Dining Out

Andy q said:

The Ranger said:

The Demolisher took this momentary lull to introduce himself to our
table. One of the Chevron Cars© flew under Daughter-unit Alpha's chair
and into my foot. I was a little surprised but not annoyed. The third
time annoyed me.

After the 2nd time, I'd have had no problem crushing the toy car under my
shoe, by mistake of course!!! 😉

A man after my own heart! LOL!

Carol
--
Wash away the gray to respond.

On Fri 11 Nov 2005 01:31:37p, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it Andy?

Quoted message said:

The Ranger said:

The Demolisher took this momentary lull to introduce himself to our
table. One of the Chevron Cars© flew under Daughter-unit Alpha's chair
and into my foot. I was a little surprised but not annoyed. The third
time annoyed me.

After the 2nd time, I'd have had no problem crushing the toy car under my
shoe, by mistake of course!!! 😉

Or the kid for that matter...by mistake of course!!!

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
_____________________________________________

A chicken in every pot is a *LOT* of chicken!

Wayne Boatwright said:

On Fri 11 Nov 2005 01:31:37p, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it Andy?

Quoted message said:

The Ranger said:

The Demolisher took this momentary lull to introduce himself to our
table. One of the Chevron Cars© flew under Daughter-unit Alpha's
chair and into my foot. I was a little surprised but not annoyed.
The third time annoyed me.

After the 2nd time, I'd have had no problem crushing the toy car
under my shoe, by mistake of course!!! 😉

Or the kid for that matter...by mistake of course!!!

Wayne,

RIGHT!!! Like the Rolling Stones taught us!

"Hey... You... Get under my Shoe!!!"

🙂

Andy

On Fri 11 Nov 2005 04:31:03p, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it Andy?

Quoted message said:

Wayne Boatwright said:

On Fri 11 Nov 2005 01:31:37p, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it Andy?

Quoted message said:

The Ranger wrote:

> The Demolisher took this momentary lull to introduce himself to our
> table. One of the Chevron Cars© flew under Daughter-unit Alpha's
> chair and into my foot. I was a little surprised but not annoyed.
> The third time annoyed me.

After the 2nd time, I'd have had no problem crushing the toy car
under my shoe, by mistake of course!!! 😉

Or the kid for that matter...by mistake of course!!!

Wayne,

RIGHT!!! Like the Rolling Stones taught us!

"Hey... You... Get under my Shoe!!!"

🙂

Andy

LOL!

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
_____________________________________________

A chicken in every pot is a *LOT* of chicken!

In article <[email hidden]>,

The Ranger said:

We walked in during the peak lunchtime, but due to a high in
daughter-unit recognition, we got a table immediately. (I now wish we'd
been forced to wait with the remaining crowd.) The owner, the Matron of
that particular family-owned business, greeted the d-u's like they were
her own dear granddaughters and seated us towards the back at one of the
tables for eight. This was more table than any of us needed but it had
the advantage of blocking Spawn in against the wall, so I didn't balk. I
thanked her and got Daughter-units Alpha and Beta seated, while Spawn
climbed up to the chair of my liking. That's when the first Tsunami hit
us.

Sometimes I think that prospective parents need to take classes, pass a
test and get a license to have kids. There are so many problems with
your story that it is pathetic. There are a lot of very simple things
that you do to avoid this. They didn't have a clue. Obviously you do,
and that's why your kids behave.

--
Dan Abel
[email hidden]
Petaluma, California, USA

sf said:

The Ranger said:

As we left, the Matron apologized for our experience and hoped to see us
again. I didn't commit.

What an awful experience! I would have run out screaming. Why didn't
you just tell the shuffler that you wanted your food packed up to go
when that kid first stood on the table and you saw what uncontrolled
brats the others were?

Nuts to that. I would not want to be sent running from a restaurant by a brat.
Confront he kid. Take the toy that kept ending up under your table and tell the
parents to keep their brat on a leash.

Andy said:

The Ranger said:

The Demolisher took this momentary lull to introduce himself to our
table. One of the Chevron Cars© flew under Daughter-unit Alpha's chair
and into my foot. I was a little surprised but not annoyed. The third
time annoyed me.

After the 2nd time, I'd have had no problem crushing the toy car under my
shoe, by mistake of course!!! 😉

Me too.

"The Ranger" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

<Nasty story snipped>

Quoted message said:

The Ranger

What I would like to know is have you discussed this with the DU'S?

What was their take on the situation?

What example did you set for them?

Was this a "learning" experience or a frustration demonstration?

Dimitri

Dan Abel <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
[snip]

Quoted message said:

Sometimes I think that prospective parents need to take
classes, pass a test and get a license to have kids. There
are so many problems with your story that it is pathetic.
There are a lot of very simple things that you do to avoid
this. They didn't have a clue. Obviously you do, and that's
why your kids behave.

I think different cultures place different values on children's behavior
as well. I place a significant amount of pride in my daughter-units
being asked back to places, especially when I'm not present.

I preen about like a proud rooster when other parents talk about my
daughter-units' manners and common sense. We are now allowing them to
experience dining at the next level. Sometimes it's worked great
(high-end steakhouse in Las Vegas, NV was an awesome experience for all
of us), sometimes they remind us that they're not quite ready for the
next level (braised sea bass in a lemon chardonnay redux, spring mix
salad and candied pecans with a rosemary vinaigrette from Le Papillon).
The same rules apply; if they can't contain themselves, they will be
escorted outside to the car -- with me. And -- as per your example of a
parent-child tagteam sitting in a car -- since I'm not much fun when I
miss a meal, they've learned that this little exercise should be avoided
at all costs.

The Ranger

Andy <q> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Demolisher's 3-strikes and his CC®

Quoted message said:

After the 2nd time, I'd have had no problem crushing the
toy car under my shoe, by mistake of course!!! 😉

That's what I thought the guy at the other table was going to do when he
stepped on it.

Just for the record: The CC® don't break easily; you'd need to exert a
lot of force (like stand up and crunch down with the heel of some
workman boots) to do what you are hoping.

I've also found that staring the child (or adult) down is much more
affective than breaking the toy. There's always one, though, that just
doesn't catch on very quickly. He required a little more direct
approach.

The Ranger

Dimitri <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
[snip]

Quoted message said:

What I would like to know is have you discussed this
with the DU'S? What was their take on the situation?
What example did you set for them? Was this a "learning"
experience or a frustration demonstration?

I talked about it for three days after it happened... At one point D-uB
said I should get over it because she'd never act like that. D-uA just
let me rant but also confirmed that she would never yell, or throw her
toys, or run about in a restaurant. Spawn thought I was funny when I
yelled at the parents.

As far as setting an example... It's certainly not as positive a role
model as I could have been. I let a group ruin my meal experience and
bring out a side that I try and contain regularly. Probably the
frustration demo -- in Dolby SenSurround.

The Ranger

Charlotte L. Blackmer <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
<tale of horror snecked>

Quoted message said:

All Hail The Ranger!

All Hail the Daughter-Units!

I'd go back. The restaurant can't help that the patrons are boorish.
It sounds like they served you well.

I've since been back, received sterling service from Mr. P, and even got
comped a dish. As it was delivered, Matron tagged it, "You're going to
like this. It's the cook's specialty." Matron told me dish's name but my
failing hearing and a flare-up of Parentitis is preventing me from
remembering. It had mushrooms, bamboo shoots, some mystery seafood,
loads of garlic, and several peppercorns in a mild sauce...

Quoted message said:

Seriously, you thought on your feet a lot better than I
did during a similar incident.

[snip another boorish group]

Quoted message said:

We ate fast and got out.

I tend to think very quickly on my feet. Unfortunately, it's not always
very safe or positive. SWMBO keeps telling me that one of these days,
it's going to backfire...

The Ranger

The Ranger said:

Dan Abel <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
[snip]

Quoted message said:

Sometimes I think that prospective parents need to take
classes, pass a test and get a license to have kids.

It does seem 'common sense' don't it? A license to drive a car is
required but any 2 idiots can clone another idiot without any quality
control (yes i know the rebuttal to that statement but bear with me
here for moment).

Unfortunately under our Constitution and Bill of Rights (at lest us
Americans, and by extension even the British and Europeans) it is
popularly believed that we have certain 'inalienable rights' among them
which seems to be the right of procreation, which i assume falls under
the 'right to life' category. Certainly not 'liberty' and 'the pursuit
of happiness' i cant think of anything that will so quickly restrict
ones 'liberty' and 'happiness' than ones own 'children'.
---
JL

Quoted message said:

There

Quoted message said:

are so many problems with your story that it is pathetic.
There are a lot of very simple things that you do to avoid
this. They didn't have a clue. Obviously you do, and that's
why your kids behave.

I think different cultures place different values on children's
behavior
as well. I place a significant amount of pride in my daughter-units
being asked back to places, especially when I'm not present.

I preen about like a proud rooster when other parents talk about my
daughter-units' manners and common sense. We are now allowing them to
experience dining at the next level. Sometimes it's worked great
(high-end steakhouse in Las Vegas, NV was an awesome experience for
all
of us), sometimes they remind us that they're not quite ready for the
next level (braised sea bass in a lemon chardonnay redux, spring mix
salad and candied pecans with a rosemary vinaigrette from Le
Papillon).
The same rules apply; if they can't contain themselves, they will be
escorted outside to the car -- with me. And -- as per your example of
a
parent-child tagteam sitting in a car -- since I'm not much fun when I

miss a meal, they've learned that this little exercise should be
avoided
at all costs.

The Ranger

The Ranger said:

I decided to visit our favorite Chinese restaurant yesterday, taking all
three daughter-units with me. We're "regulars," and they recognize me
through my daughter-units. This "special" treatment/recognition is one
of the reasons we keep coming back. Yesterday, though, has made me
rethink this patronage.

We walked in during the peak lunchtime, but due to a high in
daughter-unit recognition, we got a table immediately. (I now wish we'd
been forced to wait with the remaining crowd.) The owner, the Matron of
that particular family-owned business, greeted the d-u's like they were
her own dear granddaughters and seated us towards the back at one of the
tables for eight. This was more table than any of us needed but it had
the advantage of blocking Spawn in against the wall, so I didn't balk. I
thanked her and got Daughter-units Alpha and Beta seated, while Spawn
climbed up to the chair of my liking. That's when the first Tsunami hit
us.

The high-pitched squeal stopped the clattering-mumbling-rumbling
lunch-rush symphony more surely
than the Cone-of-Silence. The restaurant, every table filled, turned as
one and looked back towards the noise. A stout young fellow, no more
than 2, STANDING ON THE TABLE trying to jump up and down, was the focus
of a group of fifteen. (I later learned they were "celebrating his
second" birthday.) His I-must-be-the-center-of-attention bugle-call was
met by his tablemates with giggles and laughs.

My daughter-units were all staring; Spawn was particularly fascinated. I
groaned. This was going to be a LONG lunch - probably punctuated by
short bursts of screeching followed by extended voids of silence. The
Bugler was not the only child present, though. He was also accompanied
the Demolisher, the Puller, the Kicker, and the Mommy-yeller. All adults
(I use this term to describe their physical appearance, not their mental
facilities) were either engaging in a running dialogue -- at full
volume -- or laughing and pointing at the Bugler. I felt the beginnings
of a Stage 3 Migraine descending down upon me.

I reminded my three where we were and what I expected. There were no
protests. There were no last
longing looks at the table. Daughter-unit Beta only smiled and answered,
"Yes, Dad."

The daughter-units are very opinionated when it comes to what they will
and will not eat at this restaurant: Sesame Chicken, steamed rice, the
[House] Chow Fun, and hot-and-sour soup. Most of these items can be
found among the luncheon menu, so that made ordering for them that much
easier. Since this is also a time I might experiment, I chose to do so
(Hunan Squid!) We looked around for a waiter and were rewarded by Mr.
Personality doing his impersonation of the Zombie Shuffle over to our
table. (He's one of the most efficient waiters I've ever been served by
but he has a permanent scowl that he puckers his face into. He's rarely
said a word, either, no matter how one might try and engage him.)

The Bugler squealed again.

The physical pain caused by this kid's bursts of sound would make a
Memorex ad! Mr. Personality
physically winced like someone cracked a bull whip off his back. His
normal soured puss scrunched down like he'd just been force-fed alum. I
started to place our order but noticed he wasn't writing anything. I
wasn't competing with that other table effectively enough so I raised my
voice. (Those public speaking courses I took during college actually
come in handy! Who'da thunk it?) Mr. P scratched down our order and ZS'd
towards the kitchen, past that other table. Mommy-Dearest #1 turned in
her chair as he shuffled past and said something to him. He didn't even
stop to acknowledge her. MD#1 got up and followed him into the back. [In
all my years of restaurant work, I'd only seen this a couple times...
And it still surprises me.]

The Demolisher took this momentary lull to introduce himself to our
table. One of the Chevron Cars® flew under Daughter-unit Alpha's chair
and into my foot. I was a little surprised but not annoyed. The third
time annoyed me. The Demolisher was into Smash-Bang-Crash'em-Up, and
upon retrieving the car the first time from us, decided that I was his
new game. I reached under the table and (like most restaurants
everywhere) was not surprised at the level of uncleanness. I picked up
the CC® and handed it back to Demo. He yanked it from my hands and
trotted back out of reach like a striking cobra. My d-u's noticed the
signs of a bad thunderstorm forming and took evasive action.

Mr. P returned with the soup and actually managed a smile - think
Wednesday's smile in "The Addams Family" ("Make her stop! It's scaring
us!"😉 -- and shuffled past that other table again. MD#2 stopped her
yakking and followed Mr. P into the back (yet again.) A CC® streaked
under our table again. The sudden stop of the car by the table's stand
sent a shiver throughout the top; soup quaked. I reached down as Demo
was reaching under the table and got the CC® before he could.

"Please don't throw this under there again. It's very dirty under
there." (Reason: I always try to reason first.)

There was no thank you (again) but this time I was prepared and as his
hand tried to [censored] the car, I held onto it with a little more force
than was necessary. "Understand?" Our eyes met. He nodded quickly. Too
quickly.

Our introduction to the remaining troupe of players (the Puller, the
Kicker, and the Mommy-yeller) came indirectly. The three were running
circles around that other table when the Kicker (leading the trio) had
her hair pulled (by the Puller), effectively reining her in. She turned
while her hair was still held firmly by the Puller, and delivered one of
the most stunning front kicks I'd ever seen. The Puller dropped and
squirmed on the floor, clearly winded. Conversations abruptly halted at
that other table and the adults just looked. The Mommy-yeller took
advantage of the quiet to tattle and would not stop tattling for the
next few minutes. Daddy-Dearest (the only one) came over and picked up
the Puller and motioned for the Kicker to sit down. Conversation at that
other table resumed like nothing had happened.

The Bugler trumpeted again. D-uB clapped her ears. In a voice that only
the young can manage, she piped, "He's loud! Why is he so loud? He hurts
my ears!" This was not lost on that other table. The bugler was pulled
down from the table and onto an adult seat (rather than a high chair).
<groan>

D-uA yelped. The Demolisher had returned. One of his CC® had "crashed"
[into her shin]. That was too much. I reached down, grabbed both CC® and
the Demolisher and brought him over to that other table. DD stood up and
conversation stopped (everywhere.)

"If he comes over to my table again, I will spank him." I set the CC® on
the table and push Demo towards DD. "I don't want him anywhere near my
table. Is that perfectly clear?" I looked over the crowd that carped
back. No one said anything. "Don't make me carry that threat out." I
turned and walked back to my table.

Mr. Personality delivered our meals, but I'd long since lost any
appetite I might've had. My daughter-units, though, were enjoying their
repast like it was their last meal. I sat there and nibbled away and
finally managed to force myself into scarfing my meal down without any
enjoyment.

During this reduced noise period, the Demolisher had moved to another
portion of the floor (by two other large group tables). These were
occupied by business people on their lunch hours. The Demolisher chose
(unwisely again) to sling one of his CC®'s under the nearest. It was
occupied by someone that was more annoyed than me and as the CC® bounced
back -- and under his feet -- he stepped on it. He looked over at that
other table and then down at the Demolisher. "I'm not a parent but if I
were, I'd want my kids to behave in public. If I were my grandparents,
this car would now be mine. If this car -- and child -- comes back over
here one more time, he won't enjoy his experience."

MD#3 whined for the Demolisher to come back to that other table.

Feeling that staying any longer would add nothing but an increased level
of indigestion, I signaled over to Mr. P. He knew that we were leaving
and picked up our dishes and efficiently managed to box them to go. As
we stood, the gentleman that had issued Demolisher's second warning
stopped their table's conversation and called over to us.

"I wanted to congratulate you on how well your daughters behaved.
Especially that young one. There are too many that ignored the fine
lesson they presented today."

Daughter-unit Alpha -- without prompting -- thanked him. (I did, too,
not wanting to be bested by my daughter-unit. <G>😉

As we left, the Matron apologized for our experience and hoped to see us
again. I didn't commit.

The Ranger

Dave Smith said:

sf said:

The Ranger said:

As we left, the Matron apologized for our experience and hoped to see us
again. I didn't commit.

What an awful experience! I would have run out screaming. Why didn't
you just tell the shuffler that you wanted your food packed up to go
when that kid first stood on the table and you saw what uncontrolled
brats the others were?

Nuts to that. I would not want to be sent running from a restaurant by a brat.
Confront he kid. Take the toy that kept ending up under your table and tell the
parents to keep their brat on a leash.

I'm not *that* confrontational... I'd react more like Ranger if put in
that situation.

In article <[email hidden]>,

The Ranger said:

Dan Abel <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
[snip]

Quoted message said:

Sometimes I think that prospective parents need to take
classes, pass a test and get a license to have kids. There
are so many problems with your story that it is pathetic.
There are a lot of very simple things that you do to avoid
this. They didn't have a clue. Obviously you do, and that's
why your kids behave.

I think different cultures place different values on children's behavior
as well. I place a significant amount of pride in my daughter-units
being asked back to places, especially when I'm not present.

I preen about like a proud rooster when other parents talk about my
daughter-units' manners and common sense.

Raising children is very rewarding. Unfortunately, most of the rewards
are far in the future. We all need some strokes along the way.

Being proud of your children and their achievements is very important.
Otherwise you'd just kill them.

:-(

God made them lovable for a reason. They are a challenge.

I love little children, a lot. I don't have any, though. My kids are
26, 22 and 20. I've already been there and done that.

--
Dan Abel
[email hidden]
Petaluma, California, USA

In article <[email hidden]>,

Joseph Littleshoes said:

The Ranger said:

Dan Abel <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
[snip]

Quoted message said:

Sometimes I think that prospective parents need to take
classes, pass a test and get a license to have kids.

It does seem 'common sense' don't it? A license to drive a car is
required but any 2 idiots can clone another idiot without any quality
control (yes i know the rebuttal to that statement but bear with me
here for moment).

I think a lot of things. I think I ought to be a millionaire. I think
everybody should love me.

I have a lot of daydreams. That doesn't mean that I am actually
advocating these things.

--
Dan Abel
[email hidden]
Petaluma, California, USA

good grief... learn how to use a news reader

Ranger--your story illustrates that just because a person is capable of
reproducing doesn't mean they should. In my opionion, only a minority
of people should even consider having children--most folks I see just
don't make very effective parents.

My big beef is staying at a hotel that has a pool, and not being able
to take advantage of it, because of all the kids hellraising (and
parents doing the "Vallium Shuffle"--letting their kids misbehave).

It just takes one family with 3 kids to completely take over a swimming
pool.

Many parents, I believe, use their children as an excuse to be
insufferably rude and selfish in many situations.

Kudos to you! You sound like a great parent--and sounds like you've
got terrific kids.--r3

In article <[email hidden]>,

tsr3 said:

Ranger--your story illustrates that just because a person is capable of
reproducing doesn't mean they should. In my opionion, only a minority
of people should even consider having children--most folks I see just
don't make very effective parents.

My opinion is that most parents are effective and do a good job. The
minority of bad ones make the rest look bad.

Quoted message said:

My big beef is staying at a hotel that has a pool, and not being able
to take advantage of it, because of all the kids hellraising (and
parents doing the "Vallium Shuffle"--letting their kids misbehave).

It just takes one family with 3 kids to completely take over a swimming
pool.

My daughter and I traveled many years back. It was a great trip. We
stayed at an inexpensive motel on the way up. There was an indoor pool
and hot tub. We headed for the hot tub. My daughter was about six.
There was one other guy in there. My daughter had been cooped up for
hours, and was pretty squirmy. I didn't think she was obnoxious, but
she was moving around and making small waves. The guy claimed that he
was a firefighter, and the temperature of the tub was dangerous for kids
that age. I figured that he just wanted her out of there. I ignored
him, but made sure she kept part of her body out of the water. I don't
think that helped the wave situation. We didn't stay in long, as we
were hungry and wanted dinner.

Anybody know the facts here?

I think that there is a big difference between behavior in a nice
restaurant and behavior in a pool.

--
Dan Abel
[email hidden]
Petaluma, California, USA