Of course I was the first server there. I work mostly with all kids in their twenties and we're just lucky if they show up at all.
Today one of the younger ones never showed up at all which left me working with a guy who enjoy working with. He's younger than me but not by much. It's hard to gauge, he's black and black folks never seem to age to me. They could be almost thirty or almost past fifty and you simply never know until they say "My youngest kid is thirty" from which I always add eighteen years to supposing they may have had them right out of high school and gauge from there. They never seem to get wrinkles or gray hair until they are a hundred and featured on the Today Show by Al Roker during his weather forecast in a shout out.
He got there shortly after me and we had everything done by nine twenty. We open at ten so I clocked out for my break and decided to try and make it to concourse C on my own to get food from The Atlanta Bread Co where we eat free up for almost ten bucks.
I have always gone with two of my co workers who weren't working today and usually always chat on the way and instead of paying attention to how we get there just blindly follow them. Last time we went I paid attention so somewhat felt confident I could get there on my own.
Dang, I felt like a rocket scientist when I got off at C and found Atlanta Bread Co right where I thought it was, to the right of the top of the escalator on the left. For no money out of my pocket got a Chicken Waldorf sandwich with a bag of chips, a pickle spear and huge cinnamon bun for later.
I got a little discombobulated on the way back down to the Plane Train and only took one wrong turn but got back to the restaurant with fifteen minutes left to eat.
If my life right now is a dream, please don't wake me up!
Since starting on the floor June fifteenth I've managed to catch up our delinquent mortgage, pay all current utilities albeit some are "Past balance due" , pay the Verizon giants, buy groceries and gas for the vehicles and even funnel back money we had borrowed from our daughter's college fund. My wonderful brother helped pay off my impending new/used car still waiting to get and even have a payment for him. Besides that I've been saving all the cash I've walked with over the eighteen percent gratuity and have two hundred dollars stashed away.
To some fifty four year old people this would sound sad, to me it feels euphoric!
We may be broke but far from poor and is definitely now a temporary status.
The ageless black dude and I rocked the lunch shift, got hit with an onslaught of departing Paris and Tokyo passengers but did it all while keeping tables clean, reset, customers happy and got off by five with another $230 under my belt.
My first customer today was a rather large man by himself, leaving on the Tokyo flight. I was chatting with him asking about his flight when told me the flight to Tokyo would be fourteen hours. Once he arrived in Tokyo would board another flight for nine more hours to Thailand. After that he would have a two hour helicopter ride out to the oil rig where he worked.
This just amazed me. He was going to be in the air for over an entire day! He said he lived in Atlanta but for twenty eight days lived on an oil rig off the coast of Thailand, then had twenty eight days off.
It's an exciting job at the airport to me. I am talker by nature (duh) but love hearing their stories!
On top of it all, it's literally saving my family.
I am just floored by people who can afford fly to Paris, then on to Greece, Amsterdam or Tokyo then on to Thailand. Heck, I feel lucky to go to WalMart AND Kroger in the same day!
I'm just their "Little Buddy" Gilligan, stranded happily on "Broke Island."
I feel more comfortable every day although still nervous.
This is the greatest opportunity I've ever had in my serving career, and trust me ...it can BE a career.
I was scarfing down my free sandwich from ATL Bread Co this morning when one of my brother in law's buddies who works for Delta stopped by to say hello.
Does it sound bad I've found a new home? It feels like it does and also makes me feel like a traitor to feel that way.
Til next time...COTTON
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