![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Happy Birthday Babe!
Aug. 30th, 2006 07:13 pm
Today is Chris' (![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif){kind=small}
f__k) Birthday. (look, his username doesn't have a line through it anymore!) He's really the one thing that made me come back from Boston.
Aug. 30th, 2006
Pointing Out The Obvious, I Guess
Aug. 30th, 2006 11:57 pmI've been meaning to get back to my Boston recap, but sometimes life just gets in the way.
Chris and I went out to Tin Star, one of our favorite places for dinner tonight. Since I've got a cold that's working overtime (love those post-flight colds, my ears are still stopped up), so we decided to forgo a bigger, fancier dinner for a time where I might be actually able to taste it.
So we ordered and went to the soda fountain and got our drinks. As we chose a table I could see that there was a small group of free-range children hanging out at a table. They were staring at me. Especially the littlest one who was probably 4 or 5. I could here that they were whispering something.
Of course I've heard this before. Young kids are generally very frank and honest, since they haven't been given those filters. I'd be surprised if any of you big boys didn't know how this feels, as you can tell they see you as different.
I could hear him talking to his brother and sister and whispering that there was this fat guy in his vicinity. His siblings agreed I could tell, but they weren't quite as vocal about it. there was a bit of giggling and I could feel them staring at me. The youngest one finally decided to address me directly, stating loudly, "Wow, You're really FAT!!"
I turned around, looked at the youngest one directly and said, "Yes, I am fat, and you're parents are awful."
I surprised all the kids by responding. Yes, I was a little harsh with the parent's remark. Still, I was certainly willing to forgive the kid's youth, but yes, I was affected by the remark. Kids do have a way of laying you out. Chris was surprised by the whole thing and knew I was hurt although I was trying to brush it off.
The kids scrambled back to their parents table and there was some talk going on over there. I would guess that the kids were defending/covering up for the youngest, and since the kids were ready to leave, the parents were getting up to go as well. Chris was rather concerned that there wasn't a move made by the parents to apologize. I chalked it up to the normal Plano types...not really concerned about anyone but themselves. Out they went, and I got on with my meal.
I have to admit that I kind of wished the boy would grow up to be a chubby chaser. Bitter? Maybe a little.
I saw that the family was taking a long time getting into the car, hanging around the parking lot outside the restaurant. We were about half way through the meal when I saw the mother and the youngest child come back in. The kid looked like he had had a talking to, and looked like he had been crying. The mother came to me and said, "I'm sorry, but I have heard that our son said something offensive to you." It was a bit of an awkward phrase, but there was the hint that she did not know what had happened.
I said that yes, their was something said, and she turned to the boy and said, "What do we say? You need to look him in the eye and tell him you're sorry. The boy did not want to do it. It was a humiliation of the worst kind, and i wasn't sure if he really understood what he did, or was just upset by the punishment. After a little more coaxing he finally turned towards me and gurgled out, "sorry."
I looked at him and said thank you, just plain and simple. He quickly turned away. His mother said that she didn't know about the incident until they got out into the parking lot. apparently one of the other kids tattled on him. I thanked her as well, and she turned and left. All in all, an unusual ending for the evening.
Like I've said, this isn't the first time it's happened, but I think it was the first time that the parent came back and had the kid apologize like that. Other times, if the parent is in earshot they might say a quick "sorry", and off they go, sometimes embarrassed, sometime not.
I guess I feel a little better about Plano families right now.
Chris and I went out to Tin Star, one of our favorite places for dinner tonight. Since I've got a cold that's working overtime (love those post-flight colds, my ears are still stopped up), so we decided to forgo a bigger, fancier dinner for a time where I might be actually able to taste it.
So we ordered and went to the soda fountain and got our drinks. As we chose a table I could see that there was a small group of free-range children hanging out at a table. They were staring at me. Especially the littlest one who was probably 4 or 5. I could here that they were whispering something.
Of course I've heard this before. Young kids are generally very frank and honest, since they haven't been given those filters. I'd be surprised if any of you big boys didn't know how this feels, as you can tell they see you as different.
I could hear him talking to his brother and sister and whispering that there was this fat guy in his vicinity. His siblings agreed I could tell, but they weren't quite as vocal about it. there was a bit of giggling and I could feel them staring at me. The youngest one finally decided to address me directly, stating loudly, "Wow, You're really FAT!!"
I turned around, looked at the youngest one directly and said, "Yes, I am fat, and you're parents are awful."
I surprised all the kids by responding. Yes, I was a little harsh with the parent's remark. Still, I was certainly willing to forgive the kid's youth, but yes, I was affected by the remark. Kids do have a way of laying you out. Chris was surprised by the whole thing and knew I was hurt although I was trying to brush it off.
The kids scrambled back to their parents table and there was some talk going on over there. I would guess that the kids were defending/covering up for the youngest, and since the kids were ready to leave, the parents were getting up to go as well. Chris was rather concerned that there wasn't a move made by the parents to apologize. I chalked it up to the normal Plano types...not really concerned about anyone but themselves. Out they went, and I got on with my meal.
I have to admit that I kind of wished the boy would grow up to be a chubby chaser. Bitter? Maybe a little.
I saw that the family was taking a long time getting into the car, hanging around the parking lot outside the restaurant. We were about half way through the meal when I saw the mother and the youngest child come back in. The kid looked like he had had a talking to, and looked like he had been crying. The mother came to me and said, "I'm sorry, but I have heard that our son said something offensive to you." It was a bit of an awkward phrase, but there was the hint that she did not know what had happened.
I said that yes, their was something said, and she turned to the boy and said, "What do we say? You need to look him in the eye and tell him you're sorry. The boy did not want to do it. It was a humiliation of the worst kind, and i wasn't sure if he really understood what he did, or was just upset by the punishment. After a little more coaxing he finally turned towards me and gurgled out, "sorry."
I looked at him and said thank you, just plain and simple. He quickly turned away. His mother said that she didn't know about the incident until they got out into the parking lot. apparently one of the other kids tattled on him. I thanked her as well, and she turned and left. All in all, an unusual ending for the evening.
Like I've said, this isn't the first time it's happened, but I think it was the first time that the parent came back and had the kid apologize like that. Other times, if the parent is in earshot they might say a quick "sorry", and off they go, sometimes embarrassed, sometime not.
I guess I feel a little better about Plano families right now.