Ingesting, digesting and requesting

The three of us have driven across six states in the past three days and we are half way across number seven.  This time and distance represents approximately 10 or 12 shared meals (3 women - times 3 meals a day - times one or two that we are not quite sure what they were, so we cannot decide whether to include them in the total).

As I believe I have mentioned, my traveling companions are both younger (much younger) than I am, and their respective tastes in cuisine run the gamut, from the standard (cereal, fruit, hamburgers, etc.) to the bizarre (Mountain Dew and grape nuts anyone?).

One of them can eat almost anything - does the term cast-iron stomach ring any bells?  This young lovely, however, chooses to eat mostly a few favorite foods.  She smilingly says, "I know what I like." The other is flexible in her dining preferences, but food allergies can complicate her choices.

And then there is the little old lady of the trio - me - and my basic motto when on a road trip, is that I CAN and will eat anything that can't outrun me.  I like to keep life simple.

I must tell you that what passes for customer service these days is distressing.  However, one either accepts the limp-wristed offerings from indifferent waitstaff, or one resists the reality of today's road trip and goes hungry.  I have not voluntarily gone hungry since the last time I had the flu.  In that instance, discretion was indeed the better part of valor.

One waiter asked where we were from.  He noted with careful respect that "we talked funny."  Ahhhem - this from someone who offered us a handi-wipe when we asked about condiments.

And then there was the lady who, completely unasked, told us painful details of her personal situation, while completely forgetting the silverware, the drinks, and several other dining details.  

When we inquired about the missing soft drinks, she responded that the machine was not working correctly.  Thereafter, she mentioned twice that she was considering "getting behind there and trying to fix it."  I am not sure, exactly, what these impromptu repairs were supposed to accomplish but they did not occur, as the drinks never arrived.

Since she was obviously under some personal stress, her inattention to our table would have been understandable, except for the fact that we were the only patrons in the entire establishment.  After our experience, we completely understood why.  After all, we just wondered in innocently off the freeway.  The local residents had obviously been forewarned or had sworn off the place.

Nevertheless, being the enabler that I am, I left her a decent tip because she clearly needed some help.  By the time we left that establishment, so did I.

And so it goes.  We may never have this particular opportunity to share time and the road together again across America.  But we will always be glad that we took the time and made this trip.  I am digesting new ideas, they are ingesting some old opinions and family sayings that help frame who we are as family.  We are each requesting God's traveling mercies as we complete our journey, hopefully tomorrow.  Until next time ...Marsha