I open the back door to a chaotic scene for which I'm totally unprepared. The Sunday morning rush should be about over by now and I'm scheduled to bus tables during the lunch and early evening shift, but no one seems to have been in the dishwashing station for quite a while. It's overflowing. Every [...]
First of all... (to quote one of my favorite comedians from those days) "Let me make this perfectly clear." I support unions. I'm currently a member of a union and I recognize the importance of unions, the right to collective bargaining and the service unions have provided their members throughout the history of the labor [...]
As far as I can tell from what I've found online, there are now two bars in Eyota, Minnesota and three in the neighboring town of Dover. Back in 1978, there was only one establishment that served alcoholic beverages to the good people of both towns. As I recall, it was called the Dover-Eyota Municipal [...]
The intense thunderstorm of July 5-6, 1978, caused record flooding on the South Fork Zumbro River at Rochester, Minnesota. It was Rochester's worst natural disaster in almost 100 years and the worst flood in the city's history. By the time the river subsided, at least five people had lost their lives and over 5000 residents [...]
Yesterday... ------ My day starts by nearly filling my Handi-Van with passengers in wheelchairs, and my last one of the group is no exception. He lives in a public housing complex very near the heart of Honolulu called Mayor Wright Homes, which has been recently renovated. As I approach however, his building looks like it [...]
I'm not normally claustrophobic, but this dinner rush has me stuck here in "The Vault" way longer than I like. Way longer. For hours now, I've been steadily at it. The high pressure spray nozzle, the steam, the clanging of pots and pans. A shrill cacophony crashes through it all, as I shove another rack [...]
Breadcrumbs This is one I left it on the road Along my path Under rocks Dangling from a flower petal by a single silk strand An unconscious message of hope Submits Breadcrumbs These are those They still powder my clothes Staining fingers Combing hair Clinging to corners of my mouth the brave few look within [...]
But it was also a way to quickly give the staff some ideas that led to an attitude about working at Tinkler’s that would be far more difficult to deal with in the future. ---------------------------------------------------------- Oh and Ted's attitude was difficult for the Tinkler's management to deal with indeed. He was their star head chef. [...]
Change everybody is talking about change, the times sure are a changin’ as well they should. But from what to what? Could be good but what does it mean? Isn’t change the only constant in the universe? Isn’t change inevitable? Unstoppable? ------------------------------------------------ 1978 was a year of dramatic change. A year in which my immature [...]
“We all live in a tragicomic situation, a life that is in part absurd simply because it is not of our own making. We are born into a disordered world, into a family we did not choose, into circumstances we would have had somewhat improved, and we are even called by a name we did [...]