Don't call 911…it's an effect!

Saturday after the trip to the lake, the Cordle fam converged back in Newnan, picked up Anna, and went to Bones in Atlanta to eat. There have been two occasions in my life momentous enough to warrant a trip to Bones. Both have been the girls’ birthdays. As you may know, Anna’s birthday is March 21st, and Goob’s is March 25th. This means the typical birthday celebration in the Cordle house lasts from roughly March 15th on into early April.

I’m fine with it though, because I love no restaurant more than Bones. My first trip to Bones several years ago was a very memorable one. For some reason, the most memorable part was the guy who refilled the water glasses. I believe he’s the more ambitious younger brother of the guy who refills the chips at La Fiesta. From the time I sat down, he put me into his sights, and never relented. If I even looked like I was going to take a sip of water, he would sprint from across the room to position himself to refill my glass with reckless abandon. Somewhere between the snapper coming back to life in my stomach, and the cheesecake killing it again, I was self-diagnosed with water poisoning.

The lessons from that experience years ago remain with me to this day. I walked out of Bones on Saturday a happily successful man, having not drank too much water. The food was amazing, as usual…I was in gastronomical heaven.

Not wanting the evening to be over, Dad asked us what we wanted to do next. Goob decided that she wanted to see some “devastation”, referring to the tornadoes that hit Atlanta a week ago.

Well, as we turned onto Peachtree St., we saw something unexpected. A burning bush. Yep…there was a bush on fire right there in the yard of a Church. Dad thought it was a really cool effect, being Easter and all (well…it made sense at the time, anyway). But the more we looked at it, the more I wasn’t convinced it was an effect. Goob was spouting off all kinds of stuff she’d learned in psychology about the Bystander Effect or something. As we passed by, we realized that it was growing by the second, so I dialed 911. And got a recording. We pulled over behind a few others, and hopped out of the car as though we were driving a big red truck. One of the guys in front of us did get through to 911, but it was a rather hopeless feeling standing there watching this fire grow without any way to help. Luckily, some folks from the bars/restaurants across the street ran over with a few fire extinguishers and took care of it just as the fire trucks were rolling up. Certainly makes me want to buy a few fire extinguishers and throw them in the car!