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Ben Stein's Diary
Late Summer Weekend
Many a perfect day, though service was slow.
Friday
I am so angry. Phil DeMuth and I just had lunch at one of my
favorite restaurants, La Scala. We had a good table outside and
could see lots of interesting people walk by. But the service was
criminally slow and when I complained about it, the hostess, a
sullen little creep, would not apologize. I told her I had been
coming there 35 years and this was the worst service ever. She made
no sound of apology at all.
Why is it so hard for young people or even old people to apologize or to say, “Thank you”? What is the issue? Is it that they would have to show some vulnerability? Or that they hate me so much because I am old/famous/well to do/conservative/male? What is it? Whatever it is, I can tell you that people who cannot say, “I’m sorry,” or “Please,” or “Thank you” are doomed to a pretty miserable life. Maybe not. Actually they are already miserable. So, they will just continue in their miserable lives.
As I thought about it and discussed it with Phil on our way back to my little mansion (actually just an ordinary house, but on a nice street — far, far smaller than the home Phil grew up in in Kenilworth, Illinois), I started to laugh.
Here I am bitching and moaning about rude service at a fancy restaurant. What about the soldiers, Marines, sailors, Air Force people, National Guard, Reserves, fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan? What about the ones who fought in the Hurtgen Forest, with Nazi 88s shattering trees all around them and killing them with splinters? What about freezing in the Ardennes with the SS snipers shooting them and panzers rolling over them? What about creeping about in the jungles in Tarawa or Peleliu with Japanese mortars raining death down? What about getting ambushed by millions of screaming Red Army “volunteers” at the Chosin Reservoir while your toes get frostbite and you are exhausted and starving? What about that?
What about getting shelled day and night at Anzio or the firebases in Vietnam? What about being a prisoner and being tortured day and night at the Hanoi Hilton? What about being in a German Stalag or the belly of an infernal Jap prison ship without food or water or sanitation and death and cruel heat all around you?
What about being sick with exhaustion while in patrol near the DMZ in I Corps? Or being pinned down at Pusan? What about missing a decent meal for months on end while you get snakes crawling on you in Okinawa or Iwo Jima?
What about not going back in history? What about training some Afghani man to be a soldier only to have him turn his AK-47 on you and cripple you and kill your buddies in the mess hall where you had just been having lunch ? What about being on patrol in Fallujah and suddenly having an immense bomb blow up your pals right in front of you while terrorists — not militants, terrorists — open fire on you with top-notch Russian sniper rifles?
What about spending years in a hospital recovering? What about never recovering, losing your family, your peace of mind, your health, for the rest of your life because of wounds that cannot be treated?
What about having to read that some little pissant movie star gets all the cute girls while nobody even remembers your name? What about waking up at 4 a.m. and remembering when your best friend got his brains blown out by a very unluckily accurate sniper shot in Baghdad?
This is the price that Americans who serve in wartime pay. This is the price our men and women from small towns and farms and big cities pay to keep us free.
It makes me ashamed to complain about anything, and yet I still do. But at the same time, I pray for the men and women who serve. God bless them, God bless all of them and you who are reading this, hearing this, for all eternity.
I came back home, bid farewell to Phil, got on my knees and prayed. I prayed especially for the ones still fighting night and day in Afghanistan, in the most inhospitable place on earth, against a totally conscienceless, vicious foe who have American blood all over their hands. Dear God, please help them and please bless their families because, as I will say unto my last hour on earth, the military wife is the backbone of the nation, the backbone of freedom on this earth. God bless them.
Saturday
Well, guess what. Another perfect day in L.A., but I am not
feeling well. I keep forgetting where my phone is, where my glasses
are, where my car keys are. I guess I am getting old. I hate it,
but there it is.
Wifey and I had a great lunch at a hamburger stand on Santa Monica Boulevard next to our car wash. Lots of fun watching the couples, gay and straight, mostly gay, walk by. Many gay people have really great-looking dogs, and we love watching them.
Then home to work on my infernal income tax (I have an extension ) and then off to dinner at Mister Chow. It was mobbed beyond words. Just totally packed. I ate with my wacky friend Jane. Alex was too tired to go. I did not want to eat alone and Jane is a fine conversationalist.
About the Author
Ben Stein is a writer, actor, economist, and lawyer living in Beverly Hills and Malibu. He writes “Ben Stein’s Diary” for every issue of The American Spectator.
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Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 10.20.10 @ 7:21AM
Your lemonade story reminded me of this:
Proverbs 31
Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.
11The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.
12She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.
13She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.
14She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar.
15She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.
16She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
17She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.
18She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.
19She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.
20She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
21She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.
22She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.
23Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.
24She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
25Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.
26She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
27She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.
28Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.
29Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.
30Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.
31Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.
Deputy Dog| 10.20.10 @ 7:23PM
"Lots of fun watching the couples, gay and straight, mostly gay, walk by. Many gay people have really great-looking dogs, and we love watching them."
Uuuum. I am pondering the meaning:
Ben says gays have great-looking dogs.
What prompted Ben to share this observation with AmSpec's readers?
Is this a neutral statement?
Is he suggesting that gays are more concerned about appearance?
Does he mean that gays tend to take better care of their dogs because they are more attached to their dogs?
Is there a little hidden animosity in the statement?
Ordinarily, I would not be suspicious, but after all this is The American Spectator and the focus in Ben's remarks is on gays and their dogs.
I'll have to let this go . . . for the moment.
Yes, I will let this slide, as it is probably innocuous. Still . . .
PJ| 10.20.10 @ 10:46PM
You bet it's innocuous!
I've been reading Ben Stein for years. Never once had he ever written anything that was disparaging to same-sex couples.
Ben Stein is a dog lover. He probably used his inductive reasoning when he saw same-sex couples holding hands while walking with their dogs. Santa Monica is not exactly a place where a homophobic would hang out to relax.
So keep your ignorant thoughts to yourself!
Yo Landa| 10.21.10 @ 1:14PM
Get a life and stop looking for ways to take offence. I have never read Ben's musings before and think I am in love. But Alex and Brigid are really in the way.
BILOXIPAT| 10.21.10 @ 5:16PM
You are trying too hard to twist it into something you can hate, Deputy Dog. Why not just accept it at face value and accept that Ben probably meant it as a compliment?
Lee| 10.21.10 @ 1:19PM
Bill Hussein O'Stali
Maybe you could come up with something new, creative and original rather than gibberish from a bunch of Bronze Age goat herders sitting around a dung fire?
GF Founder| 10.21.10 @ 1:53PM
Wow Lee, don't you think that was kind of mean-spirited. I don't think Mr. O'Stali was trying to convert you to religion .. it's obvious you're the antithesis of a religious man, but is there really any need to be so angry and disparaging toward him? Seems that Bill's words were kind of a tribute to Ben's view of his wife.
A Guy| 10.21.10 @ 3:11PM
You do know the Bible contains some of the finest literature ever written? Oh, I guess not.
BILOXIPAT| 10.21.10 @ 5:14PM
That's a little bit further than I am prepared to go. Probably why I've been divorced three times. But I'd rather be divorced than to get up while it is still night and "giveth meat to (my) household, and a portion to (my) maidens."
R Martin| 10.20.10 @ 8:52AM
You list supply side with terrorists and Obama as things not to bear thinking about? In fact, it is only supply side economics which will turn this country away from the disaster of Obama and provide us with the resources and confidence to defeat terrorism. You need to have one of your celebrated lunches with Art Laffer.
Tom_Beebe| 10.20.10 @ 12:36PM
My understanding of what was advanced as "supply side economics" differs from what I would believe it is, or should be. Use the term "creation of wealth" and frame government policy around that, leaving the distribution of wealth up to the maket. That policy should encourage education, health care and investment directly, for these are the requirements for a production. My own belief is that these should be fostered by making income expended for them exempt from taxes, along with a generous personal exemption, and tax at a flat rate all else as "disposable" income. All other exemptions (i.e. mortgage interest) are discriminatory against some element of the population and represent a "special interest". Only these three can be said to be in the general interest.
R Martin| 10.20.10 @ 1:44PM
Ben Stein likes the term supply side economics and uses it often, because his father, Herb Stein, is credited with being the first to use it, and he meant it as a term of derision. The term is appropriate. It is what its proponents advocated in the mid 1970’s to make it easier to work and produce and thereby end stagflation.
The nature of inflation, of course, is an inducement not to work and produce, but to consume and demand—to spend one’s dollars before they are devalued. If inflation were conquered, people would again seek to gain income through work and investment because, with stable prices, that income would hold its value. However, such work and investment would be for naught if new income were confiscated by high taxes.
Therefore, a monetary policy aimed at maintaining stable prices, coupled with a tax policy aimed at stimulating personal initiative, was advocated as a cure for stagflation. Together, such policies would increase what is produced—that is, “supply”—in the economy. Hence the term.
There is an obverse to supply side economics—demand side economics which is what Keynesianism is. Keynes held that economic problems stem from people not spending enough. In the Keynesian teaching, inflation is tolerable because it means that people are out there spending money vigorously, demanding, pushing up prices in the name of growth. Taxes, in turn, take money from people who might save it rather than spend it, and then give that money to the one entity that will assuredly spend it: government. Richard Nixon was an avowed Keynesian, and his chief economic adviser was Herb Stein.
MSD| 10.20.10 @ 3:22PM
I agree and pithily put at that!
BILOXIPAT| 10.21.10 @ 5:20PM
RMartin, you presume to give economics lessons to Ben Stein?! I've heard of chutzpah before, but this takes the matza ball.
Ned the Red| 10.20.10 @ 8:58AM
"That poor woman, like millions of other single mothers without much money, is simply overwhelmed by her duties. The dad does nothing and gives her almost no money (or so she says -- she certainly lives modestly). The whole duty of caring for that sweet baby girl devolves on the poor beleaguered mom."
My daughter is in the same situation, but I do not look at her the above way. I tell her she is lucky to have such a beautiful daughter and if the father (sperm donor) is to weak, foolish, selfish, lazy, etc. etc. etc. to perform his duty, then she is better off without him or his money, she agrees. Caring for a child is an honor not a chore.
She never acts beleaguered. When life is hard or she is having difficulties I always ask her if she has played the “Poor single mother” card yet. We both get a kick out of this and she jokingly says she will do so immediately or maybe hold it a little longer.
Like Ben, I talk a lot about what we have, how easy life is for us compared to previous generations. This helps me deal with my meager problems and reminds her not to dwell on the negative, but to revel in the positive. This attitude is not new to her, she was raised this way, and now I can see this fighting spirit passed on to my granddaughter.
I have helped her, giving her and her daughter a place to live, but more than anything else her outlook on life, and, I almost forgot, a strong belief in God gives her sustenance.
Jonbonjovy| 10.20.10 @ 10:21AM
I dont disagree, but having seen many a divorce and the soon to be ex-wife do everything to keep the children from the dad, well, ya know what I mean. Then they throw obstacles in front of the dad at every instance, well I think you see what i mean.
Most dads would like to be there. Though no necessarily with a woman who married the greatest guy on Earth, to revile him as the worst scum of the Earth for that support dollar.
Miss Alabama| 10.20.10 @ 9:38AM
Ben,
Fascinating post. So much fun to read, and how you do get around and about! Delightful little anecdotes!
Listen, Ben, darling, I want you to write more about your toys for big boys. I remember from an earlier post your description of you slapping across the waves in your Thompson motor boat, standing shirtless with the wind whipping up your silver hair. Thrilling! Absolutely thrilling!
"Toys for Big Boys" by Ben Stein. You must do it for me, Ben.
My husband has lots of Big-Boy Toys, including an Aprilia motorcycle (expensive beyond belief). We have a thousand and some acres of timberland with log roads and paths, and my husband rips through the woods on his Aprilia at supersonic speeds.
And I stand at the door and yell (so unladylike), "Darling, please be . . ." and before I can get "careful" out of my mouth, VROOM, VROOM, and he's off.
Yesterday I told our groundskeeper Diego (our staff is made up entirely of Mexicans--such a delicious bargain!) to please urge my husband to be less reckless. Southern men think all women are hysterical, and he won't listen to me.
Hank (my husband) and I were in Provence during August and September. Alabama is hellishly hot during these months. We have a little vacation cottage near La Brigue that is too precious, too charming. How I'd like to show you photos.
Ben, you must come and visit us here in Alabama. We can dazzle you with antebellum splendor! The allee of ancient oaks lining the drive up to our historic antebellum home will knock your eyes out!
November is always pleasant here on the plantation. And Hank and I are having guests (descendants of old, aristocratic families from Charleston and Savannah--the creme de la creme of Southern society) come down for a hunting party. Do you hunt deer, Ben? If not, Hank can show you how, and Hank has dozens of guns and a huge pack of hunting dogs. And I know you are fond of dogs, and so am I!
So much philanthropic work to do today. Hank and I are major contributors to the Alabama Shakespear Festival. How I'd love to show you the theatres and grounds.
Ben, dear, I'm looking forward to reading your piece on "Toys for Big Boys." It will be your most exciting contribution ever to AmSpec, and its readers will love you for it. They will adore you!
"Toys for Big Boys" by Ben Stein. Can't wait!
Steve A| 10.20.10 @ 10:36AM
Miss Alabama, If your old man did have an Aprilia he would probably hop on to go get a gallon of milk & get lost for a lifetime or so. Stick to the swimsuit competition.
RCV| 10.20.10 @ 12:23PM
Also, Miss Alabama, next time you contribute to the "Alabama Shakespear Festival", learn how to spell first.
Darien| 10.20.10 @ 1:31PM
Miss Alabama, how delightful is your posting!
Perhaps when Ben and Wifey finish visiting you and Hank, they might join me and Hubby in Fairfield County for a little hobnobbing with the little people in New Caanan and Wilton. We can drink darling mojitos and talk about our trips to Paris. Wonderful!
Maybe you and Hank can come along too?
Richard| 10.20.10 @ 9:50PM
You have too much time on your hands.
deejay| 10.21.10 @ 10:39AM
Ms Alabama,
If indeed this is really you then I say"pitiful". Stick to unreal for I fear for your survival on the real side of life.
Shamus| 10.20.10 @ 9:57AM
It's always so fascinating to know the exact details of where an author dines.
Tom_Beebe| 10.20.10 @ 12:44PM
May I comment on a peripheral issue in Ben''s eating out story? I totally agree with its main thrust, "no whining". My thought goes to responsibility for poor performance in offerings to the public. When I encounter poor service or poor food in a restaurant, I bleme not the waiter or the cook, respectively, but rather the manager. It is to him I would issue my complaint and to him I would look for redress. He should be familiar with the performance of employees beyond a single complaint and he is the one to hold accountable. That's a good rule for performance of every organization from the corner store to the US government. Management has the ultimate responsibility for performance.
Jews for Jesus| 10.20.10 @ 10:11AM
Ben,
If you accept Miss Alabama's invitation for the hunting party, I imagine you will fly into Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and change planes for your flight to Montgomery.
Jews for Jesus is set up in Concourse C, right beside Chili's Bar and Bites. And we extend a warm invitation to you to come by our booth for a little visit.
Ben, we think we have a message that will not only change your life for the better, but will save your soul.
Please come by for a short discussion about our mission. The Messiah has come, Ben, and we want to make you acquainted.
We send our love and prayers to all readers of American Spectator, and we pray daily for the magazine and its editors.
Tatiana Goldenberg| 10.20.10 @ 10:18AM
Having just finished reading the smug Miss Alabama's sickening and infuriating hymn to her self, and feeling a little nauseated, I glanced down and saw the Jews for Jesus message.
And now I am sick as a dog. God in heaven! The stomach-turning crackpots on this site will stop at nothing. They will write anything, no matter how insane!
Willis| 10.20.10 @ 10:43AM
TG, lighten up a little, and go immediately to your dictionary. Read the definition of "satire".
MSD| 10.20.10 @ 3:35PM
Tatania -
Admitting that I had somewhat the same reaction(s) to the two posts, I really think withal that you need to be considerably less squeamish where it comes suffering narcissism and/or delusion present and veritably rife throughout the culture. And where you may be inclined to associate these attributes with TAS online commenters, you might want to look to the first posted comment above and reflect on the fact that TAS readers who aren't even Jewish seem to manifest respect for the virtues of "aishes chayil."
Muriel McAllister-Beauregard| 10.20.10 @ 10:55AM
My commendations to the Jews for Jesus organization for its missonary zeal. We must never lose an opportunity to recruit for Christ, to rein in the lost sheep wandering in the wilderness, so to speak.
Allen| 10.20.10 @ 10:11AM
Hear, hear on the Loser Sperm Donor issue! It was classy of you to bleep yourself, but you didn't have to in this case.
Richard| 10.20.10 @ 9:53PM
You STILL have too much time on your hands. isn't there a nearby highway that needs picking up along the shoulder? How about volunteering at your local food shelf? Maybe a stint at the soup kitchen. You get my drift. Go forth and contribute.
Barry Smith| 10.20.10 @ 11:40AM
Ben,
We are living in the age of arrested development, populated by perpetual adolescents. 40 year old men, attached to their "toys", cared for by their wife/mothers. The plight of the single mother is just another symptom of:
The real problem, is that we are transforming from a patriarchal society to a matriarchal society. The evidence is everywhere, if you open your eyes. Childish sports, music, entertainment. "Parents" who "hang" with their "homeboys" (children). Children raising children, begetting more children.
I fear this will not have a good ending.
Margie| 10.20.10 @ 12:17PM
"So shun youthful passions and aim at righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call upon the Lord from a pure heart." 2 Tim. 2:22.
I'd consider it an honor to pray with Ben Stein any day.
It's the easy thing to do. Complain about how others are treating you. Ben's example of what to do about it~ get on your knees and pray about it, in thankfulness to God and remembering that the person next to you (or maybe in a far away land somewhere) is hurting more than you are. What a good and decent example you are, Mr. Stein. The God of Israel bless you!
RCV| 10.20.10 @ 12:25PM
Couldn't agree with you more, Margie. Ben Stein is a national treasure.
Annie Mae Musslewhite| 10.20.10 @ 7:50PM
Ben, It was back in 1998 when I gave my heart to Jesus. I was scheduled for a quadruple heart bypass at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Tupelo, and just before the operation I opened up my heart to the Lord, and I said, "Lord, you get me through this, and I will give up smoking and drinking and whatnot, and I will be your servant."
He got me through it, all right, and I'm still here praising His name. I'm a Pentecostal Free Will Baptist, and we have a saying, "Put it in the hands of Jesus." In other words, we just leave it up to the Lord. We leave whatever up to the Lord and go about our business in peace.
Ben, I've noticed you like to eat, and so do I. Now if you will accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you'll get to eat all you want with no worries about clogged arteries and ending up in the coronary care unit of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
Let me explain: Last night we had a barbeque supper at the church, and the preacher said when blessing the food, "Y'all don't have to worry none about the fat and cholesterol in this barbeque. We're just gonna put all that fat and cholesterol in the hands of Jesus. Y'all eat all you want, and enjoy!"
Well, we all dug in and shoveled it down with no worries because we had put those harmful ingredients "in the hands of Jesus" and we knew he would look after us.
Praise the Lord! That was some good eatin'!
Now I did have a few sharp pains this morning when I got up, but I laid it to indigestion (all that grease). And evidently that's all it was--indigestion.
Ben, all you have to do is "put it in the hands of Jesus," and you can eat to your heart's content! Your heart's content. Think about it!
What a blessing! I'm sitting here drinking a glass of sweet tea and thinking about sweet Jesus while humming that good ol' gospel number "Take Your Burden To the Lord and Leave it There."
Time to convert, Ben, and I say with all my heart, "Welcome to the fold!"
LJo | 10.20.10 @ 10:03PM
love satire. hate sarcasm. Some of the poor attempts at humor I am reading here are grieving. Next time I will stick to reading Ben's delightful ramblings. My prayer is that he will not be affected by the pitiful examples of what attempts represent Christian faith. The system is the Great Whore with her daughters and is built with bricks of leaven. Truth is the pearl of great price and worth seeking. May the Lord have mercy on those who stumble men who might seek with sarcasm.
Fred Speckmann| 10.20.10 @ 12:51PM
Thank you Ben Stein, you have become a greater raconteur as the year’s progress. Your comparisons to what real suffering is to the whimsical complaints we have in our lives are priceless.
Recently, I sent a similar letter to my incarcerated nephew when he was complaining about his situation. Even though his drug conviction has caused him to have served 14 years so far, with another 6 to go, he has finally found his way out of the morass of drugs and turned his life around.
His frustrations are that even though it's been six years since he realized that he was capable of changing and acting as a man with character, he has not been rewarded for his efforts and is still confined in maximum security. I wrote him a letter some months ago that mirrors your description of the daily complaints that we have compared to real problems that the military faces not to mention the millions of people who have suffered and even murdered throughout history.
Marc Jeric| 10.20.10 @ 12:52PM
Funny Mr. Stein mentioning "trickle down economy" as if there were any other kind. Well - there is the other kind: trickle up poverty, as Mr. Savage says in his book. I should know, having escaped lo so many years ago from a communist hell. And it is not only trickle up poverty but also mass murder, terror, living in an atmosphere of utter lies and misery.
vtwin| 10.20.10 @ 1:40PM
Ben, whenever you have time, on your way to Sandpoint, just stop by the "Bronze Rod" in Frisco. This is my favorite watering hole, and I hang up there a lot with my Hell's Angels buddies. They are good company,they happen to like jews,chicanos,and blacks but they positively despise japanese bikes,so do not embarrass me before my pals,ok? You'll be most welcome and you'll us about "Bueller!Bueller!" Come to think of it, quite close to "Buell! Buell!"
David Williams| 10.20.10 @ 3:18PM
So, vtwin, or as he is better known to his mother--Smart Car, hangs out in a San Francisco biker joint. That explains a lot. However, I suspect the place is really called the Blue Oyster Bar.
Joe| 10.20.10 @ 5:22PM
me dust thinketh he protesteth too much
Richard| 10.20.10 @ 9:41PM
How is it possible for one to find "modest" living accommodations anywhere near Malibu? I do assume you are talking about the character of the woman's home, and not the monthly rent.
QuietPro| 10.20.10 @ 10:25PM
Mr. Stein, I am always impressed at your compliments to those of us who have served or continue to serve down-range; as well as all other past conflicts. Therefore, please accept this lttle tidbit of info for your future writings: We "Air Force People", as you refer to us with great respect and affection are called: AIRMEN! :) That applies to Officers and Enlisted alike. Thanks again, may good fortune keep you safe.
Lee| 10.21.10 @ 1:15PM
If she can't afford that kid maybe she shouldn't have had it?
I little future focusing as a human is capable of rather than just instinct?
Fiat Lux| 10.22.10 @ 4:29PM
So, she should have just killed it instead?
No point in people taking responsibility for their actions when we can simply kill the inconvenient.
Such towering monuments to intelligence and virtue some of us are.
Becky| 10.22.10 @ 12:22AM
Hey Ben, I have felt as you have. You have a negative experience and you turn it around to good. I am impressed with your humbleness and your wife's goodness. I hope you and your new friend continue to share your lives also, maybe you can help her out by helping her get a babysitter now and again. Some men are better NOT involved in kids lives. Too many creeps around kids, and some are the natural fathers, so don't think all should be involved, some kids are better off without them, and some moms find out too late that the guy they thought was nice is abusive, or a creep, or a crook, womanizer, etc...great piece...
della street| 10.24.10 @ 8:22PM
Mr. Stein, Thank you for your heartfelt prayers for our men and women in uniform. I was very moved by your sincere emotion.
I think it is also okay, though, to be upset by the snippy hostess. Considering the high rate of unemployment, one would think La Scala could find someone with a pleasant attitude and some manners, it is not too much to ask.
As to the single mother, my heart goes out to her and her daughter. Single parenthood used to be frowned upon, it is now somewhat glorified, as if fathers are dispensable and unimportant. I think our parents had a more realistic view of how much hard work is involved in raising children and how necessary two parents are to the well being of those children.. Today's young people have been lulled by the current culture to see things differently...until reality hits them between the eyes. I grieve for the children who will never know the strength and wisdom of a loving Dad.
Delores Smith| 10.24.10 @ 9:43PM
Mr. Ben Stein,
First time I've ever read your writings. It will not be the last. I enjoyed it so much! Please do not forget one thing: That waitress was rude!!
You are so so right. Where has politeness and kindness gone? I know where it all is. The Lord blessed Ben Stein with lots of both, so that you will set an example for us. Thank you, Mr. Ben
Stein.
Delores Smith
Delores109@cox.net
Angee Woodman| 10.25.10 @ 11:16PM
Very good article Mr.Stein..
What you have seen with this new friend of yours is what I experience everyday in my small town in Michigan. Almost none of the people I know are married and if the father does pay the required "minimum" child support, he feels he has done his job and doesnt have to do anything else. A visit on birthdays and Christmas is enough to them. Its disgusting.
Btw..Please dont label the whole of us young people. There are some of use who were brought up with manners and we best use them because our punishment couldnt be quick enough if we didnt. I am so grateful that my parents gave me a sense of respect and kindness to others.