Today we had lunch at Burger King. Not my choice. Leah insisted. Had a fit in fact. I wanted to go somewhere and be waited on. Plus I hate those play areas. I can't even think about the germs that reside on those slides. (Would it kill them to include anti-bacterial wipes next to the entrance?)
When we were about a foot from the door, I heard a man yell "wait, wait, I'll get the door." He sounded almost desperate. Took me a minute to realize he was talking to us. I turned toward him and then I stepped aside so he could hold the door for us. He was obviously mentally challenged and I thought it was important to him so I let him get the door.
He was short, 45-ish, raincoat, glasses and a big open face. He did not have Down Syndrome but it was obvious that he was mentally challenged in some way.
He kept talking to me -- loudly. (Why is it the cute, intellectual guys at Starbucks never talk to me?) He told me I had a beautiful daughter (perhaps he's not mentally challenged after all!), then he said she looks just like me (I love, love, love it when I hear that.)
I was polite and responded to him each time but he was really loud and he made me uncomfortable. (I know, I know.)
After we ordered and waited at the counter, he said "Do you know who you look like?" I thought "oh boy, this will be good." I don't look like anyone famous. I wondered who he would say. He proudly told me that I look like Betty Ford. I really wanted to say "the young Betty Ford or Betty Ford now?" But I knew my humor would be lost. I simply said "thank you." Then he repeated that my daughter looks just like me.
After we sat down Leah said how nice he was. I explained that he's mentally challenged and that she probably reads and understands better than he does. She asked how he got like that and I said I wasn't sure and that some people are born that way but sometimes they are in accidents that hurt their brain. She tilted her head like she didn't understand but she nodded like she did. I wanted her to know that he is different but that it's okay.
Even though things were a little awkward, it felt good that someone immediately called Leah my daughter without first calling me her grandma. I mean, really, I think people who are mentally challenged are usually more honest than most of us. If he thought I was her grandma, he would not have hesitated to say so.
Maybe we should frequent Burger King more often.
1 comment:
whoa! I have been checking every day for weeks! (Well, it seems like it.) I miss two days and BAM! Two posts! I won't comment about the jeans. Jeans give me nightmares. But I did enjoy your encounter with the mentally challenged individual. My brother is such an individual. I used to always tell him when we would go places together "OK, Jeff, we're going to keep a low profile here, remember?" Loud, yes, but you will always get honesty over accuracy from him.
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