June 7 – “Healthy Chinese Buffet”

Now here's how much I love my wife.  I took her out to Galveston's finest Healthy Chinese Buffet for lunch.  That's actually the name of the place, not a reference to the quality of the food.  Now anyone who knows me knows that I hate Chinese food.  Just the smell of that soy sauce turns my stomach.  But there was just something about them taking over the Luby's building that made me have to go there.  See, we have lots of fond memories at Luby's.  We started going there back before Dad died, and we made it a weekly family event for years after.  What better place to celebrate an anniversary than at a place where we already have a history?  Plus, Chris likes Chinese food.   So back to the Chinese food saga.  We actually went there once before.  Some of the teenagers at our church have this thing about trying to get me to eat Chinese food.  I went with them to one of the other places on the island, but only because they assured me I could order a steak and they would let me cut it up myself.  I even tried some kind of goo-choo chicken that one of them ordered.  It would have been fine as a dessert, but I need to eat real food before I taste anything that sweet.  They got me to go to this place by assuring me that there was an abundance of American food choices.   So here we were, ready for lunch after church on our 35th anniversary, and I said out loud, "Let's go to Healthy Chinese Buffet."  You could have heard a pin drop for a few seconds.  Then the tirade started.  "Are you serious?"  "Do you really want Chinese food?"  I had my answer all prepared, "No, I don't want Chinese food.  But my wife likes Chinese food, and today is our anniversary, and It's all about her.  I love my wife."  Now that's what I planned to say.  It didn't come out exactly like that.  I think it sounded more like, "No way.  I'm not eating Chinese food.  That stuff is nasty.  I want fried shrimp, and this place serves all the popcorn shrimp you can eat."  Of course, by that I meant that I loved my wife and would do anything to make her happy.   So we went to Healthy Chinese Buffet.  The teenagers went, too.  They eat all that stuff.  A few of them even tasted the head of a boiled squid.  I related more with the girl who adopted one of the squids and wrote a note to the waiter, asking that he be cared for in her absence.  Chris had her Chinese food fix.  I had fried shrimp, a few frog legs, some crab claws, one little tiny shiskebob with some kind of meat on it, some apple pie, and of course, sweet tea.  And ketchup.  Plenty of ketchup.  Now that's a meal anyone can enjoy, even if it is at a Chinese food place.   Proverbs 19:14 says, "Houses and wealth are inherited from parents, but a prudent wife is from the Lord."   Father, thank you again and again for my wife.  Keep her safe on the road again back to her Mom's.  Amen.