#lost spaces

Many of her places of memory have been destroyed. The gardens her Grandmother tended, by the scourge. Tempest Keep, by the justice for a leader who walked a dangerous path. Dalaran, as gambit in a power play that changed so many lives. But those have now given her opportunities. The Pilgrim’s Bounty feast in Dornogal, for realizing how grateful she was to be accepted in the Company. Her new little run down home, for giving her sanctuary. The stoops of Silvermoon, for giving her time to unwind and bringing more people into her life. The Undermines, for filling her with a new purpose.

It spiraled into a conversation about places we went to, and while I know we went to some nicer places as little kids, we went with family and were constrained in our seats at all times because there were adults who engaged us and kept us there.

I said something that is sitting in my brain.

Most of my early "restaurant" experiences were at McDonald's because we were poor. But also, to look at it another way, we didn't go to more "family" style restaurants until we were old enough to be trusted to sit down the whole time.

And that's one of the things we don't really have anymore. There are no cheap fast food restaurants with a kid's play place in my area. There are no places to take a young child with a socially acceptable space to run around and yell because kids that young haven't mastered sitting still for a full restaurant experience.

That is why there are more and more "kids in a restaurant screaming their fool heads off" incidents.

The places they could have gone to learn better don't exist anymore.