A Few Ruminations

• Why is it so hard to get a clean wine glass in so many restaurants?  From national chains to mom-and-pop joints, too often the waiter or bartender puts a spotted, lip-stick smeared, food-speckled glass in front of me and expects me to drink from it.  Is it just my luck or do others have this problem too?  At a chain steakhouse, the bartender held the glass to the light and the proceeded to wipe the glass on his dirty, stained apron and then pour wine into it.  I appreciated his effort but...yuck.  At a small Italian restaurant in Philly (that had Opus One on the wine list), I was brought a cheap glass that was also filthy.  We had the house Chianti, and it was awful.  I couldn't help wondering if they would have poured the Opus One into that same glass.  Shudder.  At a chain barbecue joint we used to go to often, the wine glass would look clean but had a foul odor, to the point where it was so offensive that I couldn't drink the wine.  At our local neighborhood restaurant, the glass invariably smelled of bleach.  Asking for a new glass doesn't always work because the replacement is sometimes worse and the server is irate at my request.  If a restaurant doesn't care what they're putting your drink into, will they care what they're putting into the food or how it's being prepared?  I only worked in a restaurant for three days, I think, before I quit, so I don't have any experience.  I'd really like to know if there's something I'm missing. 
• I know that, as a parent, my job is to raise my child (now a teenager) so that he will be able to leave the nest and spread his wings.  I know that you have to let go and let your children make their own mistakes.  Knowing that and being able to do it are two very different things.  What I've been wondering lately is how close do you let them get to that brick wall that you're sure they're going to run into before you step in?  I've learned my teenager is aware of the wall and has become rather adept at avoiding it (but too close for comfort too many times, in my view).  I trust that he's heard enough of what we've said over the years and that he's got a good head on his shoulders.  The big mistakes are easy to see and recognize that action is necessary.  It's those smaller ones that keep me up at night.  To a teenager,  parental advice is like white noise.  I remember that much.  But when do you step in?  When do you let things go?  How do you stand back and watch without losing your sanity?  At times like this, all I feel like I can do is apologize to my mother.
• We found this great website called Family Fantasy Sports.  It's made for families (duh) and it's fantasy football.  It's very user-friendly, and you can form your own league or join one (registration closed on September 30th).  My siblings and I formed our own league of eight teams.  My sports-crazy nephew loves it, my teenager loves it, and most of the adults love it, to varying degrees.  I've found that it's given my brothers and me an outlet for our sibling rivalry (my sister chooses not to engage--a lifetime's experience, I suppose).  Believe me, the last thing I needed was another distraction from work, but my team needs me.  I am currently the general manager of the third worst team in the league, but I feel my fortunes are about to turn.  And boy will my brothers hear about it then.  Omnivores rule!