Jacksonville and a Tomato Box

This past weekend, Brian and I had the pleasure of traversing to Jacksonville, FL for the Oasis Youth Conference. We had a great time hanging out with the teens and Comedian Bob Smiley (www.bobsmiley.com). We performed on Friday night and then again on Saturday. At the end of our Saturday performance, we had a short question and answer period. There were some very insightful and thought provoking questions. Unfortunately, the answers were neither insightful nor thought provoking unless the thought being provoked was, "What does that have to do with anything?"

We had 2 brothers driving us from the airport and between the church and hotel. We learned quite a bit from them about hunting and discussed whether or not it would be difficult to build a plane. Late the first night, we went out for food to a beautiful establishment called Steak N Shake.

We had a waitress whom we'll call Sara, who didn't say much. That is until she overheard me asking if the werewolves in "New Moon" were actual werewolves or wolfmen. Sara was awakened from her slumber and bombarded me with a whole history of "Twilight" and it's author, Stephenie Meyer. When she finished, which I believe was at the moment she remembered the necessity of breathing, I asked her if she was a fan of the series. Even though it's usually customary to do in the kitchen, I'm pretty sure she was close to spitting in my food right in front of me. She assured me that she is a fan of all things Vampire. I promptly asked her opinion then of the film, "Little Vampire" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0192255/). She looked at me funny, and I said, "The movie with that "Jerry Mcguire" kid." The college kid next to me quickly stepped in and said, "His name is Jonathan Lipnicki." I'm not sure what creeped me out more. Sara's enthusiasm for sickly looking vampires or this 21 year old male's knowledge of Lipnicki.

This next part is a warning for those flying in the next few weeks. If you plan on carrying on a Tomato box, there is a flight attendant on Southwest who may have some questions. I usually carry on a box of our CD's to sell at shows so they don't get damaged under the plane. Lately, I have been putting them in a Tomato box because it is the perfect size and has handles. I have done this quite a few times and normally get that hilarious, "Can I have a tomato?" question. This past trip I ran into a woman who seems to have some sort of intolerance towards boxes.

As I was boarding the plane the flight attendant quickly asked what was in the box. I assured her that it was CDs. She then asked if it would fit in the overhead. I told her it would and it was actually smaller then most of the suitcases people were trying to pass off as "Carry-Ons." She then pointed out that this was a box and not a suitcase as if this were news to me. Since we were disclosing obvious information Brian pointed out to her that boxes and suitcases serve the same purposes in that they both contain things. This was said in jest, and usually Southwest attendants have a sense of humor. She looked at us a little miffed and firmly said, "But this is a box, not a suitcase," as if suitcases had more rights then my lowly box. I then asked if she would be more comfortable if I put a handle on it. It was at this point we were moving up the aisle and she asked that we not "get smart." I guess my last comment was kind of sarcastic, but I had never seen anyone let the power of explaining how to buckle a seatbelt go to their head so strongly.

Old Town Buffet, Inc.

1495 Old York Rd.

Abington, PA 19001

This is actually the closest Chinese Buffet to my house. When I first heard the name of this place I was reminded of another eating establishment that my grandparents always had a hankering for. When I walked in I totally expected to see some Chinese grandparents with some Chinese hankerings.

This buffet has a really cool layout. You walk through a long hall which builds on your anticipation of gorging yourself. It's also nice because it adds to the walk to your car and after this place any extra exercise is encouraged. The "showroom" as I like to call it was huge. There was plenty of seating, a wide selection of food, and a huge grill section to create your own entree that you can tell your friends about later.

The service was very good beyond the normal clearing of plates and filling your drink. I had my 8 month old son with me and the waitresses stopped to entertain him every time they passed. One even sat at the table to play a riveting game of Peek a Boo in which my son was victorious.

We recommend this buffet especially since it's located below a Target. Get your fill of Chinese enjoyment and then purchase some Target brand paper towels. Life fulfilled.

4 Stars