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Only Old Men Eat at Denny’s, And Other Things I’ve Said With a Crooked Smile

by Jill Jarvis Leave a Comment

Dennys Ambassador with Crooked Smile
Last week I sat at a Houston Denny’s and tried to lie-straight-faced to those that had hired me as a Denny’s Ambassador. Their questions was, “What came to mind when I thought of Denny’s?”.

I tried to bite my cheeks and keep my face straight as I said, “Pancakes”. But it wasn’t long until I had the same crooked smile you can see on my kid’s faces when they claim they brushed their teeth.

I don’t think of pancakes. I don’t even think bacon. I think of the dingy Denny’s from my childhood, with old men at the counter and waitresses that obviously wanted to go home.

And because my lying-face looked ridiculous, I just blurted it out, “I think boring. I think of a dingy old diner where old men drink coffee and waitresses scowl.” And immediately I decided that drinking my tea would have been a better solution for fixing my lying-face.

Fortunately another Ambassador (perhaps with better manners or more practice lying) spoke up and said only nice things about the establishment.

The fearless meeting leader then came back to me and he bravely asked what was dingy about the Denny’s we were at? Well…

The Denny’s we visited on I10 was actually quite nice. When I walked in, I was greeted enthusiastically by 3 employees and noticed the restaurant was very Chili’s-esque with hardwood floors, a big modern Texas mural and power plugs at the booths. The waiters were enthusiastic and it was quite enjoyable to be there.

But still, this isn’t what came to mind when I thought Denny’s. I thought of the Denny’s from the 1980s that my mom didn’t want to visit.

Apparently I need to re-calibrate my brain a little, because the Denny’s we visited wasn’t anything like the 1980s Denny’s. In fact, it’s somewhere I’d like to visit when I’m not at the Ambassador’s meeting. Especially on Tuesdays when kids eat free and my entire family can dine for just a few dollars.

So, not only did the meeting start with a crooked smiled, but it also ended with one. I get that same ridiculous looking face when I’m wrong about things.

This time I straightened it out by sipping my tea and eating strawberry pancake hush-puppies.

Filed Under: All, Things to do August 18, 2014

About Jill Jarvis

Jill Jarvis is the owner of JillBJarvis.com, a BigKidSmallCity.com and Things to Do in Houston, with Kids, blog!

She is the mom of 4 and started the website years ago... when she was tired of constantly cleaning up the same mess in the family room.

Another mom showed her that you could just go do fun things in Houston, without hours of planning.

This inspired the blog and changed everything about how she enjoyed life in Houston, with kids!

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jill-jarvis-bigkidsmallcity-circle-300 Welcome!  JillBJarvis.com is the go-to blog for things to do in Houston with kids!  It is upbeat and dedicated to making our big city feel small.   START HERE!    

On this website you will find a full list of Houston weekly events, things to do around the city, travel ideas and resources for parents.

I know just what it’s like to be overwhelmed by work, life and family. I spent a lot of years traveling for work, missing big milestones for my kids and feeling bad about everything.

I started this website to make a list of all the events happening around Houston and then pick one to enjoy with my kids. And instead of thinking of all the things I was missing, I started to enjoy the things we were doing together.

If you are a parent that is feeling overwhelmed by all the things you could be doing in Houston… please just use our weekly lists and daily posts as suggestions. Pick one thing to do with your family and intentionally ignore the rest!

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