.anger management.

so i went to a diner w/ a dear friend on tuesday night and it was the regular 11:30pm diner crowd of a younger population that were looking to satisfy late night disco fries cravings. well at one point, and elderly asian couple sits in the booth behind us. that in itself was a little odd, but i didn't really pay them any mind. well they get their food, and it looks like some sort of steak with a side of string beans, again, not a typical meal at such a time of night. at the end of their meal, they have their leftovers wrapped up, and a manager approaches them, having been summoned. trying to use as much of my eavesdropping skills as possible, the woman explains that the food was horrible. the manager is very diplomatic and professional, and patient. i can see that she's trying to get a free meal out of him and he's not buying it. if the food was so bad, he would have gladly replaced it and not charged, but the problem is, they ate it, AND they're taking the leftovers home. he needs to charge them! she's fighting and trying to negotiate. he can offer 10% off, no, not 50%. after this exchange occurs for 15 minutes or so, he walks away. she sits there, and takes the bag of leftovers, and slams it to the floor! THEN, she walks over to it, and CHUCKS IT against the wall. omg, i was ready to call the cops! the guy stands up and sighs, and walks after his wife. the waiter walks over, and pockets the tip, the only thing they have chosen to pay for. not that there were eyes on us after this exchange, but in that moment, i was embarrassed to be asian. that doesn't happen often, but yeah. i was embarrassed.

the elderly are such a delicate and misunderstood population, that don't receive nearly as much attention, care and respect as they should. in my "youth", i volunteered at nursing homes, and one day, i looked at my father and said, "i don't want to ever put you in one of these." as he ages however, and is becoming more and more stubborn and hard-headed, i use it as a threat, as well as the possibility of shipping him to the philippines. the elderly are as needy as babies but with the resiliency of an adult. with that, is the ongoing power struggle and patience that are demanded of working professionals and their friends and family. sometimes it becomes too much and they become alienated and overlooked. it's a sad sad phenom that most of us will be confronted with at some point.

so was i looking at a future glance of my mother and father? perhaps not, but in my deepest and darkest of fears...yes.