One evening my parents took several members of my family  to a nice steak house.  Everyone dressed accordingly and anticipated a great steak dinner.

The steaks were delicious, and we waited for dessert.  My mother excused herself and visited the ladies room.  A few minutes later she returned to the table.  As she was being seated she released a sonic burp.  Not the kind of burp that can be heard at the next table, but the kind that can be heard three blocks away over the roar of a busy metropolitan street; it was a real window shaker.

Everyone in the restaurant was stunned including my mother.  The entire contingent of people in the dining room stared at Mom.  A lesser person would have crumbled under the pressure, but this woman had met all the crises of raising twelve children and had survived.

She looked at the other patrons and said, "I'm sorry, but it was the best I could do."

She sat down and ate her dessert as though nothing happened.  A few people looked disgusted, but most chuckled and returned to their dinners.

After the meal, one of my siblings asked, "How could you eat knowing everyone stared at you?"

"After all the things you kids have put me through...that burp was a breeze."

"No," Dad said.  "It was more like a tornado."

Copyright 2008 J-me

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