I had originally thought I'd take US-68 most of the way home but, once it
sunk in that this was Memorial Day, I changed plans in order to visit a
couple of spots in my home county. The new route involved US-224 to US-127
with no stops planned short of Darke County. In Ottawa, this busy drive-in
caught my eye and triggered a turnaround. There had been cars parked by
those tables at an angle that made me think there might be car hops. That
turned out not to be the case but there were picnic tables and a busy
drive-thru and a good small town vibe. The menu board included both hard
and soft ice cream along with 'burgers, dogs, and other drive-in fare. I
ordered a small chocolate shake. I have a photo of my shake being made but
I'm not posting it so I can tell this story.
The price of the shake was $2.15. I handed the girl the $5 bill I'd been
holding then reached into my pocket. She picked up on that and waited for
me to produce the anticipated correct change. That was my intent but keys
in the pocket prevented me from grabbing all the coins it held. I came up
with a quarter and a few pennies. I'll admit it wasn't the cleverest thing
I've ever done but I handed over the quarter in hopes of not getting back
nearly a dollar in coins. The girl froze. "I'm not very good at
math", she managed to get out eventually. She turned to another girl
standing beside her and asked if she could figure it out. The second girl
looked as lost as the first and shook her head. By now I'd managed to
extract more coins from my pocket and suggested she return the quarter and
I'd give her fifteen cents. She looked uncertain for a second or two then
broke into a smile. The quarter was quickly exchanged for a dime and a
nickel and the girl counted out three dollars and confidently handed them
to me. Guess it's good to know your limits.
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Like others, I tend to use Memorial Day as a time to remember all departed
friends and family members and visit the graves of many but I don't want
to lose sight of the fact that the day's real purpose is to honor those
who lost their lives in service to our nation. I visited other grave sites
today but these two have special meaning. One is a high school classmate
who died in Vietnam. The other is an uncle I never knew who died in
Normandy. He is buried overseas but his parents, my grandparents, put his
name on their stone so he would be remembered here. I'm glad they did.
The picture in between is of the Ansonia Cemetery where, as a member of
the high school band, I marched on several Memorial Days many years ago. I
don't think they do that anymore.
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