What is it with poor service at restaurants recently?  It seems like everytime I go out for a nice dinner the last few weeks I have had to deal with poor service i.e. Inattentive wait staff and slow food service.

I know that if I was willing to drop a hundo on every meal, maybe I would get better service. But, unless I get promoted to an executive rank or some paper or magazine decides to pay me what I am really worth  ..I am going to stick with the typical Chile's, Applebees, etc. level of restaurants for most of my outside the home dining.

I am not expecting much. If I am eating a known spicey dish, it would be nice if I wasn't sitting staring at an empty glass for 15 minutes, praying the waitress will see my sweaty brow and refill my drink so I can put out the fire.

Last night was another example. We went to a restaurant after seeing the new Batman movie (an excellent film, but depressing knowing Heath Ledger is gone). We, being non-smokers, asked to sit in the non-smoking section. So they took us to a booth right next to the bar. When I asked the hostess if she heard us ask for the non-smoking section, she said this was the non-smoking section. Huh? Well, oaky we will see.

Well sure enough the two people who were sitting close enough that I could reach over and touch them, lit up some cigs...you can guess where the smoke was going. So when our waitress came over, I say, "Can we move?" When she asked why, I said we would prefer a non-smoking section where there wasn't people smoking aka not right next to the bar. Her reply "I just work here, it's not my fault. Management decide this was non-smoking". Okaaayyy,  nice attitude.

She took us to another section where we were smoke free but still received mediocre service....and of course slow food delivery.

Someday, I may just make a running list of the restaurants I have visited and either praise or complain about my recent experience. It probably will not make a difference, but it will make me feel better.

Terry

The family and I took a trip back to Tomah where I was born and raised. Generally I do not get back there except around the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. This time it was to hold a graduation party for my son Scott on the other side of the state...that's right, I have a kid who graduated high school. No it doesn't make me feel old. My gray hair and aching back take care of the feeling old part.

Anyway, we were up there for a few days over the 4th of July holiday. I spent a few hours fishing some of my old haunts up around the cranberry bogs. Thankfully, I know a cranberry grower that still allows me access to his land. It was all shorefishing since I left both of my boats at home, but it was nice to fish something different than the insanely busy waters of southeast Wisconsin. I didn't catch a ton of fish, but I did okay and more importantly, I was able to enjoy the peace and quiet that does not exist anywhere near where I currently live.

I used to travel back to Tomah fairly often during the summer months, but as the kids got older and more things were keeping me busy, trips to Tomah have fallen off. I miss fishing those shallow, stump and fish filled flowages, but I don't miss fighting the traffic on the way back.

I had a publisher asking me to write something about fishing the cranberry bogs and I have put if off. Maybe it's time for me to put something together. Fishing up there sparked some fresh ideas.

Terry

"Always something new"

That is my take with this whole blogging thing. It seems like everyone is doing it and so I guess I am going to jump in as well. I am guessing this will replace my old forum where I posted what I was up to. Blogging seems a bit more efficient in this regards. We will see I guess.

Anyway, welcome to my blog.

Terry