I got the day off work today. Last year, I was working at Fox 11 and had to work a full day producing the 9 p.m. newscast. This year I'm at KGUN 9 and we ran a "best of" show on the Morning Blend today so I was able to watch from home relaxing in bed. Having holidays off are still difficult to get used to.
Anthony got home from his job working at the detention center a little after 2 p.m. We didn't have any plans for Thanksgiving dinner.
We discovered that he was paid early from his job so we decided to have dinner at a restaurant. There are a surprising number of restaurants that are open on Thanksgiving. I thought it was just a few fast food restaurants and I was all ready to have holiday dinner at Jack In The Box. But, it turned out after making a couple of phone calls that Mimi's Cafe' and Coco's (both restaurants near Park Place Mall) were open today.
Our first stop was at Mimi's. The parking lot was packed. They told us the wait would be 45 minutes. We decided to try Coco's across the street.
The wait at Coco's was 25 minutes. We decided to stay. The little waiting area was packed. By the time our name was called, Anthony was practically sitting on top of me because the woman next to him wasn't giving him any personal space.
The staff was in remarkably good spirits especially since they were working on a holiday. I ordered the $9.99 Thanksgiving holiday dinner and Anthony got a turkey croissant with fries. Part of my dinner was 'fresh vegetables' although they were abusively steamed and the picture on the menu showed broccoli, cauliflower and carrots but I didn't get any carrots. I skipped eating the vegetables. Broccoli and cauliflower are both yucky.
The back banquet room we were seated in had one other couple and was mostly empty. It was nice having a pretty quiet dinner considering how busy most of the restaurant was.
One of the things you have to know about me: Most every experience in my life comes with a story that makes it a little unusual. Today's experience was no exception.
We were about 3/4 done with the meal when I heard a siren outside. I saw through the window a Tucson Fire Department truck and I thought it was just going by on Broadway. Then, it turned into the parking lot. The fire truck was followed by an ambulance. Both vehicles pulled up in front of the restaurant and I realized they were coming in. Someone was apparently having a medical emergency.
Due to the location where we were seated in the restaurant, we couldn't see everything that was going on well although Anthony's vantage point was better than mine. The paramedics brought a stretcher in to the little waiting area we had spent 25 minutes waiting for a table at the front of the restaurant and loaded someone on. Then they were doing chest compressions while wheeling whomever they were there to help out to the ambulance. It was obvious someone had a heart attack in the restaurant. That is one way to ruin someone's Thanksgiving. I felt sad for that person's family. But, Anthony and I had to laugh because this sort of thing is what happens to me all the time.
One thing I did notice is that a medical emergency must not be an unusual occurence at Coco's. A few people looked, most kept eating their dinner like nothing was happening, and the staff didn't flinch. In fact, employees were letting people out the back door who had paid and were ready to leave. It was kind of surreal.
The ambulance sped off and the rest of the paramedics left shortly after. I hope the person they were rescuing recovers.
I came home, took a nap to recover from eating too much, and that is how Thanksgiving 2012 went.
Next year I'm making reservations at Jack In The Box.
 |
| Coco's at Broadway and Wilmot Home of Ken Carr's Thanksgiving 2012 and somebody's heart attack |
 |
| Anthony's turkey croissant and fries |
 |
| My $9.99 Holiday Dinner including turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, cranberries and vegetables. I didn't eat the vegetables. |
 |
| Pumpkin Pie This was the most wonderful part of the dinner. |