“Why don’t you ever take me out to ?” Ginger screamed. “All my girlfriends go out to with their boyfriends at least once a week. go to nice restaurants and they have a time. Then they call me up the next and brag about what a nice time they . They make me sick! And so do you, cheapskate!”

This was not the first time she had this conversation with Barney. He replied, “How times have I told you that I don’t restaurant food? All you have to do is these specials on TV news occasionally to see ’s going on in the kitchen. When you see the cooks don’t wash after using the bathroom, they sweat into your food while it’s cooking, they touch every bite of your food with hands--and who knows what else you DON’T see--then ’d agree with me.”

“You exaggerate,” she yelled. “Not restaurants are like that—only a few!” He told that even a few was one too many him.

“Well, one more week without going to restaurant is going to be one too many me, buster,” she warned. “Lester takes Heidi out times a week. She has the life.” Okay, , Barney surrendered. He promised to take her out Friday night to the best sushi place in .

The next evening Ginger’s best friend called. “Did hear about Heidi? She almost died!” she wailed. was still in the hospital. She had been to the emergency room that morning because of bad scallops she had eaten at the most restaurant in Pasadena the night before.