April 17, 2018. Madison, Mississippi. Luncheon Date.

Eleanor and I made a deal. If she would pick me up and drive to a restaurant, I would pay the bill. She agreed so today she took herself away from her busy life and escaped for lunch with me. In other words, she was indulging me to help me get over my sense of being trapped. Being gracious, she said that she enjoyed taking herself off duty. So we enjoyed our lunch. Slim Chicken was a new restaurant close by so we decided to go there, knowing that if we did not like it, we would not go again. The purpose of our lunch was the conversation, not the food. The restaurant had not been open when we left in late December so I wanted to check it out. And driving by, the parking lot was not full so I was hoping it would not be crowded. The food at Slim Chicken was fine but very casual, more like a fast food place than a good restaurant. Our food was fine as was our conversation. When we walked in, there were 10 people waiting in line, all wearing white shirts and ties with insignias on their shoulders. At first I did not recognize the outfits but soon realized they were wearing summer Salvation Army uniforms. I asked if they were a band. One man said, "Well kind of a band". I asked if they had a real band and they said yes. Of course, I told him I had been raised in the Salvation Army in Canada. One lady asked why I had gone wrong by not attending now. We all laughed. Turns out that they were all officers, just having lunch together. One man came to sit with Eleanor and me for a few minutes to tell us that he had been stationed in Clearwater, Florida so knew many snowbirds from Canada who played in the Clearwater band. He took my name and phone number. Now I wonder if he ever calls. If he were Mormon, my phone would be ringing tomorrow. My luncheon date was delightful thanks to Eleanor. Hats off to her.