A Picture on the Wall

So this am I grabbed the Herald in the pink plastic bag and headed down to Lots of Lox (LOL) for breakfast. I had been for dinner before YK with Wifey, but it occurred to me I hadn't been for breakfast in quite some time.

I saw Lori, the longtime waitress hoping to start a nursing career, and she lamented that Baptist kept putting off her hiring date -- apparently there are more nurses than openings at this very employee friendly facility. I told her it would happen -- things do for a reason, and she pointed to a picture on the wall and said "Yes -- Steve always said that."

I recognized Steve as the owner, or co-owner with his brother Nick, and laughed that he finally put a recent photo of himself up. No, Lori corrected -- he didn't put it up -- the staff did -- Steve dropped dead last month.

What???? I'm a master obit reader -- how did I not know? Lori said the family kept it quiet. But Steve had just had a stress test, and passed, and was home with his family off Old Cutler Road when he was felled by a massive heart attack. He was 66.

So here was a man who worked -- not many jobs tougher than owning a restaurant -- and was STILL full time when he left the planet. But he did get a nice photo of himself hung at the restaurant.

I was chatting with Paul about this -- we won't even get photos in the office. But I guess we'll get them in our homes...

So once again, the most important life lesson was taught: enjoy every sandwich. When the Big Man calls -- ain't no turning Him down.

And I do need to go to LOL more often...