THE DAILY DIVERSION

(I actually wrote this down last night while I was laying in bed, unable to sleep)

Yeah, I like the movie, but when it comes to fruition in real life, well, that's another story.

We weren't even back in Memphis for two hours before the first calamity took place. Being that is was nearly 80 degrees when we made it home, we decided to it would be a perfect evening to take a walk, followed by a nice dinner out.

We walked south down Main Street to the Orpheum and had pretty much decided that we were going to eat outside at the Majestic, but we wanted to stroll a little longer, since we'd been cramped up in a car for about five hours (speaking of which, I'll get to another story about some adventures in driving a little later).

So, we walked over by the FedEx Forum to see how the construction was going on the new hotel, then back north up 3rd Street toward Peabody. I remembered there was a Crepe place that opened up not too long ago that we hadn't tried yet, so we stopped by, just to check out the menu.

Unfortunately, they didn't have their menu posted on door, like most places here in Memphis, but no sooner than we turned to walk away did one of the chefs come out and greet us with a smile, a friendly face, and an offer of one of their "to go" menus. He also said "We'll delivery too, if necessary."

Knowing what we know now (several hours later), we should've just walked in and placed an order. We didn't though. We just took the menu and headed back up toward the corner of Peabody and Main, where the Majestic resides. All the while, Adrianne is focused on the menu we received at the Crepe place.

So, we get to Majestic and step inside, planning on eating outside on Main Street. No problem there. We're quickly seated and a couple of waiters pass us by, paying us no mind. This actually doesn't bother me much, as I assume they are handling other tables and one of them would probably be with us shortly.

A few minutes pass when our server approaches our table. He promptly asks if we would like something to drink. We oblige and place our drink orders. This, in and of itself, shouldn't be difficult, right?

Well, somewhere in between us speaking English and him bringing us our beverages there was a serious lapse in communication.

Now, rewind for a moment... About five minutes after we were seated, a family of six or seven people were seated at a table just behind us.

Back to the present... About five minutes after placing our drink order, the family seated behind us received their drinks, while we sat with two sets of silverware, neatly rolled in a cloth napkin, and two menus, closed, at the edge of the table (as we had long since decided on what we were having for dinner).

I really can understand taking a few minutes to retrieve drinks from the bar, especially when someone orders a rare port or single-malt scotch (where you actually have to go to the cellar to see if you have it in stock), but when the order is a Sprite and a water, with lemon, I kind of lose my understanding. I guess the lemon part was too difficult? Or could it be that the lemon's weren't ripe enough to serve?

Either way, after waiting 15 minutes for our drink order, which never came, we got up and left. Our server (if you actually want to call him that, since he didn't actually serve anything) was standing nearby when we exited the restaurant.

Now, I understand that this happens occasionally to tourists, and it's not that big a deal, since they probably won't be coming back anyway, but it really sucks when it happens to residents of downtown, who really want to spend their money down here, supporting downtown businesses. After all, I live, work, and enjoy playing downtown, and want to keep it that way.

The worst part of it isn't that this is first time this has happened at this restaurant. This is the fourth time I've eaten there, and not once have I been pleased with the service. If it wasn't for the food, I would've never given this place a second chance. I can assure you they will not get a fifth.

I know they probably don't care either, and that's fine with me. All of the waiters whom we saw outside were more worried about chatting with and catering to the two ladies sitting at the tables next to us anyway. I hope they were big tippers!

However, if I were an "undercover" restaurant reviewer, this would not look so good.

I love supporting downtown businesses, and it breaks my heart when one of them goes out of business. That being said, I sincerely hope that I am the exception to the rule at the Majestic, and not the norm when it come to service, other wise they won't be in business much longer.

Now, we did end up having a nice meal though, so don't think this story ends on a down note. We walked back down the street to the Crepe place and there was that smiling face, waiting to see us again. That was really a nice change of pace from what we had encountered only minutes prior to this.

We split a delicious chicken Caesar crepe and followed it with a "Triple Threat" dessert. The entree was wonderful, but the dessert was outstanding! This is the way the night should've gone to begin with. Now we know! Here is the restaurant: Crepe Makers

See, fate always finds a way to step in and make things right!

Now, let me tell you a little story about having some fun while driving. Better yet, read this short story from the Commercial Appeal...

I-40 pileup kills at least 1, shuts down eastbound lanes

By Associated
Press
March 9, 2007

DICKSON, Tenn. — At least one person was killed Friday night in a pileup on
Interstate 40 in Dickson County involving at least seven tractor-trailers and
six cars.
The chain-reaction crash started about 7:20 p.m. and shut down
eastbound lanes near mile marker 165 and backed up westbound traffic for miles,
according to the Tennessee Highway Patrol. The area is about 42 miles west of
Nashville.

At least one tractor-trailer overturned. The cause of the wreck was being
investigated.
Lanes were not expected to be clear until 2 a.m. Saturday.
Eastbound traffic was diverted to State Highway 48.

Yeah, well we left Memphis at 5:15 pm on Friday night, and at about 7:30 came upon a parking lot on I40. I'm guessing we were only about 10 to 12 miles from being involved in this accident, which is a relief. However, we were stuck in the aftermath for more than two hours because of this. After we had already finished watching "Anchorman" and started watching "BASEketbal" a TDOT truck came by telling us to cross the median and go to the closest exit, so we could be rerouted back to the interstate.

Well, we went a little different route. I decided, since I kind of knew where we were, to take an alternate route to Owensboro, thus avoiding the slow moving traffic that would be involved with getting back on I40. Needless to say, this was not a shorter route by any means.

Around 1:40 am we pulled into the driveway. In case you didn't know, it's a five hour drive from Memphis to Owensboro, pretty much any way you go. To say that we were exhausted when we finally go there would be a slight understatement.

I actually slept while a vehicle was in motion for the first time since I was a child, on Saturday, while we were heading to Lexington. That, alone, should speak volumes.