Stopped dating someone because they were rude to a server. Punished one of my kids (not long, just to make a point) after not returning the buggy after making groceries. Foh with that not human decency ish
@vinot_jr@SaintsForecast Respectfully disagree. Growing up in Nola, definitely had TBS/Braves and not whatever channel/Astros were on. Not to mention WGN/Cubs. Swear I never remember seeing Astros on TV.
There was a woman who sold rice and stew outside my office building on Broad Street. Every day for 4 years. Big pot. Blue plastic chairs. She knew everyone's order before they reached her table.
Her name was Mama Chidi.
Mine was the last plate before she packed up. 1:45pm. Every day without fail she'd see me coming and start dishing before I even sat down. Extra meat. Never charged me for it. I asked her once why.
She said I looked like someone who skipped breakfast.
She was right every time.
2019 she stopped showing up. No warning. Just gone. I asked around. Nobody knew anything. I switched to a restaurant down the road. More expensive. Smaller portions. Spent 4 years just quietly missing a plate of rice I never properly appreciated.
Last month my colleague forwarded a Twitter post into our work group.
A young guy. Maybe 25. Saying his mother used to sell food on Broad Street before she had a stroke in 2019 that took her left side. That she was recovering but kept asking about her regulars. That she cried one day saying she never got to say goodbye to any of them.
I DM'd him immediately.
He called me 10 minutes later.
She was sitting right next to him.
I heard her voice through the phone. Slower than I remembered. But she laughed when he told her who it was.
She said she always saved my plate last because quiet people need someone looking out for them.
I visited her in Mushin on Saturday. She can't stand long anymore. But she sat up straight in that chair and watched me eat everything she'd made.
Didn't let me leave without packing food for the road.
Some people just decide to take care of you. Before you even know you need it.