Lunch!

Here’s one of my favorite quotes:
“Wild horses couldn’t drag a secret out of a woman. However, women seldom have lunch with wild horses.”                                                                             Ivern Boyett*

A few years ago, David was employed as a researcher for a museum design company, and he worked at home. Sometimes, he would have lunch with a friend. He would leave at 11:30 or so and go meet the friend. Then, he’d be back home at 12:30. So, about ten minutes of travel each way; 20 minutes total travel time. Then parking, walking to the restaurant, getting seated, ordering. (Probably 10 more minutes; a total of 30 minutes so far.) And then, only 30 minutes for lunch. Seriously? Seriously! I would always be amazed when he got back home. That is so not the way I do lunch with friends.

I understand that some lunchers are employed folks who have a specific lunch hour and then must be back in their workplaces. Others may have more flexible schedules, whether they are retired, have shift work or adjustable schedules, who work from home or are self-employed. The people I have a midday meal with take a little longer with lunch. Sometimes w-a-a-a-a-a-y longer.

Here’s today’s lunchtime plan. Meet at 11:30, to be at the restaurant a little before the lunchtime crowd. Order, pick up our straws and drink lids and napkins, find someplace to sit. We’ll be enjoying our meals when most of the crowd arrives. We eat, talking about our families and projects and trips. We’ll get refills of our drinks, and our dishes will be whisked away when they are empty. At this point, we are nowhere near done with lunch. Lunch will last for another couple of hours, maybe longer. Probably longer.

She’ll tell me things I don’t know. I’ll tell her things she doesn’t know. But the truth is, they won’t be secrets. They’ll just be things we haven’t had an opportunity to talk about yet. I’ll want to know about the upcoming grandson. She’ll want to know about my kidneys (really). I’ll want to know about the newlyweds, and she surely will want to see the latest photos and videos of Peter.

I don’t think we can get lunch done in 30 minutes. But we won’t really try.

Just as lotions and fragrance give sensual delight,
a sweet friendship refreshes the soul.

Proverbs 27:9 The Message (MSG)

We’ll probably be on our way by 3:00. Or 4:00. Once I met a friend for lunch at 11:30 and we left the restaurant at 5:15. I am not exaggerating. It really happened.

Sometimes I meet friends for lunch, and we’re done by 2:00. But that’s only because that place closes at 2:00. If the day’s nice, we stand outside and talk for another half hour or more.

*I have not been able to find out exactly who Ivern Boyett is, except that he’s quotable. I’ve found  three  other  quotes  of his. He’s not in Wikipedia. I’ll let you try to learn more about him if you’re all that interested. You can tell me what you find out.