Chinese Version 12-10-2022，Saturday，rainy in the night
On Saturday night, my friends and my family had a dinner at a western style restaurant.
It is only the beginning of December but the restaurant is already filled with holiday spirit: dress-up guests took photos next to the Christmas tree in the hall from time to time and the walls of the restaurant were decorated with Christmas ornaments.
We were led to a separate room with two rows of long tables. A long table was already filled with food, and a group of people in casual holiday clothes were eating. They looked happy and talked very loudly.
After we sat down at another empty long table, a tall man in a Christmas hat at the next table got up and came to us. He put his arms on the backs of two chairs and bent down to greet us: “Happy holidays! We are graduated from Overfelt High School in 1970, and we are here to celebrate the 50th anniversary of high school graduation. Because of COVID, our celebration was postponed for two years. We may be a bit loud so please forgive us.” Hearing what he said, we immediately felt the noise at the next table was like entertainment to us. We started to guess the age of the people at the next table: they graduated from high school in 1970, based on how people usually graduate from high school at the age of 18, most of them should have passed age 70 already. Watching the old classmates of more than 50 years ago together, talking, laughing, singing and applauding, a few of us who were born in the 60′s in China couldn’t help admiring the passion, vitality, cohesion and organization of this group of old classmates.
The waitress who served us was a tall and fit middle-aged beauty. She quickly sent our orders to the kitchen and appeared to be very efficient. While waiting for the main course, we finished a basket of free bread, and asked the busboy for the second basket of bread. When we finished the second basket of bread, the waitress came to tell us: “Sorry, because there are many small parties tonight, and the kitchen is busy and your orders will be late.”
While waiting for the food, I was not hunger because I ate a lot of free bread; I didn’t feel bored at all because of the singing, laughter, and applause at the next table. After chatting with my son sitting next to me and my friend Ann sitting across the table for a while, I looked at Ben, my grandson who was sitting on the high chair at the front of the long table from afar. I, in silence for a long time, enjoyed the sight of him behaving calmly while being exposed to a group of strangers with loud voices. Attracted by the singing and applause at the next table, Ben looked around curiously from time to time, and the ladies sitting against the wall at the next table praised the curious and quiet Ben with thumb-up from time to time.
Before the end of the party at the next table, someone suggested that everyone stand up and say a sentence begin with “I am thankful for”. At this time, our food was not served yet. I turned my attention to these old classmates and watched them stand up and say, “I am thankful for…” one by one: “I am thankful for my family and children.” “I am thankful for your friendship.” “I am thankful that my parents are healthy, my mother is 104 and my father is 96 this year.” “I am thankful that the Lord is with me.” “I am thankful that I still have love in my heart.” “I am thankful for my children, my grandchildren, and my great grandchildren.” Everyone got warm applause before sitting down. When the waitress started to serve us food, she overheard “my mother is 104″ so she asked me curiously: “Is that 104 year old mother here tonight?” I said: “No, tonight is her son’s high school reunion.” All of us were amazed about having great grandchildren around age of 70, because there must be a generation age gap less than 20 in these four generations.
After finishing their round of “I am thankful for”, a lady came by and said to me: “Sorry, we are so loud tonight. Do you want to know why we were so loud?” I nodded immediately. She smiled and said: “If we didn’t talk so loudly, many of us will fall asleep while sitting.” I laughed loudly after hearing what she said. I couldn’t help looking at this thoughtful and witty intellectual lady. Her body is full, she is dressed in a low cut tight black sweater, wearing a double breasted pearl necklace with a pair of matching pearl earrings; her face is round, she is wearing a pair of black rimmed glasses with brown and yellow short hair, sweet and elegant.
When we left our table, there were still many people chatting at the next table. Before we got out of the restaurant, we saw several people who had left their table earlier were drinking and dancing at the bar. They were really a group of living old urchins. I can’t help thinking of their jokes at the dinner table. A man asked the man who got up and ready to say “I am thankful for” to turn around, then slapped the man’s butt that was towards the table and said: “Look at this. This was the cutest butt in our yearbook that year.” The man seems to proud of himself and said:”I used it well.” There was a burst of laughter. A man recalled an old time story: “I had a motorcycle at that time. I wanted to take the pretty girl who always wore a miniskirt, but I took you.” The man then put his hands around a woman’s shoulder and said: “Before we arrived to your house, you asked me to turn off the engine, because you didn’t want your mother to know that you came back on a motorcycle.” Another burst of laughter. Because I have learnt that this was a high school reunion with family members or partners. Listening to the interesting memories they shared, I feel that this reunion with family members or partners told the ordinary oldness wanted to share their past happiness with people close to them.
After back home, I thought about how “I am thankful for” at the age of 70′s reunion was all about ordinary things. I guess it was the common mentality of ordinary oldness: to thankful for their family, their friendship, their healthy family tree, and their firm beliefs.
Little Episodes
（Celebrate the 50th anniversary of high school graduation. Because of COVID, the celebration was postponed for two years. ）
（The dinning room was filled with holiday spirit.)
（The dinning room was filled with holiday spirit. While Hearing “Jingle bell time is a swell time”, Ben is following his daddy clapping his hands.）
（Christmas decorations on the wall at the restaurant.）