RIP-TVRIP-TVRIP-TVRIP-TV
RIP-TVRIP-TVRIP-TVRIP-TV
RIP-TVRIP-TVRIP-TVRIP-TV
RIP-TVRIP-TVRIP-TVRIP-TV
2001-02-10
The last hour of my parents' visit with us. We are all four out at an Italian restaurant down the street. Another big meal to wrap up the visit. We're within sight of the ends of our entrees.
"Oodl oodl oodl! Oodl oodl oodl!"
I hadn't noticed the two young men being seated at the next table, but now I do, because their cell phone is ringing. (My immediate impression: two single guys from Brooklyn treating themselves to a home-style meal after a long day of sorting stuff that's fallen off trucks�the two of them together could manage some of the larger boxes�for a generous untaxed wage.) The guy sitting nearest me, about a foot away, is already talking on a cell phone; it's the other guy's ringing. The guy next to me ("my neighbor") hangs up and then his friend hangs up, and then my neighbor's phone rings again. Then again. Then the other guy's rings and again they're both talking on their cell phones at the same time�
I turn to my neighbor and say, "Oh come on give us a break!"
He gives me a good look at his angry rat face and utters a refusal to respect my right to object to his behavior. When I defend this right, as is my duty, he says something about "civilized" so I say something about "civilized" and eventually I'm making fun of his accent.
To the strained amusement of our weak-kneed fellow patrons, the scene ensues with vigor on both sides, both my neighbor and I mostly addressing ourselves to the other people and/or phone friends in our respective circles (thus, for instance, my reference to "guidos," one which I did regret as a lazy usage, and rude to the host). Finally my mother gets in such a hurry to go have her name changed to "my poor mother" that she stands up and leaves the dining room, and the rest of the family has to follow.
But I'm having too good a time exchanging a weekend's worth of aggressions with a willing stranger to leave without another taste. Coat in hand, I say to my neighbor, "Give me your phone number�I want to call you when I get home."
"Don't do me any favors," he shoots back.