Musings September 26, 2009

Today is Saturday, September 26, 2009, and I'm here to post a few musings as I watch my Florida Gators steamroller an unhappy Kentucky football team.

I missed the first hour of the game because I looked online and saw the Gators were playing in Kentucky, starting at 6PM. Well, forehead slap, Kentucky is in the EASTERN time zone and I'm in the Central time zone.

So I came into the game with about 13 1/2 minutes to go in the second quarter, and the Gators holding on to a slim 31-0 lead, having gained over 200 yards to Kentucky's -1.

Now, As I get started writing his posting, with just under 8 minutes to go in the first half, Kentucky has finally achieved their premiere first down of the game. The home crowd went wild.

For lunch today, we tried Cracker Barrel again, to see if they still had their Coca-Cola cake, and this time we were successful! We had a very caring young man as our server, Mario, who is fairly new, but was extremely good. I'll get into why in a minute.

When we arrived, we told Mario we were there primarily for the Coca-Cola cake, and he said yes, they still had some, and he would set aside three pieces for us to be sure we got some.

Pretty cool, Mario.

Because we were there for the cake, Jan and I split a lunch entree, the broiled chicken breast with bacon and cheese, off the low-carb menu. Yum! It was so good, I'll definitely get it again!

Our server, Mario, was obviously fairly new, because he had only one star on his apron. I think that means they have less than one month on the job, if I remember accurately what someone told me several years ago.

But he did an excellent job.

Why do I say that? Mostly because of his attitude. His attitude was one of genuinely wanting to be sure we were happy customers.

We have all had servers with, shall we say, something less than an optimal attitude.

There are those to whom we customers are an irritant, a bother. Anything we ask of them is a burden, causing them to at least figuratively roll their eyes and heave a sigh of exasperation.

There are other types who are far too busy to care for their customers. We have all encountered those servers who make you wait interminably before you can order, then barely have time to listen to your preferences before they're gone again. This happens even when the restaurant is virtually empty. Often, I've wondered, if there were only three tables occupied in the entire restaurant, what is it these servers are doing that keeps them so busy that they don't have time for their customers?

And don't forget the overly-serious types. Brusque and all-business, they want you to get your order, get your food, and get out.

Mario was none of these.

At lunchtime on a Saturday, Cracker Barrel was quite crowded. We had to wait about fifteen minutes for a table, and I saw Mario taking care of at least four other tables, and wouldn't be surprised if he had several other tables I didn't see.

Yet, he had plenty of time to listen carefully to what we wanted, to repeat it to be sure he go it right, and to come back frequently to check whether we had all we needed.

He didn't remember everything perfectly, as I'm sure he will when he gets more experience, but he checked back frequently enough that anything that got overlooked was fixed quickly.

But the most remarkable thing about Mario, the thing that I believe made him such an excellent server, was that he genuinely cared.

We have all encountered the artificial, smarmy type of servers who are all smiles and jokes, and their caring is only on the surface. It's obvious they're only out after their tips. Most of us can tell pretty quickly when we run into this kind of person.

Mario was genuine.

So if you ever patronize the Cracker Barrel on I-55 in Jackson, be sure to ask for Mario as your server. You'll see what I mean.

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After lunch, we came home and regrouped a bit, then Jan and I took our granddaughter Katherine on what Jan calls a "field trip."

Chad was home alone with her, because mommy Sarah was out at a dance rehearsal at Belhaven, so Jan called and offered for us to take Katie for a few hours so Chad could go to the gym and get some exercise (or maybe get a nap?). He was happy to let us take her for the day.

So we picked her up and took her shopping with us.

We went to Best Buy to see if there were any movies we wanted to get, then next door to Bed, Bath, and Beyond to see if there were linens we wanted to buy, and finally to Sam's club to get a few things we needed there.

Of course, everywhere we went, everyone fell in love with Katie, and she grinned her two-tooth grin at everyone and waved bye-bye when we parted. We even ran into our friend Trish as she was coming out of Lifeway, and she was delighted to meet Katie, too.

However, it's a bit of a reality-check when people automatically assume the one-year-old baby you're carrying is your granddaughter and not your daughter. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that my hair is mostly grey? Ha ha ha! Oh, well, I earned that grey hair.

We had a good time on the "field trip," then took Katie back home to Daddy, and came home to relax after the "excitement" of the afternoon.

And now we're about to watch the second half of the Florida-Kentucky game. So, all together now: GOOOOO GATORS!

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Now we are all praying for Tim Tebow, who "got his bell rung" in the last quarter. They ulled him from the game, but even so, Florida is a formidable team. The backup quarterback scored a touchdown also, which is good to know he can do. GOOOOOOO GATORS!!

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