Romance and Curly Fries

I don't have strong feelings one way or the other about Valentine's Day. I'm not ragingly bitter about being single. If I were half of a couple, I don't even know how elaborately I'd want to celebrate.

Birthdays are a different ballgame. It's a great chance for each person to have a special day, but you do have to be careful that you respect their wishes -- do they want it to be a big deal, or do they want to be left alone? You can't assume they'd want what you'd want. And you also have to figure out if they're the kind of person who'll be honest about what they want, or if they're hoping you'll just know.

What happens, then, when a person's birthday falls on a day that the rest of the world is already celebrating for its own reasons? This has always been my roommate Helen's problem, because her birthday is on Valentine's Day. At least this year, though, she was in luck, because two of us other roommates were single and free that night, and the other two are dating each other and thus could celebrate b-day stuff without being separated on a romantic holiday.

And that's how we all ended up at Hooters.

Helen had a sociological fascination with it, because apparently they have all kinds of guidelines for hiring waitresses. If I have my facts straight, they're officially "entertainers," which allows Hooters to judge them on looks and measurements. It was Helen and Maria who were rating all the servers; the two guys didn't participate in the judging. A few notes from our evening:

-- The place was crowded, which surprised me. And there were plenty of women eating there, and even some couples. On Valentine's Day. Who knew?

-- The food is quite good, though fries are not an automatic side dish. You have to order them separately.

-- There are TVs all along the walls, playing various sporting events, and the sound is on for one of the stations. It's pretty loud, so perhaps Hooters isn't the place for that intimate conversation you were planning on having.

-- When it's your birthday, in lieu of singing the birthday song, the servers do a cheer, like cheerleaders.

Helen's final verdict on the institution that is the Hooters Server? They're in comfortable footwear.