Dinner with Forrest Gump

Last night, after attempting to fast during the day - I was sideswiped by nausea at about 6:30 - right in the middle of Mass. As a result, we left early, right after the ashes, and went in search of dinner. I am not a good cook when I am nauseated - so I took the boys out to eat. There is a little Chinese buffet near work that has excellent shrimp, and since this is a day without meat, we opted for eating there.

We sat down and the boys promptly left me there while they went up to the buffet, leaving me questioning their manners. When it was my turn, I went up and in the background I heard them talking to someone. Upon my return I realized they were in conversation with a man in his forties, handsome face, dimpled chin and a pile of dark hair, streaked white with age. He was friendly and teasing them about saying prayers before they ate. The man continued the conversation , talking about boyhood and fathers and how good the shrimp was. I had the vague feeling of being uncomfortable with his attention to me and the boys, concerned that maybe he was flirting - stranger things have happened.

Jacob went up for plate number 2 - or maybe number 3 - hard to tell with Jake - and returned with a pile of crab legs. He wasn't exactly doing penance by eating seafood! The man commented that they looked good - "But I love the shrimp" Josh looked at me and giggled. The man got up to get another plate - I saw the orthopaedic shoes and the tremble in his gait. The waitress returned carrying his plates. He put the body-end of the crab leg in his mouth - it was not a nice surprise, then he struggled to work open the crab leg. The waitress said something curtly. Maybe it was the two years I spent thinking Jacob would be mentally retarded - before teh surgery and the siezures stopped - maybe it was the purity of the man's heart, reflected in the big doe eyes that looked like a lost puppy out in the rain.

I asked Jake if he would show him how to eat the crab legs, jake was in mid-bite, so Josh got up and went to the man's table. He stood there, later joined by Jacob, walking him through the enjoyment of Alaskan King Crab legs - when to use the butter, where to put the salt - how to get all the meat out without losing any. The waitress backed up to my table - saying "too much beer" indicating the man had been drinking. I told her I didn't think so, that maybe he was mildly retarded - though outwardly he looked fine.

The boys stood there for a long time, talking, laughing with him at the sloppiness of the crab and agreeing that the shrimp were much easier - and when Jake determined it had been long enough, he went back up to the bar. Returning with a plate of fruit, I mentioned that it was good for him. The man interjected that the fruit would give him a good BM - actually he said it rather loudly for an interjection - but we laughed with him anyway.

Two things really struck me about last night 1. When it comes right down to it, the boys have a good heart and chose to do the honorable thing, showing kindness when they really could have ignored this man like other people in the restaurant did. 2. We were there as Christians - something I didn't even realize until later - but we sat there with ashes on our foreheads - hardly discreet - so it was a good thing we acted in a way that reflected that. And you just never know when there will be the opportunity to be kind to a soul who really needs it - funny thing is, I think I may have needed it more than Forrest did last night. When he said "Have a good night ya'all", I knew that we would.