EATING SEAFOOD TO DIRTY MUSIC...

Eating Seafood To Dirty Music....

By Gloria Faye Brown Bates/aka Granny Gee

Today Skip took me out to lunch.  We went to Mayflower Restaurant in Henderson, NC.  We were looking forward to enjoying seafood, it has been a long time since we ate any.

We walked inside, the cool air hit us.  This was going to be very enjoyable.  The lady at the register told us that she'd seat us in a few minutes... she had several customers to ring up.

We stood there, debated whether to stay... stay or leave.  We stayed, waited to be seated.  After about five minutes she took us to a table that we chose to sit at.  She gave us menus, and got our drink order.

She came back with two big glasses of ice tea, lemon.  She took our orders... two Mayflower seafood platters.  While we were ordering I was hearing the music... something was unusual about it.

I didn't especially like it, though I hadn't become aware of what it was... yet.  Skip and I talked, laughed as we waited for our food to arrive.  He said he didn't like the music that was playing...

I stopped talking and began to listen closing to the music.  It was rap music... rap music in the seafood restaurant!  I couldn't believe my ears!

What!  In my mind I was thinking .... 'what is that girl rapping'?  I knew I didn't hear her right.  I trusted that the restaurant music was good music... though my mind was confused .... rap music?

Something about 'm_____ fu_____ ain't nuthing'... 'sh__' became plain to me as I listened closely.  Oh my God.... 'hey, Skip, do you hear the words', I asked.

I told Skip to listen to the vulgar words the girl was rapping... Skip wasn't certain he was hearing right.... I was hearing right!  As I was trying to get him to actually hear what I was hearing... I noticed the table of church-going women sitting near us.... they were acting like... they were hearing what I was!

The booth close by had three people in it... my eyes met the eyes of the man sitting there... he looked away.  I could tell he didn't like the music either...

I looked back to the table with the women.  One of the women began to straighten up taller in her seat, she looked straight at me... I asked her did she hear what I was hearing...

She was angry, she said 'yes, I hear it... I'm not certain I want to still eat here'.  She and I both said the music wasn't appropriate, at the same time we both got up to tell someone.  She went one direction to look for someone, I went in the other direction.

A heavy-set man came out of the kitchen carrying food on a tray, I asked him was the manager.  He just mumbled something at me and walked right by me.  He was very rude.  He went on to put the food on a table close by.

I looked around ... no one was anywhere in sight to tell about the music, how it was upsetting customers.... and myself.  I didn't come here to listen to vulgar rap music.

I opened the door to the kitchen, there I saw a waitress.  I told her what was happening, asked her to get the music changed that customers were upset over it.  She seemed to get defensive, she said there were only two of them there to work... they'd get it in the minute.

I went back out to sit down with Skip.  I told him there seemed to be no one around to tell about it.  I told him how both the heavyset man and waitress acted when I told them.

Finally the music went silent... after about five minutes music from the golden sixties came on.  The woman who had seated us came to our table to tell us that they'd changed it.  She said that they had selected Pandora's Box and Mariah Carey songs.... to play through the speakers.  She couldn't understand 'why' the ugly music was playing.  She apologized.  We liked her, we liked having her as our waitress.

Everyone calmed down, food began arriving to each table including our table.  Skip and I remarked on beautiful our plates were, the seafood was cooked golden, just the way we liked it.  We couldn't wait to 'dig in'...

The food was hot, it tasted wonderful.  As people began to leave they had to walk by our table... as they did they would speak to Skip and I.  We all began to laugh about that music.... I told them that I had wondered if we were being 'tested'.... that I half-expected someone from Primetime to walk out laughing at us for entertaining them with our reaction.

It was interesting how we all became 'friends' for a short time, we 'united' for a few minutes for a common cause... for a few moments we all 'had something in common'.

What began as 'bad' .... ended with laughter, humor in our reactions.  I told the lady who was ready to tell someone about the music... that I'd want her on my side anytime.

Soon after Skip and I finished eating.   We gave our waitress a five dollar tip... I put it in her hand.  We like to make sure anyone who is our waitress ... gets the money we leave for them.

As we left, we laughed with her.  She apologized again.  We told her that we would be back, also... that the way she handled it was in a good way.... not the way her co-workers handled it.

How many people get to hear vulgar music in a nice restaurant?  I bet we were 'one of the few'.....  I didn't like it at all... also, I'm not a rap fan... but, I don't knock it.  All of us walk to the beat of a different drum.

It was quite an experience... different.  Whoever heard of vulgar music being played in a nice restaurant?