Good day to all!
I'm hoping that all you mothers out there are rested up from last weekend's Mothers Day festivities. I saw many of you at the Dine-ah and it has to be one of the happiest days in any restaurant setting. What I observed were children dressed a little neater than usual and on their best behavior. Fresh hair cuts, dresses, and dress pants were the norm on Sunday. Dads were on high alert to make sure the kids were on their best behavior. It was obvious that everyone was working very hard to make Mother's Day a special day for their moms. I've always said, if the mom is happy, the rest of the family has a good chance of being happy, and it was never so evident to me as it was last Sunday.
A great big thanks to all of the Moms who came in and shared their special day with us. For me, it felt like old times of being back, in the Front of the House, running food, bussing a table every now and then and having ample time to stop and chat with all of you, our special patrons.
I also want to share with you that Dude, our make believe mascot, has a brother Dude who is a black lab owned by Stephanie Lewis and Eric Westbye. Steph and Eric started coming to the Dine-ah soon after we opened and, like many of you, started writing in to me from the newsletter and we have since become good friends. Such good friends as a matter of fact, they named their dog Dude after our mascot!
Dude and his owner are in the newsletter this week celebrating Dude's first birthday. Congratulations Dude, we wish you many, many more! Also thanks to Steph and Eric for being such loyal patrons and now, my friends. It was a pleasure seeing you and chatting at the Dine-ah last night.
Steph Lewis and one year old Dude!
On another note, because many of you have asked, "how are your sons doing, you haven't written about them lately?" Well, what happened is that I got the word from my two boys, Derek and Kyle, that they really didn't appreciate it when I wrote about them in the newsletter. When I was writing in the past, they were both at a stage in their lives, like all teenagers, when it seemed that they were trying to see how much they could get away with and were testing me on a daily basis. This made good writing for me, but not good reading for them. Well, today, I'm proud to announce that my oldest son Derek, who is pictured below, turned 21 on May 3rd and wanted to know if I wanted to have his first legal drink with him. How could a Dad pass that up? I never would in a million years! So here we are below, sitting at the Dine-ah counter having a toast to a life of happiness, hard work, lots of play and just being a good person to others.
Derek is currently employed as a laborer at G & E Roofing and I could not be more impressed with his work ethic and the relationships he has built with his fellow co-workers. He has known from day one that he would have to start at the bottom if he was ever to have a chance to run the organization ten to fifteen years down the road. His younger brother Kyle, who is 19, is also employed at the roofing company in the same capacity and is following closely behind in his brothers footsteps.
Derek and Norm celebrating Derek's 21st birthday at the Dine-ah
Both Derek and Kyle have very bright futures ahead, provided they apply themselves to the best of their ability each and every day, make good decisions in their personal lives and give themselves time to grow and learn the business from the ground up. Looks like I'll be able to really retire when I'm about 70! They both have made me very proud this past year with their work ethic and attitudes, I believe we have turned a corner.
Who knows, with today's technology, their older sister Leslie, who resides in India, may even be able to have a "piece of the pie" from long distance.
Everything is progressing along fine with the sale of the Dine-ah and all of you will be the first to know when it actually happens. For you, the patron, I truly believe you will notice no difference. Lisa and Ashley are very excited to take over the helm and we all hope you will come in to see us soon to enjoy the same great food, friendly service and comfortable rustic atmosphere.
Special thanks to all of you who drop me notes. Where else can you have so much fun and make so many friends as you can in the restaurant business? Oh, and I forgot, it is tremendously hard work, very draining at times, but also very rewarding.
God Bless,
Norm
