PLAYING SHERLOCK HOLMES IN A LOCAL RESTAURANT

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My wife and I visited a local restaurant in central Florida called "Manny's Chophouse" last night. It is an eating establishment we frequent at least once a month. And without fail, we always order and share either the whole rack of ribs or the salmon entre; more often the former, than the latter of the two choices.

Our waitress, a very personable young lady named "Jenny," (not her real name) engaged us in an ongoing conversation as she came, and went throughout the course of our forty-five minute dining experience. And as is my habit, I asked her about the identity of a man in a large framed photo which hangs on the restaurant wall; just feet from the bathrooms.

"Jenny, let me ask you a quiz question. Do you happen to know who that man is?"

It is important for my readers to understand that the photo was 20-25 feet from our table, and partially obscured by other tables and diners, though I realized that our waitress would have walked past it countless times. 

And has always been the case, thus far, our waitress replied with a,

"Hmmm, I honestly don't know."

(and)

"Is it that guy who does that beer commercial?"

(and)

"Yes, that's gotta be the man on the wall. What is his name? Oh yeah, Jonathan Goldsmith. In the commercial he is called, "the most interesting man in the world." (To be fair she didn’t actually say his name. I looked it up).

(and)

You know, he says,

"I don't always drink beer, but when I do I drink Dos Equis."

And it occurred to me who she was referring to since social media is full of photos of Mr. Goldsmith with a myriad of humorous captions overlaying his photo, such as,

"I don't always drink beer, but when I do, I don't know my limit!"

At any rate, it was then that I replied,

"Jenny, the man in the photo isn't the fella in the beer commercial. He's the previous owner of this restaurant, Nick Christy. Back then, it was a much more sedate, formal dining experience. I knew Nick Christy. When I was a UPS man, I delivered packages to the back door, and he would often meet me there, and sign for the packages."

(Christy's Sundown Restaurant was one of the most popular dining establishments in this part of Florida at the time, and the lobby wall was covered with autographed photos of movie stars and other notables who had visited at one time or the other).

As our conversation continued, Jenny suggested something I would have never expected from a waitress, given the large number of tables they are assigned.

She spoke.

"My OCD is kicking in. Let's walk over there and look closer."

I was certainly "game" and I immediately rose from my seat, and the two of us navigated the twenty or thirty steps which separated us from our quest. As we walked, Jenny scrolled through her phone and brought up a photo of the "beer man."

After I excused myself a few times to other customers who blocked our way, my own temporary “Watson” and I arrived at the photo of the middle-aged, bearded man on the wall.

The waitress spoke again.

"Now, look at this picture. The guy here on the wall looks amazingly like Mr. Goldsmith."

I glanced at the photo of the man on her phone which I had seen countless times. Then I studied the photo on the wall of the restaurant. Glancing back and forth two or three times, my resolve weakened a bit.

"Jenny, I have to admit the man in this photo looks surprisingly like the man on your phone."

(and)

"But I'm convinced that this guy on the wall is the former owner of this restaurant."

Now, we made our way back to my table and my wife. I pulled my chair out and sat down again.

"Jenny, tell you what, I'm going to message Mr. Christy's son, and ask him if the photo on the wall is his dad. I'll let you know what he says the next time we come in."

Over the course of the next ten minutes, Jenny brought us a couple of "to go" boxes, I paid our bill, and we said our "adieus." 

It's funny how the events and experiences of a day sometimes fall together. I never expected to “do a Sherlock Holmes” at a local restaurant which I had visited numerous times in the past. But I think I enjoyed the experience more than the food.

William McDonald, PhD

Post-script - I immediately contacted Tony Christy, Nick Christy's son, when I returned home. Having looked at the photo which my wife snapped before we left, he assured me that the man on the wall was not and is not his father. And since he's the expert, this brings my investigation to an inexorable conclusion.