Lunch with Brian

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Firefighter Appreciation Day, March 25, 2009

Texas capitol dome March 25, 2009, was Firefighter Appreciation Day at the Texas capitol, and Brian's brother Hunt joined us for lunch on the capitol grounds. The State Firemen's & Fire Marshals' Association of Texas fed free catfish to anyone interested. We were interested. We saw a variety of things on the grounds: a biker on oxygen smoking a cigarette (not pictured), a bagpiper hiding behind a tree and a man in a pink shirt guarding his free catfish from an albino squirrel.

Bagpiper behind a tree and a man in a pink shirt looking at an albino squirrel

The catfish was served under a big white tent. As we neared the tent, we saw fire trucks parked on the street. Hunt thought maybe they'd serve the tarter sauce from a fire hose. They didn't.

Big white tent

We had to wait in a long line before being served, but we were happy to have picked the line where our friend Kevin was working.

Kevin smiling

They had catfish, hushpuppies, french fries, beans and cole slaw. You could also get pickles and onions. We think the lady serving the pickles subscribes to the philosophy that you really can't have too many pickles.

Catfish meal

Most people were getting their catfish to go, but we had time on our hands, so we sat at one of the big tables under the tent. There was a man already sitting at the table, but he kept to himself until he was ready to leave, at which point he kindly told us to have a good day. I was amused by the fact that he had lunch with Brian and didn't even know it. Shortly after, our coworker Jocelyn showed up with her husband, Scott, and another coworker, Gerard.

Scott, Jocelyn and Gerard

Christian Bale (we think) We were gossiping about work when the ever-vigilant Hunt spotted Christian Bale at the next table. We speculated that he was secretly studying for a role playing Brian in a Lunch with Brian movie. I pretended to be paparazzi and took a photograph.