Sitting in Sambo's

My family was an average middle class white family, and probably the only thing that made it remarkable was the fact that there were so many of us. Our family reunions involved so many branches of the family, and so many people in each branch, that we had to wear color coded t shirts, name tags, or both. Renewing old relationships were always fun during these times together. We usually rented or reserved an entire park for the affair. No one really had a house big enough to host them. 

My dad was a mid westerner, and family was pretty much all that mattered to him. He didn't aspire after riches, he was kind of a jack of all trades, and not afraid to try anything. He earned his degree in the school of hard knocks, and the skills he picked up along the way served him well. He wasn't perfect, but he was a good guy and well liked. 

As I got into my teen years, I spent a lot of time trying to keep up with my dad. He functioned on very little sleep, as he had a full time job that was probably 10 hours a day, and he also did "side work" at the kitchen table long into the night. We didn't live extravagantly, and in fact it amazed me when I found one of his old pay stubs and found that he had been supporting a family of 5 on $160 dollars a week. We didn't have government assistance in those days, and I don't think he would have taken it even if it was available. 

He worked hard and took care of not only us, but often his mom and other family members as well when they needed it. My gramma had been widowed when dad was 14, and he never had anything but sweetness for her. His dad would have been proud to see the man his son became and the way he treated others. 

I often accompanied my dad when he went out for coffee in the evening. He was a total diner guy. You know that kind of place that when you walk in, you immediately smell like grease and cigarette smoke? His favorite place near our house was a Sambo's. They eventually became politically incorrect and were absorbed into another larger company, I think. But it was just a diner kind of place with simple food that served breakfast and bottomless coffee 24 hours a day. 

One night I remember sitting in Sambo's with him and watching a car pull into the parking lot. Dad's back was to the lot, but I could see clearly out the window. And as the car pulled into the spot next to the building, with it's headlights shining in my eyes, he didn't bother to hit the brakes and proceeded to drive into the restaurant. As I finished exclaiming "holy crap", the window shattered and the first booth ended up in the second booth space. 

Thankfully, the car wasn't travelling too fast, so it stopped shortly after it entered the building. I'm sure my eyes were bugging out as I watched it happen. Dad just turned around, watched the dust settle for a  minute or so, gathered that no one was hurt, and then turned back around to face his coffee cup. All he said was "Humph", shook his head and began to laugh. The king of one liners had nothin'. 

I never learned to like coffee. Or cigarettes. And I'm kind of glad, because I'm pretty frugal. Coffee and cigs are just too expensive. Yeah, I know.......... not good for you, second hand smoke, blah blah blah.......... and I agree. But it was the cash that kept me clean. 

That phrase should be on a t-shirt. "It's the cash that keeps me clean" We could wear them to the family re-unions. 

There is nothing better for a man 

than to eat and drink, 

and tell himself that his labor is good. 

This also I have seen that it is from the hand of God. Ecc. 2:24

Sambo's interior