May 27, 2008. Harper, Texas. Making Money.

It is amazing to me when I meet a person who is in love with their job, especially when they have chosen a job that seems so fraught with hassle. Then add up their financial rewards, which seem meager, and I just wonder how and why the whole endeavor began. Once again we were driving the back road from Fredericksburg to Harper. The sign on the front of the new building said " Meetings and Events", The stone building was attractive, but the best part was the sign underneath, saying "Limestone Grill". Another sign out by the road said merely, restaurant. We were hungry, so in we went. Now we have passed this sign fifty times, and never paid it any attention, but the timing was right . In we went to check it out. Immediately in the vestibule of the building I see about 20 older folks gathering for a meeting, and I can see a room with tables and chairs on the left, and determine that there really was a restaurant here. I asked if we could lunch and this very attractive woman of about fifty gave me a royal welcome. Ken and I quickly went through the cafeteria line, only to find out that we should have paid our bill first. But they found us eventually and we chose our lunch. And what a good lunch it was. Ken called it good old home cooking, which is not necessarily a compliment, but the food was tasty and plentiful with lots of options. During lunch, we are discussing the ownership of this place. It was clear the group of folks were here for a meeting and lunch, because they left our room and disappeared down the hall. But we could not tell whether this place was run by the county or the township or the state. When we were almost ready to leave, the same nice lady came over to see if we would like anything else. Of course we had a series of twenty questions, all of which she answered.

It turned out that she and her brother own this facility and her boyfriend is the chef. They serve lunch and dinner five days a week, but their real deal is the special events. This weekend they are having a RV. convention, and two weeks later a motor cycle show., followed soon by a gun show. "The Red Hat Ladies" come for lunch once a week, and every six months they have a whole day session. So this nice lady and her brother bought this land and built this building, with accommodation for three different events at the same time, or one major event. In front of the building they have spaces for 150 cars. Behind the building they have one acre in gravel parking, and 4 more acres of grass. Inside the center it looks to be about the size of five basketball courts. So this is quite an undertaking. The boyfriend came over to say hello and invited us for lunch tomorrow too. Now my question had to be was the issue of the idea. How on earth did they chose this idea for a business? And more importantly, will they survive? The group of older folks were from the Baptist church, and they have a meeting and lunch once a month. It appears they are busy. I can not imagine why anyone would choose this employment, but they were both thrilled to be doing their jobs and paying their bills, so I guess that is all that is needed. The next time you are in Fredericksburg and stop at "Street Dreams", this restaurant is right next door.