God, Party of Three

I was at El Toritos in Marina Del Rey yesterday when I could have sworn I heard the Maitre D' say, "God, party of three!"

I laughed for a moment, then spun around to see if maybe God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit were descending from heaven to have Mexican food for Sunday night dinner.
Nope. Didn't see them, but what boon that would have been for that restaurant, huh?
God eats here, must be great food! The line of hungry people and pilgrims would make it next to impossible to get a meal there for the average Joe for years.
Holy Frijoles? You can bet on it.

But then, I thought, hey, this is L.A. Where are the paparazzi?
You know if God, His Son and The Spirit were to show up somewhere the paparazzi couldn't be far behind. Pop, flash, pop, pop,flash, flash, flash...
Jesus! Over here! Hey! Creator of the universe.. One smile, huh? Holy Spirit, will you take form or something? You're killing me here...
But no. No paparazzi.

Then I thought what kind of pics they'd get if they did show. Would they come out? Would God make their pictures look like the Marx Brothers or something? Would each shooter have different images? Would all the paparazzi everywhere suddenly disappear? Would they get hooked up? Would God's Holy Trinity really need the publicity? That'd be one hell of a coup for the Christians and I'd be one hell of a portfolio shot.
Can you see the interview? There's my shot of the president, there's the NBA champs and that's God, Jesus and that blur... That's the Holy Ghost. They were in L.A. for dinner.
If that didn't get you the job, then there's definitely some nepotism or something going on.

As we stood outside, waiting to be seated, I thought that God probably wouldn't have to wait on line. I don't think anyone would get their order wrong either and I don't think they'd have to pay. Could you see the chaos? Oh, the pollo, rice and refried beans would be a-flyin' and the waiters and waitresses would be clamoring over each other to serve them. And all the washing of feet and anointing with extra virgin olive oils other wise meant for 'garden' salads...
But, alas, even an evening as good as this would come to an end. Could you see Jesus haggling over a bill or a 20% gratuity? Imagine the eternal tip their table server would get.

As my imagination Wandered, I was just a little embarrassed when I laughed audibly and my companions focused their attention on me. It was one of those, "What? Share?," moments that I had to explain.

Good thing I have kind of a reputation for being just a little left of center - I like to think of it as someone on the creative side -, so that when I shared what I thought I heard with my two companions, and after they looked at each other with raised eyebrows and wagging heads, we all laughed. They even added scenarios that made us laugh until our orders came from the kitchen.

It was a good evening; better than I've had in some time. We talked about photography and took long exposures through large bay windows looking across the thousand-yard wide marina. At one table, a birthday party celebration; at another, lovers; at others, families surrounding each other in tasty eats, conversation, laughter and love.
As the sun set over the marina, small motor craft and chartered party boats slid by, cool breezes accompanied the end of this summer day and not a cloud in the sky.

I have been in California longer than I like to be in one place, and in that time I have had enough south western food to last me for the rest of my life. But, wouldn't you know it. That evening, I had some of the best Mexican food I've had here in California.

God, party of three...

I believe...