Aging Part IV: June's dinner

Each summer over the last 12 years Katy and I have traveled somewhere with our with our long time friends, Jerry and Gretchen Schaefer. Usually we go hiking somewhere. This past week we spent time on Vancouver Island. The company was great, the hikes were beautiful, and the weather was just about perfect; we had a marvelous time. We stayed at a bed and breakfast in Sooke. In the morning, Norm, the owner, would prepare breakfast for the guests. We ate a fairly leisurely pace, gathered up our gear, and headed out to hike for the better part of the day. We would return to the bed and breakfast in the late afternoon, read for an hour and then go into town to have dinner. Two of the nights we ate at the Stone Pipe Grill. The menu is varied and the food is very good. The setting is comfortable, the staff is pleasant, and the prices are reasonable. Between the four of us in two nights we sampled several things on the menu. We had Butter chicken, Ginger Fried Beef, Pad Thai, Chicken Penne, Penne Primavera, and a curry dish. It was very tasty. Besides this kind of food the Stone Pipe serves other food also.

On the second night of eating dinner at the Stone Pipe Grill a couple sat down at the table next to us and ordered their meals. I didn’t hear them order but did see the waitress bring the meals. The husband had a cheeseburger and the wife had a chocolate sundae. That’s it, a chocolate sundae. I was really looking forward to my Butter Chicken but couldn’t help but notice that she was having a chocolate sundae for dinner and I was thinking that looked pretty dang good. I mean come on; ice cream has protein in it. Who knows, maybe it has antioxidants and Omega-3’s too. Okay, it probably doesn’t but so what, it might.

I just had to ask her if that was her dinner and she said it was. Now I want to be like that when I get older. I still want to eat (mostly) healthy foods but if I want to have ice cream for dinner then maybe I just will. I walked over to the table, introduced myself, and visited with them. Their names are Graham and June Brawnell. I believe they have lived in Sooke for 26 years but I’m not sure of that detail. I am sure that June felt she had a big lunch and only had room for a sundae for dinner. June is 72 years old and just seemed to be enjoying the heck out of her dinner. I sure would have. I enjoyed visiting with Graham and June for about 10 minutes. What nice people they are.

I sat back down at our table and chuckled about her dinner. It occurred to me that I wanted to take a picture of her eating the sundae but she had finished it. So that made me wonder, “How full is full?” Okay, June was too full from lunch to order Seafood Primavera or Butter Chicken for dinner, so she just had a sundae. But was she too full to eat a second sundae? I didn’t think so. I went to the back of the restaurant and asked the waitress if she would bring June another sundae so I could take a picture of her. I told the waitress that I wanted to put the picture and a short story in one of my blogs. I had offered to pay for the sundae. The waitress talked to the manager and they just brought it to her for free. I think you can pretty well tell from this picture if June enjoyed the second sundae.















Graham, good husband that he is, did help her eat it.



Seriously, here is a 72 year old woman savoring a simple pleasure in life, a chocolate sundae for dinner. It made me smile in the restaurant and it makes me smile now. Thanks June and Graham.

It is the weekend. Please be good. Drive your cars carefully. Ride with people who drive carefully. Treat yourself with respect. Spend time with people who treat you with respect. Treat other people with respect. Talk nice to yourself; you deserve it. I look forward to hearing from you or seeing you. Keep yourself whole physically and emotionally. Enjoy your weekend.

P