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"How Things Appeared in Albuquerque, New Mexico" or "Life in the Fat Lane"

It was Thanksgiving Day in 1979, and as a single mom, my two little children and I were moving from Tulsa, Oklahoma back to Eugene, Oregon, where we had lived years before. It was a long drive. My son got the front seat, as he was the older child. They didn’t have car seat regulations back then; so my daughter was in the back seat, being a great sport, piled on a bunch of quilts, and one last minute skillet that the movers didn’t take on the van. My children could not have behaved any better.

I was recovering from a major stomach operation. I had my stomach surgically stapled in hopes of weight loss. Back then, it meant a long scar right down my middle and an 8 day stay in the hospital. I was 313 pounds when I had it done, and hadn’t yet lost much weight. So to say I still looked pretty heavy would not have been a lie. My son was eight years old, and my little girl was almost four and a half. Neither one was overweight, and neither one was a big eater.

It was afternoon as we drove through Albuquerque, New Mexico. I decided we should stop to eat. I saw one of those great big signs with changeable letters. It said All-You-Can-Eat-Buffet, includes Drink & Dessert for $6.95. Remember, this was 1979. That would have been a lot for me to pay if I had to pay for each of us, and none of us would be able to eat much; so I asked for the manager when I got to the little stand where I was supposed to buy my tickets. I explained to him that I had just had my stomach stapled, and could not eat much more than 4 ounces of food. I showed him my children in line with me, and said they couldn’t eat much either. I asked him, that if I promised the three of us combined would eat no more than one average adult, could we just pay for one $6.95 dinner? He said yes that would be fine, and he told the hostess to just charge me for one dinner, and he told me how very appreciative he was that I asked first and got an OK. And he wished us a Happy Thanksgiving.

So we headed into the dining room, which was a big one, because this was some sort of large motel/hotel. I don't recall if it was the Thunderbird, or a Holiday Inn. I discovered that a waitress would take our drink orders, and dessert orders, but we would take a plate up to the buffet and choose our meal, or meals, as the waitress thought. She asked me what everyone would have to drink. My son said Pepsi or something like that. My daughter said chocolate milk. I told the waitress that we were sharing, as we only paid for one meal. I say we will have plain milk, as that is something both of my kids could share. I didn’t need nor want anything but water and probably not much of that either.

We had gone up to the buffet, and I had filled one plate with turkey and fixings, and took no more than an average adult might have taken. It certainly wasn’t a gluttonous platter of food. I got a little salad plate and then I knew I would have the saucer for the coffee cup I didn’t use. I took the plate back to our table. I had the plate of food in front of me, and planned to divide it up, with the coffee cup saucer for my portion, salad plate for my little girl‘s portion, and let my boy have the dinner plate of what was left.

The waitress brought one milk back to the table. She only knew what she saw, and that was a three hundred plus pound woman with a big plate of food in front of her, and nothing in front of my children. I was in the process of cutting some turkey for my kids and myself. She was not privy to me giving them more than I got, only that I had a knife and fork in hand and looked as if I were about to eat a big plate of food. The waitress checked me out, noting my girth, and probably thought the children wouldn’t end up with so much as a bite of food, or a sip of the milk. The milk was also in front of me; but she didn’t know it didn’t stay there long. She sort of left with a harrumph, and went to wait on other diners.

We each ate our food, and had a good meal, when the waitress arrived again to take our pie order. My son wanted mince and my daughter wanted pumpkin or vice versa. Anyway, I settled it. I told the waitress, once again, that we were only entitled to one dessert, and we would have pumpkin, something easy to split for the 3 of us, and that all of us liked. She left in a huff, perhaps even harrumphier than she was before

I distinctly told her one piece of pumpkin pie. She came back with 2 pieces of pie, one pumpkin, one mince, and a dollop of whipped cream on top of each. With a final flair of hurrumphyness, she slams them down a bit, one in front of each child, not to scare the children, but to be sure I noticed. She gave them each a fork, and then looked me right in the eye and said, “YOU can starve these little children on Thanksgiving Day if you want to, but I am not going to have any part of it!”

She could not have been more mistaken, but I can se

This is my tiny true Thanksgiving Story. I think it is worth a rerun every few Thanksgiving times. It took place in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1979.
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"How Things Appeared in Albuquerque, New Mexico" or "Life in the Fat Lane"

It was Thanksgiving Day in 1979, and as a single mom, my two little children, a son and a daughter, and I were moving from Tulsa, Oklahoma back to Eugene, Oregon, where we had lived years before. It was a long drive. My son got the front seat, as he was the older child. They didn’t have car seat regulations back then; so Jenny was in the back seat, being a great sport, piled on a bunch of quilts, and one last minute skillet that the movers didn’t take on the van. My children could not have behaved any better.

I was recovering from a major stomach operation. I had my stomach surgically stapled in hopes of weight loss. Back then, it meant a long scar right down my middle and an 8 day stay in the hospital. I was 313 pounds when I had it done, and hadn’t yet lost much weight. So to say I still looked pretty heavy would not have been a lie. My son was eight years old, and Jennifer was almost four and a half. Neither one was overweight, and neither one was a big eater.

It was afternoon as we drove through Albuquerque, New Mexico. I decided we should stop to eat. I saw one of those great big signs with changeable letters. It said All-You-Can-Eat-Buffet, includes Drink & Dessert for $6.95. Remember, this was 1979. That would have been a lot for me to pay if I had to pay for each of us, and none of us would be able to eat much; so I asked for the manager when I got to the little stand where I was supposed to buy my tickets. I explained to him that I had just had my stomach stapled, and could not eat much more than 4 ounces of food. I showed him my children in line with me, and said they couldn’t eat much either. I asked him, that if I promised the three of us combined would eat no more than one average adult, could we just pay for one $6.95 dinner? He said yes that would be fine, and he told the hostess to just charge me for one dinner, and he told me how very appreciative he was that I asked first and got an OK. And he wished us a Happy Thanksgiving.

So we headed into the dining room, which was a big one, because this was some sort of large motel/hotel. I don't recall if it was the Thunderbird, or a Holiday Inn. I discovered that a waitress would take our drink orders, and dessert orders, but we would take a plate up to the buffet and choose our meal, or meals, as the waitress thought. She asked me what everyone would have to drink. My son said Pepsi or something like that. Jennifer said chocolate milk. I told the waitress that we were sharing, as we only paid for one meal. I say we will have plain milk, as that is something my kids could share. I didn’t need nor want anything but water and probably not much of that either.

We had gone up to the buffet, and I had filled one plate with turkey and fixings, and took no more than an average adult might have taken. It certainly wasn’t a gluttonous platter of food. I got a little salad plate and then I knew I would have the saucer for the coffee cup I didn’t use. I took the plate back to our table. I had the plate of food in front of me, and planned to divide it up, with the coffee cup saucer for my portion, salad plate for Jenny‘s portion, and let my boy have the dinner plate of what was left.

The waitress brought one milk back to the table. She only knew what she saw, and that was a three hundred plus pound woman with a big plate of food in front of her, and nothing in front of my children. I was in the process of cutting some turkey for my kids and myself. She was not privy to me giving them more than I got, only that I had a knife and fork in hand and looked as if I were about to eat a big plate of food. The waitress checked me out, noting my girth, and probably thought the children wouldn’t end up with so much as a bite of food, or a sip of the milk. The milk was also in front of me; but she didn’t know it didn’t stay there long. She sort of left with a harrumph, and went to wait on other diners.

We each ate our food, and had a good meal, when the waitress arrived again to take our pie order. One wanted mince and one wanted pumpkin or vice versa. Anyway, I settled it. I told the waitress, once again, that we were only entitled to one dessert, and we would have pumpkin, something easy to split for the 3 of us, and that all of us liked. She left in a huff, perhaps even harrumphier than she was before

I distinctly told her one piece of pumpkin pie. She came back with 2 pieces of pie, one pumpkin, one mince, and a dollop of whipped cream on top of each. With a final flair of hurrumphyness, she slams them down a bit, one in front of each child, not to scare the children, but to be sure I noticed. She gave them each a fork, and then looke