Okay, true confession time. I love hot fudge cake. Love hot fudge cake. Eat “real food” during dinner so I can GET hot fudge cake.
As a result of this, I often seize any excuse to go to Shoney’s. Shoney’s is interesting. All kinds of people come to Shoney’s. I personally like the hot fudge cakes and the French toast sticks, but the seafood seems to be popular as well.
Sometime last winter, Kenny and I were wrapping up a long week at work by partaking of the buffet when I began to notice the families seated around us. At the table beyond were a mom, a dad and a young baby in a high chair. At the table beyond THEM were a mom, a dad and a young baby in a different high chair.
I watched the babies and smiled when they noticed each other. I smiled even bigger when they began to communicate.
They were either pre verbal or choosing not to talk, but they flirted and smiled and waved and cooed.
“Ah” said baby number one to baby number two.
“Ouah” replied baby number two.
They talked through the entire meal. After a while, their parents quit trying to feed them and just let them interact.
And interact they did. They cooed and gurgled and booed and aahed and kicked and laughed.
They were having a grand old time.
And I was having a ball just watching them.
Baby number one had to leave and baby number two actually cried, looking around for his friend.
It was darling.
And instructive.
Do we take to strangers that easily? Do we smile and wave across a table? Are we willing to make friends with people we’ve never met?
Somehow, I think we’d be a little better off if we could all be like those babies: smiling, cooing and (for me) spooning up the last of our hot fudge cakes.