Wow I am impressed...

Well done!

Especially compared to the local bartender a few years back at a popular downtown watering hole who, after he got off work, met me and my friends at another place he knew we were going to, bought me a beer, and according to the EMTs who had to be called after I drank about half of it and passed out, put something in the beer he brought me from the bar. Up until that time, I used to think of bartenders (and wait staff) as people who would protect you, but I learned the hard way. Caution, ladies!

Frankly, I think the poor woman should have been tipped off when a 56-year-old former councilman took her to a chain restaurant on a date. Talk about sheer lack of romantic sense. I mean, wasn't there at least an Olive Garden at hand? It's not a bit surprising she didn't want to be identified -- she's going out with a guy who couldn't bring himself to pop for a perfectly legal (if not entirely innocent) Ruby Relaxer.

A move like that would get a waiter into the 30% tip tier! Joking aside, it's great to see folks step up and do the right thing.

Since it was an internet dating site that they used to meet up, I think a chain restuarant was probably a safe bet. And, under the circumstances, this one certainly was.

Years ago, when a friend and I "hung out" regularly at a downtown bar, the bartender always protected us, and it's not as if we were kids...I was in my 30's and my friend in her 20's. There was the occasional bout of fisticuffs, and David would jump the bar, shepherd us into a safe corner, then deal with the combatants. Now THAT's what I call service!

Yes, but did the waiter refill her water glass and provide her with a straw with the bottom 3/4 of the wrapper torn off?

Perhaps the best protection is having a neighborhood bar where you're well known. Definition: a place where my wife can go unaccompanied.
But such places can get a bit overprotective. At the late, much lamented Sisson's, I twice took ladies to lunch. One was a neighbor, the other a colleague. Both knew my wife well. Each time Annie Sisson came over and asked me archly about my wife, just in case.

awesome