Name and eye color

The first night we were in Atlanta, it was pouring rain.

The hotel has a covered entrance, and you have to give your car to a valet when you arrive. So we were quickly grabbing everything we needed to take inside, but it didn't occur to us to grab umbrellas.

So when we went out to dinner Friday night, we got rained on to and from the diner we went to. We were wet and cold. But then, you know, we got cake!

I've told Biscuit that if a restaurant server tells you his or her name, you should remember it and use it if you need something.

I also told him about something I recently decided.

I completed a transaction at a store one day, and when I got back to the car, I realized that I couldn't have picked the cashier out of a lineup. I don't think I ever even looked at her.

So I told Biscuit that I decided then that whenever I interacted with somebody, when I walked away, I would know what color his or her eyes were. That would make sure that I looked him or her in the eyes.

So we were sitting at the restaurant, and the server came over, introduced herself and took our drink orders. 

As she walked away, Biscuit leaned over to me and whispered, "Nancy. Brown."

Jeff had no idea what we were talking about, so we had to explain.

"See, Dad," Biscuit said, "Nancy is her name, and her eyes are brown."

When she brought the cake at the end of dinner, she set mine and Biscuit's down, and he looked up and said, "Thank you, Nancy." I wish I had a picture of her face. She seemed so surprised. So then they started a full-fledged conversation.

By the time we left, we knew a great deal about Nancy. She was a nice lady, and she treated us, especially our boy, very well.

We were dreading walking back in the rain. It was only a block and a half, but that seems a lot farther when it's cold and raining.

But as we were walking toward the door, we saw some people taking a right down a hallway. They were wearing jackets and shirts for the team we were there for. 

"Let's follow them," Jeff said.

"We don't know where they're going," I said.

"They're headed in the general direction of the hotel," Jeff said.

So we followed them.

Sure enough, they were going back to our same hotel. But instead of walking in the rain like we did, they walked through a small mall, across a covered pedestrian bridge and right into the hotel lobby.

Once we got to the hotel, we told them that we saw what they were wearing and followed them. Turns out they were from our town.

It was really weird meeting so many people from our town so far away from home.