Something good happened this past Sunday in our little city at the bend in the river. And since we can all use a break from the unspeakable carnage, and the incessant canards, I feel compelled to pass it along to the good citizens of Concord.
The details presented below are as corroborated to me by one who witnessed the deed. This past Sunday was Father’s Day. It was also the day one 7-year-old girl had been saving up for to take her Daddy out for an ice cream after church. Just the two of them.
The chosen venue was Friendly’s Restaurant on Loudon Road. The one up on The Heights, or “The Plains,” as my great-grandmother would never fail to correct me in saying.
The waitress came to take their order, and the daughter dumped out her savings on the table. It was a dollar bill and two quarters total.
“I would like to buy my Daddy an ice cream for Father’s Day. Here is the money,” the daughter proudly announced.
The waitress quickly informed the well-intended girl that her dollar bill and two quarters were not enough to cover their ice cream order, but the daughter stuck to her guns. “I have been saving up to buy my Daddy an ice cream on Father’s Day, and here is my money.”
The quick-thinking waitress excused herself, and returned after conferring with the restaurant manager. “Today, a dollar bill and two quarters is the exact amount that will buy you and your Daddy an ice cream. Now, what flavors would you two like?”
This didn’t happen on an old rerun episode of The Waltons. Nor is it an embellishment based on a Rockwell painting. This happened last Sunday right here in Concord. Kudos to Friendly’s Restaurant for putting family first.
Scott Preston Hardy
Concord