We went to a nice restaurant on Valentine’s Day. As we sat at our table, I looked around at the young couples nearby all dressed up on romantic dates.
The hidden mark of a good restaurant is when they can casually step in when things go awry. Right before we ordered, my arm hit my drink, spilling it all over the table and onto my lap. The wait staff swooped in without missing a beat, nonchalantly shuttling us to the next table and caught the spilt drink before it touched the floor, all in one motion. They were a cross between elegant ballroom dancers and stealthy ninjas. Bravo! And me? Two words. So smooth.
Dinner was delicious. We enjoyed the food and savored the desert. When it was time to settle the bill, the server came by and casually whispered in my ear. I’m terribly sorry, Sir. But your credit card has been declined. Huh? I quickly gave her another card and emergency aborted. Nothing spells romance better than a declined credit card. I’m not sure if any of the young couples around us saw this, but if they were witnesses to both, they probably had a good tale to tell their friends about a drink spilling, credit card declining guy. They probably thought out loud, That dude definitely isn’t getting lucky tonight.
We left the restaurant and I called the credit card company. Nope, no issues. That was a false alarm. I’m not sure what happened there. If this was a first date, it would have been a complete disaster. But we’d been married for about five years at the time, so we laughed hysterically about how good my game had become. Like I said. So romantic and smooth. I should do a TED talk.
Since the prompt is about romance, I thought I’d add a love song to the playlist. I bought a CD filled with Van Morrison cover songs back in the day. Cassandra Wilson sang Morrison’s Crazy Love. She does a great rendition of one of his classics.
Morrison had recently married his girlfriend Janet Planet when he wrote this rather poetic song, which is about a love that makes the bad times good and the good times better. It’s a soothing love that makes you complete, and the song caught on as a way for lovers to express just these emotions. It’s a very popular wedding song, just don’t tell the happy couple that Morrison and Janet divorced in 1973.
This is the second love song in a row. I’m becoming a softie in my old age.
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For a complete playlist, please click here.
For the Spotify playlist, please click here.
I can hear her heart beat from a thousand miles
And the heavens open every time she smiles
And when I come to her that's where I belong
Yet I'm running to her like a river's song
She give me love, love, love, love, crazy love
She give me love, love, love, love, crazy love
She's got a fine sense of humor when I'm feeling low down
And when I come to her when the sun goes down
Take away my trouble, take away my grief
Take away my heartache in the night like a thief
She give me love, love, love, love, crazy love
She give me love, love, love, love, crazy love
Yes I need her in the daytime
I need her
Yes I need her in the night
I need her
Yes I want to throw my arms around her
I need her
Kiss and hug her, kiss and hug her tight
And when I'm returning from so far away
She gives me some sweet lovin' brighten up my day
Yes it makes me righteous, yes it makes me whole
Yes it makes me mellow down into my soul
She give me love, love, love, love, crazy love
She give me love, love, love, love, crazy love
She give me love, love, love, love, crazy love
She give me love, love, love, love, crazy love
MyGenXerLife 
Lol keepin’ it real 👌🏽
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What a bad time for that to happen😂. We had that happen in Mexico and could not pay for our lobster lunch. Someone on our cruise paid for it and just told us to pay them back, but it was quite the ordeal. Wells Fargo refused to give me access to my account because I could not give them the dollar amounts of the previous five deposits. I thought we were going to jail.
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Money issues in Mexico are no bueno! Good thing there were people on the cruise to help out. Glad you sorted it out instead of being hauled away by the federales.
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Janet Planet? All I can hear now is Interplanet Janet from School House Rock! I’ll have to come back. LOL
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Yes, I was going to comment the same thing! 😁
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Hi Stephanie, I’m not familiar with Janet Planet. How does it relate? Thanks!
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Oh, it was just an association sparked by the name, but prevented me from hearing the other song while it was in my head! Thankfully I came back and enjoyed the song now. 🙂
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Oh man! You were just not lucky enough on Valentine’s date night.
If it makes you feel better, we were charged $150 for parking in the wrong spot. We never had a Valentine’s date night since then. 😅
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Yikes! That’s a lot!
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smooth operator … 🙂
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I know… that’s me.
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We all have moments like that. It’s fun to look back at them and laugh years later. 😁
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I have too many…!
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I read a memoir by a longtime NYC waiter and maitre d’ and have so much more appreciation for restaurant service and ambience now. Making you feel comfortable and not embarrassed about your faux pas is a real talent. Do you go back there every year now? It sounds like a great restaurant!
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I wish! Unfortunately it closed during Covid. The chef opened a small low key casual restaurant that I’d like to try. I heard it’s pretty good.
That memoir sounds interesting. And yes, making people feel comfortable is a real talent and I appreciate the efforts. I left a big tip that evening.
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i’m glad that they were discreet and y’all were still able to enjoy your meal! sounds like a fab restaurant and sharp staff
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It was pretty funny when it happened. I was thankful and appreciative. Good thing it wasn’t a first date!
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I haven’t seen it happen so much recently, but I remember 10 or even 20 years ago, when I were to retail, hearing how certain retailers would not accept the debit cards from certain banks. I think there’s always been some flukey things in these electronic POS systems, despite what we told.
I remember once going to buy groceries and having my debit card get declined, despite the fact that I just made a $3000 deposit the day before
In any case, having that happen on a date night is very awkward!
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It could have been awkward if it was a first date! Fortunately, we were way past that. It’s funny to look back in it
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