By Bill Davis, DDS  

A Culinary Surprise 

After about 18 months of working on the Pankey book, Pam and I were headed to a Club Med Vacation on the Eleuthera Island in the Bahamas with our three sons. This Club Med (now closed) had a circus theme. The boys would be able learn how to dress up like clowns and train to be a performer on  flying trapezes. 

Pam suggested on the way to Club Med that we stop in Miami and take Dr. Pankey and Betty out to dinner. I had been wanting to do something for him to show my gratitude for his willingness to help me fulfill my dream of becoming a full professor by writing his life story and the Philosophy. 

Part of the information gathering process for the book was for me to visit Dr. Pankey one full day a month. On several occasions we talked about Miami as a vacation destination with it’s restaurants and resorts. He said, of all the places in the area, he and Betty liked the Ritz Carlton Hotel and Joe’s Stone Crab in Miami Beach the best. 

Before we left Toledo on our way to Club Med, I went to my bank and drew out $800 in cash so we could go anywhere L.D. and Betty wanted to go in the Miami area. The boys and Pam were all excited to go out to dinner with L.D. and Betty because they had heard so much about them. 

I rented a large rental car to accommodate all of us, and I drove to the Pankey home to pick them up. I told L.D. that Pam and I wanted to take them anywhere in Miami for dinner to thank him for collaborating with me on the book project. L.D. said, “Betty and I are not used to eating big dinners. We spend a lot of our time trying to eat only enough to keep us going because we both have a hard time keeping our healthy weight. Many times, we will even split a meal when we go out.” 

Betty was standing next to L.D., and she said, “We do have a place we love to go on a regular basis, and they even serve burgers for the boys. Maybe we can go there. They have the best, all-you-can-eat salad bar in Coral Gables.” 

I said, “Wow, that sounds great.” I asked, “What is it called?” 

Betty said, “Wendy’s,” so, we all loaded into the rental car and went to Wendy’s. The bill was under $800.00 dollars.