One Crazy Table

Last night, we went out to eat with my father in law for Dad's Day. He's got a real quick wit and is a warehouse full of corny jokes...and this is usually displayed to the wait staff by the time the menus are passed out.

Last night, as our water was being served, he said to the waitress, "You're going to find that you're serving a bunch of crazy people..." This got a laugh from all of us, including the waitress.

The funny thing is, if anyone had walked up at different moments during the meal, they certainly WOULD have thought of us as crazy. In the couple hours we sat there, conversation touched upon the oil spill in the Gulf, black helicopters, UFOs, Pentecostal preachers from the 1970s, NPR,blogging, weapons and a slew of other topics. If a waiter or waitress swooped at any moment while one of these topics was being discussed, they could have very well thought all six of us WERE crazy.

Okay, now, singular focus back on yours truly. My wife and I were the first to arrived. We asked for a table for six and after we were seated, the hostess began placing menus and utensils around the table. I sat down into an uncomfortable wooden straightback chair and knew it was going to be a long night for me. See, due to recent surgeries, I still have a tender surgical incision between my navel and waistline. My jeans were pressing into the jeans and it was hard to get comfortable. I turned to my wife and quietly said, "I think I'm going to have to unbutton my pants."

Thing is? The hostess, unbeknownst to me, was still placing menus and utensils down...and apparently I hadn't spoken quietly enough. Once the rest of our family showed up, the wait staff, due to my gaff, already knew we were a bunch of crazies!

And, of course, I'm just kidding about the crazies part. Yet, if you walked past our table while someone said "UFOs", you might think we were crazy.

What do we learn from this? First and foremost that unless you sat there throughout the meal with six highly intelligent people, you wouldn't get an idea of our sanity. I've been very guilty in the past of thin slicing and pidegeon holing a person based on an initial reaction to a statement. This isn't fair nor accurate.

Realize that first impressions aren't always accurate. They're impressions; nothing more. They carry weight, sure, but if they are looked at as the gospel truth, that's really not fair.

Just take a little time before making a judgement...no matter if that determination turns out to be crazy or not!