Breakfast at a diner in Sioux Falls
We were sitting in a diner in Sioux Falls with great big cheesy grins on our faces. We had arrived in South Dakota the day before on our very first visit. This was also our first diner. We don’t have diners in Ireland and we certainly don’t eat out for breakfast either. New experiences all round and we were loving it.
We were staying with cousins, Dick and Kathy, in Sioux Falls and had stopped in for an early breakfast before heading west to the Black Hills. It was the weekend and there were lots of folk in the place. Friends would stop by and say hello as they too were coming to eat. The food was good and the ambiance matched it.
About twenty minutes into our breakfast a very large man approached the table. Our cousin and my husband are both around 6’3″ but this man was bigger in every way. He was impressive in stature and manner. He offered no greeting to our cousin but said “Sweetman, who are these folks? “. This chap meant business. We were introduced and shook hands. He asked us many questions like ” Where had we come from? How long were we staying? Where did we plan on visiting?” An interrogation.
I noticed out of the corner of my eye that our cousin was no longer smiling nor had he made much in the way of eye contact with this giant. We answered his questions politely but in a somewhat reserved manner. Who was this man? He bade my husband and I goodbye and wished us a pleasant journey. He turned to leave and as he passed our cousin said ” Sweetman, never liked you “and left the building. We were left dumbfounded. It appeared that this gentleman was the Chief of Police and was having a little fun at our expense. He and our cousin knew each other.
Fast forward to two years later and we are back in this lovely diner having a weekend breakfast again. There had been a family wedding so there were more of us at our table. Good food and great ambiance again.
And yes, you have guessed it, this very large man approached the table and congratulated the cousins on the wedding. We are re-introduced. He seemed slightly friendlier this time so after we answered his questions we tentatively mentioned the previous encounter and his stated dislike for our cousin.
He shook his head and turning to our cousin said “There are only two people in this world that I really hate and Sweetman you are both of them”. With that he made his exit leaving us speechless. Again.
A few minutes later he returned to the diner and ‘asked’ our cousin to step outside. Now there was a thunderstorm in progress. Folk from South Dakota are probably used to such storms. The rain was coming straight down in sheets. Visibility across the car park was very poor. Lightning was bouncing all around and the sound effect from the thunder was scary to people like us who rarely see this kind of weather.
The giant and our cousin disappeared out into this and were gone a while. We started to fret wondering if all was ok. More coffee was drunk as we kept watch and eventually to our relief the cousin returned to us apparently unscathed. The giant had been given an award by a community group for his outstanding service. It was a magnificent carved wooden sculpture and he was very pleased with it and wanted Dick to see it. He was too modest a man to bring it into the diner for everyone to see.
Appearances can really be deceptive. But if he wants to have some fun at our expense again, we will let him. Every time.