7. Grady's Chocolate Lava Cake
Dad, my brothers, and me having chocolate molten cake. This isn't Grady’s… but it’s close!
Today is 33 days from the first anniversary of Dad’s passing. I’ve committed to writing 40 stories about him as that day approaches. Forty Steady Stories.
Happy Thanksgiving. This next story is not a Thanksgiving memory, but it’s one of my all-time favorite memories of Dad involving food. Hope you enjoy this as much as he enjoyed the dessert below…
In the early 1990s, Grady’s Restaurant on Albemarle Rd. became a real favorite of Dad’s. They had a chocolate molten cake with ice cream that was truly the best I’ve ever tasted, and Dad loved going there for that dessert. Grady’s is long gone but this story is still very fresh in my memory.
I was working at the family business (Parnell-Martin), and I was in outside sales at the time. One day I was calling on customers in Union County (Mineral Springs, then Stallings, etc.) and Dad called me around lunch time. He asked me if we could meet at Grady’s around 2:00 PM to go over some things, and I told him that would work fine.
Dad loved to set his watch by “Lombardi Time” which meant 15 minutes earlier than the actual time. That phrase came from a quote by the famed Green Bay Packers coach, Vince Lombardi who said, “If you're early, you're on time. If you're on time, you're late. If you're late, don't even bother showing up." He set his watch 15 minutes early the first time he heard that quote and never stopped doing that. Now, the rest of us in the family still ran late most of time, primarily because we knew we had an “extra” 15 minutes!
So, I arrived at Grady’s right at 2:00 PM and walked in to find Dad already sitting at a table waiting on me. I said hey, hugged him, and sat down. No sooner had I taken a sip of my water than the waitress put down two steaming hot chocolate lava cakes with ice cream and hot fudge.
I looked up at the waitress and said, “Wow! That was quick to get 2 of these right when I’m sitting down!”
She looked back at me with a grin and said, “Oh no, honey. This is number 3 and 4. Your Dad already ate the first two before you got here!”
Dad had the BEST look on his face. His expression was like a little kid who’d just gotten caught with his hands in the cocolachoccitchipcoogie jar. Busted! It was priceless! The waitress started walking away chuckling to herself, and I said, “Don’t worry. I got your tip covered today!”
I love that story because it reveals the mischievous side of Dad. That kid-like quality never left him, and it always lit up a room. Even down to the last days of his life, he would use hand gestures and get this look on his face that we’d seen thousands of times. It was a look that said, “Yeah, I know I’m unconventional, and you can kiss my butt — in a Christian sort of way.”
Dad could laugh at himself as well as anyone I’ve ever known. He loved to laugh but understood the subtle difference between laughing at someone and laughing with someone. He really taught me such a valuable lesson in that. It’s one I fear our society has been leaving out of life and school. In these days when we pick up phones to video encounters capture events on video, we are missing out on the relational side of the moment. We’re missing chances to be IN the moment. Don’t get me wrong: If you know me, you know I place a high value on capturing moments in photography and videography.
I’m glad I don’t have that moment at Grady’s on video. It forces me to tell the story each time. In telling the story, I’m transported back to the moment. I remember the look on Dad’s face. I remember the waitress’ laugh. And I remember that while Dad wanted to eat that dessert that day, he also just wanted to be with me. That’s not something an iPhone can record like the way our hearts and heads can. Now, go make a memory this holiday with someone you love. Happy Thanksgiving, y’all.
