I am old.
On Friday a couple comes in and the guy starts talking to me like he knew me. I know I know him but have absolutely no clue who this guy is. He says he sent me a text he was coming and so I excused myself to run in the back to see who this man was. For a fleeting moment, I thought dementia had suddenly settled in and this was it, folks. My life as a business owner was over. If I could remember where my car was and how to get home I should stop by the pharmacy and get some “Depends". Well, the text explained it. He was my insurance adjuster from the Bay Area and had never been in the finished restaurant before and so I rationalized that was why I did not recognize him. But, when we finally do lose our minds, how will we know? I mean I would like to know. Would my kids tell me, would my wife, my employees? I don’t think any of them would do it, so the logical thing to do is to have customers let me know. So when I finally do lose my mind and if you are the first one to tell me, you will get a free breakfast. However, if you tell me too soon, my uncle Guido might pay you a visit.
Feb 11 - 17
Life is changing.
Recently I watched the movie Back to the Future, and I was amazed that when he went back 30 years in time, how different everything was. I thought that if you went back in time 30 years now it would not be as much a change. Then today I decided to go through my old desk from before the fire at El Camino. I found an old business card catalog and went through it. There were close to a hundred business cards from business people and friends. Some had notes with home phone numbers, some had notes to me to remind me of their family member’s names. I found one number from a customer that came into the restaurant back when it was called Walt’s in 1981. I called him just to see if he was still around. To my disappointment, and unsurprisingly, the phone was disconnected. The bottom line is things have definitely changed. Now all contacts are in your phone. There are no personal notes in there. There are no family member’s names, no memories, kind of sad. The world is changing and I am glad I had a few moments to cherish these people and acknowledge them.
It looks like someone has stolen a painting of a Futuristic Car out of its frame in the Men's room. First of all, I want to commend that person on their good taste. Second, you took my Freakin' Painting. Who would steal a painting out of the Men's room?
This person should be easy to find. First, we can eliminate one gender. Second, we look for someone with good taste. Third, I will offer a reward of free FlapJacks for a day with bacon and eggs (don't get carried away, it is just a picture of a painting) for its return.
Let's see what happens.
Feb 4 - 10
A Kid’s Purpose:
One of the advantages of having kids is you get to see all the current kid’s movies. I mean, you can always see them, but it is awkward sitting in a theater watching a kid’s movie without a kid with you. When the Incredibles 2 came out, you know you wanted to see it, but you have to wait until a kid can come along. I even feel weird ordering a kid’s movie from Netflix if the kids aren’t going to watch. In fact, I did order one and the kids didn’t want to see it and I was too embarrassed to watch it without them. Let's face it, with the kid’s you get to relive some of your own childhood memories and so I should start being nicer in the way I refer to my darling children. After all, if the kids were not around, I would never have learned the “Oompa Loompa” song from Willy Wonka.
Jan 28 - Feb 3
Hell, the definition of which is, “a place regarded in various religions as a spiritual realm of evil and suffering where the wicked are punished by fire”, and apparently I must be evil.
I have a son in the autistic spectrum. This means when he needs something done or wants something done he will request or demand it until it is done. In this case he wanted to pair (connect) his GoPro with his iPhone, I don’t even know what a GoPro is. Now things will start reasonably but when it becomes apparent that I have no idea what I am doing then things go to the next level. As I have said in the past, emotions continue to escalate until the problem is solved, but I have no idea why this thing is not pairing, so things are getting desperate. During situations like this I usually come up with a distraction like “OMG a meteor just hit the chicken coop”, but today I had nothing. In a moment of panic, I threw myself on the floor and started throwing a tantrum. My son was bewildered long enough for me to change the subject.
If fire is all God’s got, then I am not worried.