October 15 – “Miss Betty”

I went on a date with my Mom today.  Chris went to Bay City to check on her Dad and try to begin some of the "next phase" stuff she has to get done.  I had to go over to Texas to the Lifeway Book Store this morning to pick up the workbooks for our Experiencing God study group that gets introduced Sunday and begins the next Sunday at 4.  Since Chris was gone when I got home Mom wanted to go out to Golden Corral.  I asked if she would rather have something that we have here at the house, but she obviously was not in the mood for leftovers.  So Golden Corral it was.   When we were picking up our sweet tea and paying (you do that when you enter the door), we saw one of her good friends that she graduated from high school with.  We used to see her all the time at Luby's, and we have said hello a time or two since we switched to Golden Corral.  But this time Miss Betty invited us to come sit with her.  And how could we refuse?  She was a most gracious hostess.  She and Mom talked quite a bit right after we sat down, so I had plenty of time to ketchup up my meatloaf and fried shrimp.  Sometime between the green beans and the corn on the cob, another lady approached our table.  She was another Luby's ex who had been invited to try out the Corral by Miss Betty.  She had already eaten, but our hostess invited her to join our booth, and she said she had nothing else to do.  And from that point on, we had no lack of communication going on.  Miss Mildred (I think that was her name) most assuredly liked to talk.  And she was a lot of fun to listen to.  We heard all about her exploits as a college student ("Long ago," she said).  She told us that she attended a women's Bible College in Oklahoma until she was kicked out for wearing men's clothes.  But what did they expect her to wear?  She was riding a motorcycle, after all.  A real rebel.  She entertained with stories of her Ike evacuation and return until we once again heard footsteps.   This time another lady tapped Miss Betty on the shoulder and asked if she remembered her.  Apparently, last Friday they had met right there at Golden Corral, and she just wanted to say hello.  Introductions all around, and we found out that they come to Galveston from Houston pretty much every weekend.  He is a photographer, and today was an especially pretty day at the beach.  Relatively speaking, the water was actually kind of blue.  They were very excited about it, though.  When they left I told them to look for us anytime they are in Golden Corral, and if they see us, come introduce themselves all over again because we probably wouldn't remember names.  Everybody laughed, and they left.  And Miss Betty leaned forward and whispered – in one of those stage whispers that everyone could hear – "So who was that woman?"  Didn't remember the meeting last week.  But all was well.  Mom's answer was, "What woman?"  Now that's a fun lunch.   Proverbs 27:18 says, "He who tends a fig tree will eat its fruit, and he who looks after his master will be honored."   Father, thank you for giving me a chance to spend time with my Mom in "her world."  Bless them.  Amen.