Josh's Birthday

Josh's 9th Birthday fell on a Sunday.  We had a full day of church and basketball games.  When we asked him what he wanted to do for dinner, he suggested Ruby Tuesdays, one of our favorite Western restaurants.  We were only able to get a 4:30 reservation, since they already had a party our size at 6:00pm. And, we had to promise to give up our table at 6...a common practice here.

We arrived around 4:45...and we were breaking our own rule.  This restaurant was located in the Shatin New Town Plaza Mall...one of the busiest malls in all of Hong Kong, perhaps Asia...especially on a weekend.  We try very hard to avoid this mall on weekends at all costs...but for Josh's special day it was worth it. As we got out of the car, we happened to hear an announcement asking people to keep an eye on their children and to watch the crowds.  We found this kind of strange, but figured in the end it was a normal announcement on a weekend.

As we walked up to the restaurant on the 5th floor, we definitely noticed the crowds, which justified our rule.  We actually got to the restaurant, sat right down, and were waited on immediately...it helps that they were motivated to get their table back.  Of course, as we were waiting, the kids had to use the restroom, which is located outside the restaurant and in the mall.  I took a couple of girls, and then Andy took Josh.  When Andy got back, he had a story to tell.  Apparently, the crowds had become organized and restless, waving flags and causing a police response.  If you haven't watched the news in the last six months, you might not know that there is a movement called Occupy Central that is bringing attention to democracy in HK and it has now moved into the New Territories. We were able to "give our table back"and check out the protests...as well as find a safe way out of there with all of our kiddos. As we were driving away, we must have counted 40 or more police vans.  The next day we heard that the protest got out of hand and the police started using pepper spray.  Needless to say, it was a very exciting birthday for Josh.