Friday's Memories

Good morning, ya'll. I know it has been several days since we talked, but I have been brain dead for the past few days. Just not a lot to say and I also had to visit Dr. Jekyll. Not to worry though, for it was just for him to check the stitches where he tore out a couple of teeth. They were doing fine but it is still a little rough to eat anything crispy so no fried chicken for a while. Monday I go to see Dr. Tooth Mechanic. He will be putting in my "permanent" teeth and a bridge. Talk about a mouth full of stuff, well I'll have it. Be glad when this ordeal is over.

I think maybe if I had counted the cost and the pain I may have elected to just pull the suckers. There is a problem however. Watching a person with no teeth eating is not the most beautiful sight in the world. Some of them can handle it rather gracefully but some drool all over everything and the nose meets the chin and the smacking - not a fun activity.

Now I'm not making fun of these people so don't start writing letters, OK? Just thinking about some of my family and how they chose to eat. The ones who really amuse me are those who have false teeth or fox teeth we called them, and take them out and place them beside the plate while they gum the food. Why in the world did they go to the pain and trouble to have them pulled and false teeth made? It looks like a partial mouth sitting by their plate just waiting to steal a bite.

Then there are those who have false teeth and I never know it. This is beautiful but I just have this nagging suspicion that I would be one of those who would take them out and place them beside the plate and gum the food. I'm not one to put up with much pain or bother. If it bothers me, I just do away with the problem for my patience level is Nil, nada, and nothing. Remember the ADD thing?

Speaking of eating, have you noticed the table manners of some people these days? After all those years of teaching you would think I had seen it all, but I think it gets worse every day. I am amazed when eating in a restaurant how many men sit at the table and eat with their hats on. Now if we had tried that our mama would have chastised us up and down and sideways and banned us from the table. If we had dared to do it again she would have worn our bee-hinds out. In these days I do believe there are some men who have super glued their hat to their heads or either their brains have left with their hair and they don't want to display their lack of hair and brains.

Personally, I don't think it is either. I think it is just plain, bad manners and their mamas didn't teach them better or wear out the seat of their britches. You see, I have encountered some of those mamas who just don't raise their children, they just breed, birth and let nature take it's course.

Now take the bad manners with the cell phones, the blackberries, the blueberries, the I Phone, the beepers, the bangers and all the other means of transferring information. First, I'm not sure how much information is being transferred or rather just a bunch of noise. Now I cleaned up that description for delicate ears for I really think it is worse, you fill in the adjective. While you are trying to eat a nice meal, the yoyo at the next table, male and female are talking loudly in their phone of some sort and you are hearing a lot more personal information than you want or need.

I heard a lady recently in a doctor's office telling a friend all about our female problems she was having and what she wanted the doctor to do about it. Now, I really didn't care about hearing the details of her "problems" I remember my mama and the "Mama Police" teaching us not to discuss our "female" problems in public and especially with men present. This is a delicate matter and you don't discuss "delicate matters" in public. It was hard for many of my older friends to even discuss it with their doctor and heaven-to-Betsy, not in public. I still wonder how in the world some of them had children since it involves SEX. You know that word you whisper?

Back to the phones and such. There are also those who eat and text at the same time. Now this is a nasty business for the food doesn't always make it to the mouth or they chew with their eyes glazed over and one hand trying to punch those little buttons. Some of them just forget to eat and just text and text. I watched a teenager texting the entire meal, never touched the food and never interacted with the family. The parents told him several times to put it up but I kinda think at that house it was all talk and no warming the seat. Now if it had been me, I would have jerked that phone out of his hand, put it in my big pocket book and he would have to clean his room, the bathroom and tell me he loved me about a jillion times. Where has parental authority gone?

Eating out now is an exercise in tolerance. Now I realize I am old-fashioned, aged and cantankerous, but manners never go out of style for it makes the world a pleasant place to live. So my advice to you parents is for Pete's sake, teach your children some manners and make them use them. Also I would ask the parents to use good table manners, put up their cell phones and other mind-grabber electronics and talk to your kids. They need you and your example.

Nuff said,

The Georgia Peach
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