SUNDAY WITH NOREEN

Bused to the mall, exchanged a bra, then walked the block or so to Danny's Deli. I was early and it was crowded, as it's near Assumption Church and the twelve o'clock mass attendees go there after. I was early, anyway, so I put my name in and sat outside on the bench. Interestingly, right as Noreen arrived, a woman asked if she could take my picture. "To what purpose?" I asked, and she said she was an artist and wanted to paint my portrait. Well, okay, then, and I let her take it, then gave her my card and asked her to let me know when it was finished.

Noreen and I went in and settled down for lunch and deep-down talk. As I mentioned to her, she's one of the few people I don't feel I have to pretend with. Also, she's older than I am--she'll be ninety in June--and it's nice not to be the oldest once in awhile. I decided to try pastrami with au jus, kind of an odd setup, but it was pretty good; of course, the hazy IPA with it was yum. 

Noreen decided on dinner, so ordered salmon with salad and veggies, plus a glass of chardonnay. We do separate checks, of course and and our  combined tab must have come to at least sixty bucks, if not more. After a leisurely meal, we each gave the server a credit card. She went away with them, but to our amazement, she came back in a few minutes to say someone had paid them for us! This happened to me once before at a supermarket, when the person ahead of me paid. I wasn't able to find him or her to protest and yesterday, we also had no idea who it had been, as they seem to have already left. I know this is the "pay it forward" thing--a kind of fad that makes people feel good about themselves, I guess; then the beneficiaries are supposed to do the same. 

That is not going to happen with me and to be honest, the whole thing makes me uneasy. I'm perfectly comfortable financially and I'd much rather have benefactors give the amount for my lunch to one of the three homeless people I passed on my way to meet Noreen. Also, I know that Noreen, while not wealthy, is also in the "comfortable" category, so-o-o... I know the people who do this mean well, but it makes no sense to me. Yes, they may very well donate to charitable causes, but why pick random people who, since they're eating in a restaurant, must not be destitute? I support several charities and will continue, but I'm not going to be picking up any strangers' checks.