Finding Balance

 On the second Wednesday of March our family of four discovered Balance Restaurant. We have been there before, so I guess we rediscovered Balance; however, this was our first trip since this virus thing took over the world. We learned a lot. A Top 10 a lot...

#10: We are not ready. 

Our girls, our precious children, have lost the ability to function in a restaurant. They cannot be blamed. We, thy parents, cannot be blamed. Covid-19, you can be blamed. It is as if cavewomen came out of the cave for the very first time. They take off their masks and the touching and talking is immediate. And my wife and I just start moving objects on the table like it is high speed checkers. Meanwhile, we can only see the eyes of a masked waiter.

There is fear in his eyes. Pure fear. 

#9: Don't put your mouth on that. 

This was the CDC's first recommendation. It is every parent's nightmare demand. It is fruitless and it is said way too many times before fruit ever reaches the table. Thankfully, we had the one and only table near the entrance. Open air onto Main Street allowed our kids to perform street magic. And by street magic I mean they moved away from the table and were being weird on the sidewalk of Main Street. But, at least, they weren't touching anything, except each other and the pavement. 

We beckoned the waiter. 

#8. When life gives you lemons. 

My wife and I love Balance's lemon parm Brussel sprouts. You know you are getting old when sprouts take you to paradise. "Waiter, I've not been in public for quite some time and my children are most likely going to pull the fire alarm, bring me your finest sprouts!"

We made the mistake of allowing our girls to share a lemonade. That was like handing each of them a grenade and saying, "Go have fun."

#7: Sneak attack.

During the first female led trip to the bathroom, I had the table to myself. I pondered life mysteries with my back toward downtown Johnstown. Suddenly, a man blurted out a question related to my hoodie, which he obviously read from his passerby point of view.

I had no idea there was a human being behind me. Buddy, this is no time for a press conference about the origin of my hoodie. 

I almost peed my own pants. 

#6: I Spy.

The game "I Spy" always provides temporary relief. Imagine being in a bunker and bombs are exploding all around you. Now, imagine being in a bunker, bombs are exploding all around you, and your kids have forks. And they are hallucinating on lemonade. All you can do is find something purple and pray. 

#5: Are we getting dessert?

My 6-year-old had the audacity to ask this before we even ate dinner. Her little sister drooled in support of the question. I don't think I even answered the question. I just got up and took my first bathroom break. 

I walked slowly. 

#4: The Limbo

Based off of the geography of our seating, it was natural to do the limbo under the gate separating the sidewalk from the restaurant. I know one of the things I've missed the most during the pandemic has been not being able to limbo. Don't you yearn for the days when two people could hold a stick less than 6 feet apart? Your friends could breathe and laugh all around, over, and under that stick... 

Getting back to normal people, getting back to normal...

#3: Capture the Moment.

At one point, I took a picture of my 3 leading ladies who were seated and zested by lemons. Right as I took the picture, a waiter (not our waiter) walked by in the background. The photo perfectly captures him in the distance. He is masked and looking directly at the camera.

It is the perfect pandemic family photo. 

#2: Check, please.

The best part about saying "check please" is knowing you don't have to do the dishes. I don't care how much this costs or how chaotic this has been, I know I am not washing a single dish. There have been ultra low points during the pandemic including the dreaded dish wash with dry hands. You have washed your hands so much throughout the day, dish washing is physically painful. It has always been emotionally painful, but now it really hurts. Yes, sanitizer has sanitized your hands, but you have lost a layer of skin in the process. 

#1: Together in warm weather. 

It got close to 60 degrees on this March day. It is still winter. We are still in a pandemic. Balance still has great food. We still have each other. 

Support local, Johnstown. Thanks, Balance. 

Dad Movie Review: Tom and Jerry

There is no way on God's green Earth that I am going to give a negative film review. The fact that I was in a movie theatre on March 6, 2021 was like winning the lifetime achievement award at the Oscars. I had not been in a theatre since Sonic the Hedgehog. 

Yes, folks, I hope one day my pandemic life will be defined by the trials and tribulations between Sonic and Tom and Jerry. Watching the movie at Westwood Plaza Theatre and Cafe, it was a reminder of how far we have come and how much farther we have to go. 

In the early 1940s, Pearl Harbor was bombed, Mount Rushmore was completed, and Tom Cat began a decades long chase of Jerry Mouse. While pandemic life has felt much like being bludgeoned with an animated mallet, it is important to travel back to the era when we welcomed Tom and Jerry. There was World War II. Jonas Salk did not discover the polio vaccine until 1953. Brown vs. Board of Education would not be ruled until 1954. War...disease..injustice...Tom and Jerry.  

Sound familiar?

In 2021, Tom faces a familiar foe, Jerry, as we face an equally familiar adversary - ourselves. Now, Tom and Jerry absolutely do not model how to resolve conflict. They rely on nonverbal ridicule and violence; however, they are blessed with the inability to speak, so they do avoid the verbal ridicule trap. Every generation that has watched Tom and Jerry has lived through something; survived something; had some sort of mallet bludgeoning. We are often conflicted. 

The next generation has been awarded an arsenal of capability through innovation, technology, and the wealth within these United States. On a recent family outing to Johnstown's Heritage Discovery Center, I was reminded of how an immigrants' journey to our shores was full of hardship and heartache. Perseverance was a necessity. There was no Instagram; no instant gratification; uncertainty around every corner. 

And for and hour and a half this Saturday, I knew around every corner, Tom would be after Jerry. Their feud has been going on for 80+ years. But, through all that cat and mousing, they somehow find common ground. Saturday's matinee ending was predictably happy. 

And that's all that really matters. The relevance is not in the plot, but in the product. Tom and Jerry gave my kids an animated escape and a reentry into the magic of the movies. It gave this Dad an opportunity to think of everything that has transpired since that blue hedgehog sprinted onto the big screen.  

I recommend Tom and Jerry. More importantly, I recommend that we all move toward a healthy Spring when Mother Nature will provide us visible growth. A kaboom of bloom. Uncertainty shall remain yet I am certain communities can come together by taking small steps. Imagine if kindness defined the new-normal; if every post was positive; if Tom and Jerry still can provide the next generation of kids with what matters most...

Hope.