Wine is Fine...

 This was the first and only notation I made in my 83 page wine pamphlet. Barb took me to a wine tasting today and "Boy was I a fish out of water." Double click on the photo and look at the price of this wine!

 And that's what the restaurant buys it for!

 I couldn't imagine spending well over a hundred dollars for a bottle of wine but obviously people do it.

 Barb took me and one of the bartenders to the wine tasting. The bartender knew a lot more about the wines than I did...I think they just took me for entertainment purposes.

 The above photo is the view out the back window. It was a fancy affair and a great way to spend my only day off.

We saw quite an eclectic group of people. Some were "Dapper Dans" like the guy above and some were in jeans and flannel shirts. Some had horrendous mullets and some didn't even look old enough to drink. I will say I have learned quite a bit about wines working at Mama Lucia's. Before I worked there I thought Foxhorn was a pretty okay wine.

I still don't get  the swirling but do it anyway. I still gave it a sniff before taking a snort. Some I like better than others but what amazed my tiny mind was the buffet table! Barb pointed out the food table to me on the map they gave her as soon as we entered and it was like I was in food Heaven...FOR FREE!

Foie de gras, Crepes with Duck, Brie, Salmon with dill horseradish sauce, Roasted Pork, Dates wrapped with proscuitto and crumbled bleu cheese and even Twinkies with bacon bits. They had all kinds of breads cut up, grapes,apricots...it was Heaven on a small plate.

I met a lot of people and drank a lot of wine. It was a wonderful day off! I was home by 8 PM and blogging by nine.

Yes I have a wonderful job. Yes I have wonderful bosses. Yes I will have a headache in the morning!

Til next time....COTTON

The Mad Italian

What a day...number nineteen in my current work week and I'm running on fumes. I had to be at work at eleven this morning and woke up at 10:21. Nothing like panic to get your juices flowing. Thankfully I had my uniform ready to go and set a new record for getting ready. I walked into work at 10:59 and the bottom fell out. We open at eleven and open we did!  It started off busy and got busier.

We offer a brunch menu and also our regular lunch menu. One side of the kitchen cooks the lunch orders and the owner cooks the brunch orders.  Today was "Brunch" day and we pounded him with tickets. The computer was screwing up and not giving us the option for grits,  instead offering an option for "Wheat Roll." I hit "Wheat Roll" and sent a special instruction (Sub grits.) I went back to get my order when they bellowed my name and started to pick up my order. I had my arms full of plates when one of the cooks said "What plate do you want the wheat roll on?"  I said I didn't need a wheat roll and tried to explain.

The thing you have to know about working in the restaurant industry is that all cooks think they are perfect and act like all servers are idiots.

Granted a lot of servers ARE idiots...but not many cooks are perfect although I'd never say that in front of one. Cooks are artists and the dishes they create are their masterpieces. They take their craft very seriously and are usually always extremely temperamental.

Today was no exception. The cooks were balls to wall but so were we. They were busy cooking the orders but we were busy taking them, serving them and refilling coffee at a maddening pace. Like a dummy I put in another order subbing "Wheat Roll" for grits and  s*** hit the fan.

 I should have known better and  had I been on top of my game I would have. As it is I just wake up every day iron a shirt and drive on auto pilot to the store and clock in...the rest is becoming a blur. It didn't set well with the Mad Italian and he yelled at me for ten seconds...it felt like two weeks. I know when to say I am sorry and it won't happen again. This was the time to say it and I did, scurrying out of the line of his fire as quickly as I could. I thought I heard bongo noises like you do when Fred Flintstone runs real fast chasing Barney.

The owner of my store is a true Mad Italian. He's actually half French and half Italian...a deadly combination. He has the Italian temper and every one knows how the French feel about Americans.

It took him a good hour to quit ranting  but I took it like a trooper since number one it was my fault  and number two I need my job more than Michael Bolton needs Rogaine.

Once an Italian is angry he is angry...REALLY angry. As a rule I am on his good side and he really likes me. A new girl started this past week and followed me on her first shift. She made the comment "Some say you are Len's favorite server." I replied "I try to be."  Today I wasn't but I know when to tuck my tail in and hide.

I was supposed to be off tonight but picked up like a dummy. I knew the only person that would be upset would be Massey so I called her and made a deal. I told her I would come home and pick her up and she could come back to work with me and take pictures of Len's car he was selling to post on Craig's List.
After going by  to give our evil cell phone carrier a couple of twenties we trudged back to work. Len seemed a bit calmer(not really) but he perked up when I told him Massey had her camera and could take pics of his car to post an ad to sell his car . He handed her the keys and said to back it out and take it to an empty spot in the parking lot so she could photograph it. I said I would watch her back out and he barked at me again "She doesn't need you to watch her!"

Aye Aye Cap'n!

She took the pics and came back inside and put his car on Craig's List. He said "I'll buy her dinner, whatever she wants." Dang, she was the first person he had been nice to all day...little sneak!

The dinner shift was slow but every thing I made was more than I would have made NOT working. Massey hooked Len up with an ad, got dinner for free and put him in the best mood he had been in all day. We were calling him "Chef Cranky Pants" behind his back but Massey had him wrapped around her little finger...Guess who's Len's favorite NOW?

Tomorrow is day twenty...I am thinking about taking Massey to work with me again for luck. If I hear one more co worker mention a "Wheat Roll" again HEADS are gonna roll!

It's a crazy place I work for but I absolutely love it and it feels great to be loved. So I got put in time out...wasn't the first time but hopefully the last!

Til next time...Cotton in the corner

Sometimes You are Driving the Car...Sometimes You Are the Bug on the Windshield

My life has been through the wringer this past year...my faith has been tested and my ulcer has come back.

I am one of the luckiest people alive...just took me a year of trials to find the justice.

My new job is the best thing that has happened to me in over ten years.

I loved my old job when I first got it. When we got bought out by a large corporation the mood shifted and I squirmed in my seat. After squirming for a while I began to feel uncomfortable and eventually came to feel unwanted.

When kicked to the wayside I felt abandoned and alone.

When I woke up I was scared silly. What would or COULD I do to hold on to a job that I didn't even like anymore, because I was the sole provider for my family ?

In the words of my departed father "For Pete's sake...pick yourself up and MOVE on."

It took a while, I felt lost at my new job and struggled to keep up with kids younger than my own. After much studying and a month of faking it I have re surfaced and landed on top.

To go into work every day with a feeling of dread and the feeling that I may be fired at any given moment has been replaced with a calm and with knowledge that this restaurant WANTS me and that they appreciate me.

So it's not Boeing , working for Interpol or Warren Buffet but it is a nice restaurant that is selling a FANTASTIC product backed by ONE family...MY bosses. A husband and wife team and their youngest son.

I am not lost in a corporate shuffle, I am not "One of the little people" I am a woman who has proved herself to be a good server and worker and has been welcomed into their family and been compensated beyond my wildest dreams.

They all tease me about being skinny (which I am) and have all contributed daily to plumping me up with the most fantastic food I have ever eaten.

They added a new dessert tonight...Cannoli Cake. I told the owner I wanted to taste it and he sliced me a big chunk. With other employees following me with forks I hid and ate every bite.

I told the owner I wanted a Cannoli cake for my son's birthday...put me down on the calendar.

My ulcer seems to hurt less every day, my bank account is moving towards the black and I feel better about myself every day.

What seemed like devastation losing one job has turned into a total blessing acquiring a better one.

If anyone wants a GREAT quality meal...come see me at Mama Lucia's ... Ashley Park in Newnan. You will be like me, wonderfully surprised and happy when you walk out the door!

I am off on Tuesday and Thursday but you will find me there on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I will be the one with the biggest smile!

Til next time...COTTON

Dog Tired...

Just got in from work...feeling like Charlie LOOKS in the above picture!

Some good friends of mine came in just as I was getting off of work. A great couple of folks that I have come to be good friends with through waiting on them at work. I absolutely LOVE picking on the husband "Gomer" as I fondly call him. His wife is kinda crazy like me...I mean a "Good" crazy and they are both wonderful people. I was telling them I needed to replace the weather stripping on my doors and have all the materials but it has been so cold I have put off taking the doors off in case I got in over my head and ended up letting all the warm air out of the house by the time I figured it all out.

Gomer told me how easy it was to pull off the old stripping and just push in the new.

Whadda ya know? Gomer was right! I did the worst door in under two minutes. The cold air that use to flow through like an air conditioner on high totally vanished and I was so excited I decided to do all three exterior doors tonight. I'll have to call Wally at the gas station in Mayberry and tell him to give Gomer a raise!

I have the new weather stripping for the bottom of the doors but have opted to wait til tomorrow since I have to take the door off to nail on the new strip to the bottom of the door.


Dang! I'm a handy dandy ole woman! (with advice from Gomer)

I replaced my pipes and kitchen faucet a couple of years ago. That was a bit tougher job and required a heavy duty wrench and a bottle of wine. At least I finally got it done and felt proud of my handiwork. It is amazing what you can do when you put your mind to it.

Tomorrow I will tackle taking the doors off and putting the new sweeps on the bottom of the doors before the next Arctic wave comes blowing through our normally warm southern region.

I am a tired old woman...but a focused one. If I can make it through the last year...I can make it through any thing. With the prayers and help from so many people...we are on our way back. It is a feeling of relief and a feeling of being loved.

I am so pumped up I feel like waking Zach up to help me knock the pins out of the doors and put the sweeps on the doors tonight...but I'll let it slide til tomorrow.

I can't wait to see how much the power bill goes down now that we aren't paying to heat the outside anymore!

NOW for that caulking task I have been meaning to get to around the tubs and showers !

Only nine more days til I get a day off!! My last day off was January 16 and my next day off is February 13. I prefer it this way. If I have two days off I absolutely DREAD going back. If I have to go every day it just gets to be something I get used to doing every day like taking a bath and brushing my teeth. So for nine more days I will think of it as hygiene.

On my day off Massey is performing in a competition in Nashville and I can think of no better way to spend that one day off than a nice road trip by myself going to see my girl perform and having ten hours of doing nothing but seeing the roadside, listening to music that I like and watching my daughter smile when she sees me arrive. Well worth it !

Til next time...COTTON

"You look familiar, is your name, Dick?"

I've been a server for well over thirty one years and today I believe I met my match. The man was seated at the table, the wife was in the rest room. He grumpily ordered her a strawberry limeade and a 25oz. beer for himself. He said he wanted two limes with the beer so off to the bar I skipped to get his beer and the bowl of peanuts for "Mr. Personality."

When I came back with the drinks, nuts and two limes in a small ramekin I placed it all down on bev naps and took out my order pad.

He looked up at me as if I was the biggest idiot on the planet (granted he might not be far off THAT mark.) He gave me the ole "Eye roll" and put his thumbs and pointer fingers together to make two circles and twisting them back and forth in front of his eyes said "Look at me." I said I wanted TWO WHOLE LIMES...do you know what THOSE look like and do you think you can manage to do what I asked? Bring me two whole limes (making the googly eye sign with his hands again) and go get me a manager...do you think you can handle that?"

After quelling the desire to slap his face, I went to the back to find my manager and get the idiot TWO WHOLE LIMES. Maybe I was being rash...maybe he was fixing to show me a really neat magic trick that would have me clapping my hands together in glee!

I had the manager go back to the table with me...him carrying the limes on a dish like they were two 'golden eggs.'

He sat them down and asked what else he could do for him and my new buddy smirked that would do for now. He then looked at me and said smugly "NOW maybe perhaps we can move forward and you will listen to what I actually ask for."

Oh boy! Now I was REALLY looking forward to the next hour with this delightful fellow. He asked me every question he could about everything on the menu and somehow I kept that "Mom's REALLY ticked" look off of my face that tell my kids exactly when I have had enough.

Back and forth he went...should he get his steak medium or medium well, should he get a lobster tail or salmon, did his wife wanted a baked Idaho or a sweet potato and he wanted that steak really juicy, but not too juicy, "Are you getting all of this down?" None of this was said with even a hint of good manners, and I decided his wife must take a xanax every time she hears his car pull in the drive at home. She was pretty nice ...when he allowed her to speak(which wasn't often.) Of course he was such an ass, Hitler would have seemed nice sitting next to this guy.

When I went to ring in the order my manager said "Make sure everything is perfect for this guy, okay?"

For Pete's sake, I'm not THAT stupid!

These are the type that you have to show you are really a good server, better than they want you to be or expect you to be. I hit my mark. The food was cooked perfectly, looked great and after dreading asking him if everything was alright with their meal found out that he was finally at a loss for a snide remark.

Not to brag (maybe just a bit) but I feel like I am truly excellent at what I do and understand the steps of service that give my guests a pleasant seamless experience when they dine at my table. On the other hand, I felt like choking the guy and telling him what a complete jerk he was.

When he ordered his next beer...I knew what to do. Go back to the walk in cooler and get the goof ball two more whole limes (which AREN'T cheap) and present them to his majesty for his approval. When I came back with them and his beer, he said "Now you're starting to get it."

When they finished their meal I offered desert which the silent wife thankfully declined and I went to print them a check. When I put the check down, my buddy said he wanted to see the manager again.

I went to get the manager again and he asked what was wrong now? I told him I didn't know but I was almost sure he was fixing to find out.

I steered clear of the table while he talked to the guy...it's not like I was growing to enjoy being near him anyway.

When my manager came in the back he said the guy just wanted to say how great everything was and what a nice experience it had been.

I sucked in my pride once again and went to pick up the check. When I returned it to him he said his wife said he should leave me a good tip and he thought maybe a good kick in the butt would be a good one.
I felt like saying he had already done that several times over and no more were required or needed.

He left an 'okay' tip.

If he had left me a great tip I may have thought it was worth the effort, but it wasn't.

He is just a guy that gets his jollies from treating servers as if they are ONLY THAT..."Servers."

I made it through and even my manager said he was glad it was me that waited on him. I made sure everything was right, ignored his sarcasm and made it difficult for him to pick my service apart.

I should have thanked him like he had given me a hundred dollars and said, "Next time you come in be sure to ask for me, my name is Jessie."

Thank the Lord people like this don't happen often, or I would be the one that needs the xanax.

"HEARDDD"!!!

One of my favorite co workers is a cook at the restaurant.

When he is not in the line of fire (AKA) off the clock, he is a mild mannered and soft spoken man.

When he is "on the clock" he is a mad man...a seemingly possessed human that feels the weight of his position commands him to be "ON" at all times.

It rattles him if you speak to him directly, rather than going through the expo..(the person in the window that expedites the food and should be the only one talking to the cooks).

He has more quips, quotes and euphemisms for his job than I have ever heard in my thirty years of being a server.

Sometimes, even I have a hard time making a connection with the point he is trying to make, while flipping 30 steaks on the grill, as the orders keep ticking through on the computer that is spitting out tickets by the second .

Two of his favorite sayings are "No Jokes" and "All kidding aside".

He came out of the kitchen tonight to clock out from his shift.

His back, which I patted as he walked by was soaked with sweat ( it is usually about 94 degrees in the kitchen).

I told him as he walked by..."Let me tell you just an observation that I have made (all kidding aside)."

When he is on the line...he is ALL business.

I cannot think of ANYONE that is more less LIKELY TO TELL A JOKE OR TO BE KIDDING ABOUT ANYTHING WORK RELATED THAN HIM !!!!

I told him that it isn't like he is standing in the back of the kitchen making funny hats out of newspaper or saying "pull my thumb" or "watch THIS trick"!!!

We all know that he is STRICTLY professional and strictly there to do HIS job.

I worry that we may kill him with out petty requests (usually trying to cover up our OWN mistakes) or that he may burst open at the seams with our demands (from the customers).

Maybe he is just trying to rein all of us servers in, to remind us of what a hard and challenging job he has... or maybe he is just trying to save his own sanity in a brutally hard and fast paced job.

But whichever it is ...I feel proud to have him as a fellow employee, and feel lucky that he takes my observations with the intent that they are given.

"NO JOKES" ...."ALL KIDDING ASIDE"...

He is a person that takes his job seriously, does his job deliberately and conscientiously...and without his crazy, manic and wild demeanor... my job would just be a PURE hell.

All kidding aside.... THANK YOU RANDY !!!

My Yankee Connection

One of my faithful blog readers is a wonderful friend that has escaped the heat and humidity of the south, to return to her New York roots. She has three young kids and a wonderful husband.

She and I became acquainted when we worked together in a restaurant as the dayshift waitresses of a local restaurant. I had worked for the company for over ten years...moving from one store to another...managed one store for several years, and came to a new store that had opened since the owners had started to sell franchises.

We worked for a boss that can be summed up in two words..."BIN LADEN". He suffered from the Napoleon complex in a HUGE way (no pun intended....well, maybe a "little"...another pun)!!

He could be as sweet as silk..and then BAM!!! He could sling on that turban and seem to have an M-16 hanging over his shoulder in a matter of a few seconds.

Talk about a hot head!!

Needless to say, I enjoyed pushing his buttons more than I should have, and bore the brunt of his temper quite often.

We had liquor permits that we had to have on display...a drivers license size card that showed your picture and name.

I found a picture of ole Ossama Bin Laden one day in the paper that was the exact size of our liquor permit picture. I taped it over our boss's picture on his permit card.

Everyone that worked there thought it was not only hilarious, but VERY appropriate.

Our tyrant of a boss (who actually COULD be very nice, but had a fuse as short as his stature) took five dollars out of my paycheck for "tampering with the permits".

He should have known better, having known me for almost fifteen years.

I went right back to the newspaper, and found a picture of the pop star "prince" who was at the time going by a symbol instead of his name. When the press referred to him , they called him "The Artist Formerly Known As". By the way....How ridiculous was THAT?

So I find me a pic of Prince that exactly matched the size of my liquor permit photo...taped it over my own picture, and in the exact print that had shown my name on the card...taped over my name "The Waitress Formerly Known As".

BAM!! He took fifteen dollars out of my paycheck. And threatened to fire me if I touched another permit on the wall.

My friend and I had many , many hours of fun tormenting our "little" Napoleon. It was always on the sly and always just under the radar, so that we couldn't be fired.

She and I "ran" that place...we just let him "THINK" he was the boss. The bond that we formed in that short period of time will last a lifetime, and although she has moved miles and miles away from me...she will be close to my heart forever.

We had nicknames for all the regulars and other employees (only known to us) and shared a million laughs together.

She had a baby...moved back to New York...had two more babies...and is living out her dream of being a MOM...one that she was born for. She is a compassionate, articulate and intelligent woman, and I feel proud to call her my friend.

We speak to each other only once every year or so, but thanks to the internet, we have been keeping in touch more and more.

The years that I worked with and spent with her are precious to me. I can bust a gut thinking of some of our antics...and sometimes wonder if "OLE" Napoleon ever got over the anxiety that we inflicted on him on an almost daily basis.

Friends are a treasure to me that I will never take for granted. If you are my friend...you will be my friend for life. You will always be in my heart and soul.

If you are my friend...know that I will always love you and that I will always be there for you...now, tomorrow or ten years from tomorrow.

To my sweet "JO JO"... Thanks for the memories, thanks for loving me and thanks for reading my petty blog. You of all people know how much my writing means to me, how it fills me with satisfaction and gives me a place to show my heart.

I hope that every one has an outlet that they enjoy as much as I enjoy ... relish and appreciate... this vehicle, vice, space of my own, "my baby"...my BLOG.

Because of my friends, because of my family, because of my wacky interpretation of life... I am here...writing all of this to all of you!

And HEY !! Thanks for reading it. It means a lot to me...more than you could ever imagine.

Till next time...COTTON

Joel With The Soul

There is a dear friend of mine, that used to be my manager, but has gotten a promotion and has also flown our little coop. He is probably the most attuned, conscientious and dedicated person that I have ever met. Not to mention he is the cutest "little boy" I have ever met. When I started with my company, he was a cook...one of the best. He is always fired up, boosting the troops, egging us on and inspiring us every step of the way. He is a "corporate" dream come true. I miss and think of him every time that I walk through the door at work. He is ALWAYS positive, always upbeat... and always an inspiration to every person that he comes in contact with. Unfortunately he has moved on to a restaurant that doesn't appreciate him to his full potential. In my thirty years of being a server, I have NEVER EVER met a more dedicated and inspired manager. Obviously in downtown Atlanta, they are either extremely lazy or extremely stupid. He is the epitome of excellence in a leader, manager and boss. He has come into his position the hard way... through the ranks. We can only hope that he can somehow find his way back to us, back to the people that love and admire him... and appreciate him. He is missed on a daily basis, and talked about every time that one of his "little Quotes" is spoken. "Pick it up, don't pass it up " is one of his big ones, about picking up the floor of the restaurant. When my brother in law had open heart surgery; the nurse that took us back to see him was walking down the hall of the surgery floor with us in tow... and there was a scrap of duct tape on the floor.. she knelt down to pick it up, and I just wanted to say to her "Don't pass it up, pick it up" ...but obviously my manager had gotten to her already! It is the small things like this that not only get the point across, but make the difference in perception from the guest's point of view of our restaurant. I am hoping that he will come back home to us, to inspire and encourage us even more.The store that he is currently at is obviously filled with idiots; not knowing what a mountain of knowledge, experience and wealth of information he has to share with them... to not only help the store, but help them as well. COME BACK SOON... We still love you, and live by your rules everyday (at least the smart ones do)... the others will be gone by the time you get back !!! TILL LATER....COTTON

The In"VINCE"able Force

One of my managers at work is a consummate Drill Sargent.He can rally the troops, or break them down to the point of submission. Another former military man... I can guarantee that he has probably never been late for anything in his entire adult life. If punctuality is his strong suit, I don't know what in the world we could possibly call his work ethic. Some of the servers either can't stand him ( a sign that he is a good manager) or fear the crap out of him. Being a lifer, I get along great with him. As I have mentioned in previous posts... the harder you work for our company, the better you are treated. I know one thing for sure... he is determined at all times to make sure all of our guests have a positive experience at our store, and leave feeling satisfied and happy (even the guests that don't really deserve it). This is the main reason I quit being in management... I just couldn't stomach it anymore. But he does, and the guests love him. When he is in the window expediting food... it gets DONE ! We will have Captain Cunningham on the kitchen side of the window, and our drill sarge on our side of the window... Let the shouting begin! He will call you out when you don't carry your weight, do your job, or support the team effort. Sometimes even I don't agree with his decisions, but at the same time I realize that he in fact IS my boss; in charge of making the decisions, and as an employee, it is my job to follow his directions...no questions asked, no comebacks needed... JUST DO IT! The good thing about him is that if you do a stand out job, he will be one of the first ones to pat you on the back, and say "Well done, soldier." If you do a bad job, be prepared to "drop and give him 50. " He looks amazingly like Dave Chappelle ( another one of my heroes) and it doesn't hurt to have a celebrity in our ranks. One of the things that most all our servers don't understand is that when you have a boss... they ARE YOUR BOSS. There is not room to quibble, bitch about or question their authority. They are the ones making the choices, and taking the fall when they have to. Sometimes I wonder who will need the defibrillator first... Captain Cunningham or the Sarge?? We may have to get two of them, just to make sure we are covered. He is a "STRICTLY BY THE BOOK" kind of manager. And if you follow the rule book as closely as he does, the problems disappear, the shift runs smoothly and the job gets done. It's no wonder that "Desert Storm" went as well as it did... He was over there. Maybe we need to send him to Iraq.... Cause I don't see it as going too well at this point. He would have the insurgents running for their lives, and they wouldn't even have to look back, because they would hear his thunderous threats, and would be shaking in their turbans.If all the employees would JUST follow the rules and instructions that management gives them, whether they agree with them or not...our little "battlefield" would run more smoothly... and we'd have a LOT less casualties. Till next time... COTTON

Andre The Giant... "Doofus"

Here comes another one.. the people that I work with are JUST too good of material not to use for my blog. Hopefully this will all lead to my career as a stand up comedienne or a book of essays about my life. Andre IS a giant... at about six foot four , to me he is a giant; and no matter what my height is ... he will always be a doofus to me. My spell check just flagged the word DOOFUS, but if you knew Dre, you would know that spell check was wrong. He started as a server in our restaurant, moved up to a bartender... which in our store is like working in another realm altogether. It is an entire different entity from the rest of the store. Of course with it being a bar, there are people on their phones to their bookies, while watching the games on the wide screen above their tottering heads. The bartenders are probably calculating their own losses, while licking the wounds of the losers with another shot of booze... Thus is the life of a bartender. My Giant is a man that I have always loved and respected.... even though he can be as slow as Granny Smith to get me a drink for my table. He is the ONLY person that the phrase DOOFUS has been been appreciated and laughed at. My husband becomes furious when I call him that... it may be too close to home, or it might just be one of the many things that I do that ticks him off. ... Although I am off only one day a week, on the Tuesday that I come back in to start my work week again... Dre always says... "What did you bring us today?" I always cook for my family on Monday nights, and my co-workers are foaming at the mouth for my leftovers, which I always bring them. I could come in and say " it was rutabagas and Liver" ; and Dre would say "Let's give it a try!" He does so much for our company from service at the bar to contractor skills behind the scenes. He is married to a woman that I admire completely... mainly because She wears his butt out!! But what amazes me even more is that he is SO in love with her... he would probably walk over hot coals for her(maybe he already has). She is cute as a button, and as hot as a firecracker.Our once life long bachelor (and doofus) has been transformed in a husband, father, and provider in one big swoop. He is constantly smiling, always upbeat and willing to lend a hand. He's just such a big, goofy lovable guy, that I am surprised he managed to stay single for as long as he did. As with many other workers at our store, he has recently gone back to school ( I guess he wants to finally dispel the "Doofus" label.) But he will always be my cute, big ole Doofus.... it is one of his most endearing qualities, and one of the many reasons he is just so easy to like and hard to get mad at! He will be missed when he leaves; but will probably come back to visit every Tuesday morning with a fork in his hand... looking for another left over hand out!

"Scotty...Beam me up!"

One of the most important and influential people that I have ever met in my life, is my BIG boss.. Let's call him "Scott." He is probably the most important person that I have ever known in a workplace environment. He is an absolute mentor to me , and an addition to the store that I work for. He is probably the most attuned, consistent, professional boss that I have ever had the honor to work for. He is almost as obsessive as me in regards to the store that he tries to run on a daily basis. His label system, his notes on the wall, and his constant verbal direction; often and frequently fall on deaf ears... I am assuming that a lot of twenty year olds have severe hearing problems. To be an 48 year old woman in a store full of twenty year olds, is one thing.... to try to make them do their job is another. But my boss never waivers, or gives up. He is constantly at the helm, trying his best to influence a bunch of bratty kids that we CAN make a difference, CAN make a profit by being the BEST that we can be. Unfortunately only the Old farts listen or care... But isn't that what is wrong with the entire Nation as a whole? Where is the concern.. where is the conscience... where is the commitment? I know that I am just a server, just an employee, but when have American's forgotten to appreciate the fact that they are living in the greatest Nation in the world, and could always be super-sizing it at a drive through window? All my co- workers... (at least the slack ones) think that he is way too strict... but that is where they differ with me. He is an amazing man of integrity, and a man that actually WANTS to make a difference. Granted he has a small and limited number of employees that feel the same way... But it only takes a spark to ignite a fire... and as long as he has me as the lighter fluid... baby... it is going to be a bonfire. I take my hat off to him , my other managers, and the people that CARE. It truly is a DOG eat DOG world, and if you don't take care of the person that fills your food bowl.. you will surely go hungry.. and the collapse of the whole food chain will certainly NOT work to your advantage. I am so grateful that I have the boss and the managers that I work for... We are all working for the same goal... consistency, value and the greatest output of service that can ever be expected from anyone walking through our doors. "Thanks Scotty" I couldn't love or respect you more Till Later COTTON