Projectile Lactation

I recently visited a vegan restaurant in my home town of Fort Worth. I should point out that I am not vegan, nor do I have any interest in becoming one. The fact is I love chicken, in all it’s forms…. Well maybe not in bird-flu-form. Anyways, at a vegan restaurant I realize that I am going to see some of that new world/bohemian type of atmosphere, but I figured it would be in the form of excessive tattoos and body piercing, which our waitress did not let me down in that aspect. As I am eating my tofu, meatball sandwich (which was one of the best meatball sandwiches I have ever had), the young mother across from my table….. Wait, let me back up. This young family, mother, father, and child came in just after us. The looked like a normal couple in their mid-twenties. I was a little annoyed that they allowed their young daughter to roam around the small restaurant touching whatever her grubbing little hands desired. But it didn’t seem to bother anyone else, and it’s not really affecting me, so whatever.

But I guess all of that running around must have made her thirsty. She ran back to her mother, and without saying a word, just tugging on her mothers "Good-Will quality" dress, she indicated to her mother that she would like something to drink. Her mother, then lifted up her shirt slightly with her left hand, (not exposing anything, but merely pulling the shirt out in a tent like fashion), and with her right hand she reached under her shirt, and started to squeeze. Note, she did not pick up her daughter. Her daughter, standing straight up, tilted her head back and open her mouth, and received the stream of milk from her mother. My meatball sandwich suddenly lost it’s appeal.

What the hell? I can’t imagine any situation when this type of action is appropriate, private or public. This is, after all, a restaurant, where other people are dinning, trying to enjoy their meal. Not to mention, the child is old enough to run, and I’ll admit I am neither a doctor or a mother, but at what point should a child stop breast-feeding? And, I’m not exactly sure what type of sensation is involved here, but it’s my understanding that the breast are extremely sensitive while a mother is nursing, so wouldn’t squeezing them, to project lactate, begin to hurt quite a bit? The whole episode was both disgusting and disturbing.

However, I would go there again. The food, despite the lack of meat, is quite tasty.