Kids eat free

We eat out a lot.
Really, a lot.
And we have two children.
Seems like we'd take advantage of those "kids eat free" promotions that so many restaurants offer, right.
WRONG!!
We never go to a restaurant on those nights because every misbehaving child and his oblivious parent are there to get a freebie.
Well, tonight we made a mistake.
We left early, because I have work to do, and Mike chose Denny's. Note that I *am* naming names here.
We sat in a booth next to the hippopotamus family. These kids had NO table manners and the two moms(? grandma?) didn't care. The two year old liked to eat, with his hands, while standing up and facing us. Have you ever had someone stand over you and eat with their mouth open?
Now, imagine this ... it took >45 minutes to get our food. For nearly that whole time, I hear screaming, chewing children in my right ear AND we got no service. No coke refills, no "how you doin' hon", no "your food'll be right up". For 45 minutes.
Finally the food comes, but my salad is missing (guess I should've actually had that 30 minutes ago) and no food at all for Zak.
By this time Mike has politely asked Momma Hippo to corral her young (to steely stares) but we still have no drinks.
Finally after more than a full hour of waiting (and still no food for Zak), the manager stops by. She serves salad to the people who sat down 20 minutes after us and asks us if all is well. Boy, was she sorry.
As we left the restaurant, we passed the waitress carrying Zak's food.
We ordered pizza.

Now, maybe this is more about bad service than obnoxious children but it takes me back to a recent Sunday when we were eating at a Chinese buffet after church. Another place where you can't expect the cream of the crop, buffets.
There was a family having lunch that made me embarrassed to have gone to church myself. Dressed in their Sunday finest, the children banged silverware, stood in chairs, dropped food and yelled throughout the meal. It was like watching a train wreck.

And now, poor Aly. We tried her to warn that public school wouldn't be all fun. One of the things that drives her crazy: lunch table manners. Everyone chews with their mouths open. They talk with food in their mouths. This week, she quietly asked the teacher if she could move to a new table because she couldn't stand it anymore.

I don't get it. How has this happened? We chewed with our mouths closed. We sat up straight at the table. We couldn't see the TV from our seat. We ate out once a week, maybe. We finished our vegetables, or else. And now its OUR generation who has these obnoxious children. I just don't get it.

Actually I do. It boils down to my biggest pet peeve: self-centeredness.
If folks thought of other people first, they would discipline their children. They would hold the door open for other folks. They'd stop running yellow lights and cutting me off in traffic. The world would be a better place.

I'm not holding my breath.