free food for veterans, 2016 edition

Tonight, I celebrated being a veteran for the fourth time in about as many days.
This time, I was being feted by Golden Corral, with a free buffet and free drink.
Hooray!
My first niece joined me for the meal, making it extra special.
(smile)
It had all begun on Thursday.
The physicist and I were long overdue for time together and had arranged to meet "next week on Thursday afternoon"...which happened to be the day before Veteran's Day. I had suggested Red Lobster, as I still had the gift card he had given to me for my birthday. As it so happened, that restaurant was giving free appetizers to veterans! Sah-weet deal for the F-grrl and J-Dawg! We split the free Sweet Chili Shrimp and had a quite leisurely slunch for the next two hours, with Chlorin taking care of all our needs. Oh, yeah! (I gave him his birthday gift then, too. After all, it is Jeff-tember! He very much liked the Dr. Who coloring book and the four different packs of Minions-inspired Crayola crayons. I'm sure he will smile and think of me as he colors during the six-month sabbatical he'll have in New York.)
On Friday, Applebee's was the source of my late lunch. They must have had every one of their wait staff there for the extra business! My free meal was this beautiful piece of fish, flavored with lime and cilantro - totally yummy! Thanks to Corey for keeping my iced tea glass full and a smile on my face!
Saturday night was free food, too, but not because I was a veteran. Nope! It was because I was dining on smoked pork, green beans, and fried rice at Roy's party!
(smile!)
On Sunday night, Carrabbas celebrated my status as a veteran with a free appetizer. This time, I selected the Shrimp Scampi...oh, so very good! Barbara was there to share them with, and to share a very leisurely post-movie dinner, too. (We had seen a delightful Swedish film, "A Man Called Ove", reminding us that love can be found in many forms.) My thanks to Rob for taking care of me so graciously...and the sweet dreams later. Oh, yeah!
And that brings us to tonight, at the buffet, with my niece. Cynthia was the dear who kept the table clear of clutter and our glasses full of drink. Muchas gracias!
All in all, a memorable weekend full of meals with friends...and little cost for me.

My many thanks to all who made that possible.
And, as always, i thank You, God.