|
View From The Corner Booth
Good day,
This past week I had the good fortune of meeting a wonderful family man who is a son, a fiance, a Dad and a brother all in one. It was army military MP Ben BeDen, who just returned from Afghanistan on a two week leave.
Ben's family, which consists of his Dad Earl, Mom Marsha, fiancee Janet, daughter Sierra, sisters Sara and Samantha, all traveled to Bangor on New Year's Eve to pick Ben up and bring him home to South China. In fact, they pulled into their driveway at midnight sharp and Ben's Dad Earl was honking the horn in celebration of the New Year!
The BeDen family - Earl, Sierra, Janet, Ben, Marsha, Samantha and Sara
Ben's parents both work for the Veteran's Hospital in Togus, with Earl on the hospital side and Marsha on the benefits side. Ben's oldest sister Sara is a senior at Erskine Academy and his younger sister Samantha attends 8th grade at China Middle School.
Ben's fiance Janet lives in Augusta with their three year old daughter Sierra. Ben and Janet met while they were both serving in the Army in Germany. Ben has four more months of duty in Afghanistan, training the Afghans to serve as military police. Once out of Afghanistan, Ben has one more year of active duty and four years in the National Guard. His last year of active duty will be served in Germany with his wife and daughter joining him.
The BeDen family moved to South China three years ago from Michigan looking for employment. They operated a small convenience store back in Michigan that served fast food with a small hotel attached. When the economy took a downturn, their business suffered and they believed it was time to move on. Earl had served in the Navy during the Vietnam War. Knowing he would be drafted, Earl enlisted so he would have more control over his destiny. Earl eventually saw there was a job posting for the VA Togus, and here they are.
Mom Marsha and Dad Earl told me "We worried every day while Ben was in Afghanistan." When I asked Ben why he enlisted, he said "to serve my country and to explore the world." He looked at it as a great opportunity.
The BeDen's plan is to stay in the area, which is now their home, at least until their two daughters are out of high school. They then plan on visiting their kids wherever they decide to settle.
We have a lot of servicemen and servicewomen who come to the Dine-ah and it would be impossible to write about all of them. What got my attention with the BeDen family, is when I visited their table Ben's Dad proudly told me about his son's military involvement. He said they had just brought him home from Bangor the night before and the FIRST place Ben wanted to go, upon returning to the USA was the China Dine-ah! How nice is that??
The family also wanted me to know "The Dine-ah is the greatest!" Boy, does that make us all proud in so many ways. We are all so very proud and thankful for Ben and for all the men and women who have served and continue to serve our country.
God Bless All,
Norm
p.s. Don't forget to join us next Wednesday January 11 from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm for our first ever Trivia Night featuring Jon James of 92 Moose as our emcee! Please call Michelle at the Dine-ah at 445-5700 to register your team or for more details! So as not to confuse anyone, we will be seating for our regular dining customers up until 8 pm as usual.
On a sad note, and we are so very sorry! We had a great New Year's Eve and to my knowledge everyone had a great time with the exception of a party of two who came in at 7:15 pm and were promptly seated. Due to our error this couple sat for over 10 minutes with menus in hand and never received service. Unfortunately they left without speaking up and I totally understand. In their eyes, they did not feel important and we made them feel that way, even though it is the farthest thing from the truth. It was human error on all of our parts and doesn't happen often but when it does, it is one of my biggest nightmares. We all feel badly and will work harder than ever so that this doesn't happen again. If by chance you the affected party reads this, or if you the reader know who it is, would you please contact me personally at 557-0438 so that I can apologize to you personally.
| 
