The two were obviously there to celebrate a special occasion, as well.
Noticeable, also, and only in passing, was the fact that the woman was talking on her cell phone. We both frowned on this and were surprised that such a place had no rule barring cell phone use in the main dining room. It was not a problem, however, as it was no doubt some last minute detail that the woman had forgotten in planning for the evening.
The dinner was long and leisurely, as we had wanted it to be, and we talked and joked and had a marvelous time. The meal was punctuated from time to time, however, with the ring of a cell phone and with an occasional overheard conversation from the nearby table. The conversation, sadly, was not between the woman and her beautiful child, but with electronic friends, brought to her table with the phone that she brandished. In fact, it became quite noticeable that the woman spent most of the meal on the phone and said but little to her daughter who seemed the perfect little princess, well behaved and patient.
As we finished our dessert and an after dinner drink, I paid the check and we thanked our server and got up to leave. To my wife’s dismay, I stopped at the nearby table, smiled at the little girl, and interrupting the woman in yet another cell phone conversation I said, “How nice of you to take this opportunity to spend some quality time with your child.” She looked at me in dismay and we moved on.
Often times we bemoan the fact that we are deprived of opportunities. If we only had a lucky break or the planets and stars were in the right alignment to give us the chance we needed to make a difference in our lives. We wait for the proverbial opportunity to come knocking at the door. Sometimes, too, opportunity doesn’t knock, because it’s sitting there, smiling, right before our eyes.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Have a Great Week!
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__________________ In Fitness & Friendship, MAHLER
______________________________ __________________________ There is no light at the end of the tunnel. You carry the light with you.
"Focus on making the 5 lifts stronger and getting enough food. There will be plenty of time to worry about glycemic indexes, PERs, and Bulgarian Split squats later. Much later."-Mark Rippetoe
Your comment was subtle, polite and, I hope, effective. What a great ending it would be if the Mom shook her head and realized what she was doing. Nice one, John.
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"Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you are right." - Henry Ford
"UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not." - Dr. Seuss
"Life is no brief candle to me. It is sort of a splendid torch which I have got hold of for a moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations." - George Bernard Shaw
Excellent post Mahler and great last line. I think it'll become a favorite, along the lines of Thomas Edison's.
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"Rust on a nail builds tetanus. Rust on a barbell builds character, strength, and attitude." -EC
"Don't spend your life wishing. Spend it doing." -FishrCutB8
"You're a mutant, like a snake with two heads or a cat shy one nipple. Be thankful that your mutation is helpful." - LD
Good story. I wonder if that girl continually asks her mom for a cell phone of her own.
I hope your words had some influence in the restaurant.
__________________ The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves happy. The amount of work is the same. -- Carlos Castaneda
Great thoughts, John. There are opportunities just about everywhere we look, but it's only the wise that take advantage of them.
I'm glad that you took the time to make the parting comment. It's sad to see parents set such examples for their children. Meals are a time that should be spent sharing experiences and fellowship end up ruined by yacking on a cell phone. What a great memory to leave the child with.
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Those that can't do teach. Those that can't teach consult. Deserve aka Gabe
'8 replies before the gutter! Good job Clubhouse!!!!!' Ninjabookey
Rest and relaxation can be a powerful “nothing” to propel us to greater achievements. Mahler
Stop listening to your wiener. He may want to go for a swim, but you haven't checked if the waters are shark infested yet. Ninjabookey
Great stuff John. I hope that she took what you said to heart. I would trade places with her in a minute. I didn't hardly talk on the phone period, only to friends that called me.
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Your accomplishments can only be as big as your heart.
I've said things before to people who were being rude, but never in such a tactful way as you handled the woman in that story.
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"I want to stand as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all the kinds of things you can't see from the center." - Kurt Vonnegut
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit."-- Aristotle
It is the attitude John. I hope the Mom realises her priorities before it is too late. If one day, god forbid, this little girl ignores her mother, hope the Mom realises whose fault it is, instead of blaming it on her teenage daughter.
__________________ The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves happy. The amount of work is the same. -- Carlos Castaneda
Mahler’s Monday Morning Motivator # 149 – Opportunity
Linear Mode
