USA. A Mexican restaurant. We had not yet ordered anything, and the food was already arriving.
Chips. Salsa. Unrequested. Free.
I stopped the waiter. "We have not earned these."
"They just come with the table, man."
They come with the TABLE. In my land, hospitality is a debt. Every gift creates an obligation, weighed carefully, returned in the proper season with interest of feeling. Here, the gift arrives before you have even proven you can pay for dinner.
This is not an appetizer. This is a declaration: we trust you. Eat.
I ate with the gravity the moment deserved. And then โ I must report this calmly โ the basket emptied, and a new one appeared.
"Did weโฆ?"
"Refill," the waiter said. "It's bottomless."
Bottomless. They have wells of salsa. The supply lines of this nation are beyond anything my ancestors imagined.
My friend warned me. "Don't fill up on chips, dude."
Too late. I had accepted three baskets. Honor demanded each one be finished โ an unfinished gift is an insult. By the time my actual food arrived, I was a ruined man.
I was not hungry. I was not comfortable. I had been defeated by a courtesy.
Generosity that arrives before the request cannot be repaid. It can only be survived.
I know the rule now. I have made my peace with the basket. One basket. Two at the most.
Who am I deceiving. There is no number of baskets I would refuse. The trust of a nation is in that salsa, and I intend to honor all of it.
@acethebulllly i love your long posts and analysis. informative and educational. some ppl are just lazy and want to rip the benefit without wanting to learn. ๐ซ
@acethebulllly thought iโd msg and thank u as well for posting ur analysis. iโm still learning & I donโt have access to these data. I donโt get time or can afford either. Your posts help me understand & learn A LOT.
THANK YOU. I appreciate u giving away ur knowledge selflessly ๐๐ฝ
@OInvests Thank you for this. For someone still learning to trade, these kind of posts are incredibly helpful. ๐๐ฝ
and so so grateful for people like you who give away knowledge freely.
@CourageousRo some ppl here are just so weird ๐ฅด
she promotes or not promote itโs her life. stop dictating what others should or should not do. Yikes!!!