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 — I must report this calmly — the basket emptied, and a new one appeared.
"Did we…?"
"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 — 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.
The Spurs have the ball down 98-88
• Refs miss a goaltending call
• Ball goes off Chet’s foot
• They ignore the coach’s challenge request
• SGA gets free throws
• Mitch Johnson is hit with a tech
• Lu Dort and Tony Brothers laughing on the sideline
Us fans deserve better than this smh
@BillyTinkle This is hilarious. It seems as though Giants and cowboys fans agree on a few things lol. Both of them are okay with each other, Washington is irrelevant, and the Eagles are Satan’s asshole after spicy Taco Bell. 😂😂😂 Twitter is a helluva place I tell ya lmao
An NBA referee sparked controversy after being spotted wearing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s signature shoes during the Lakers–Thunder game, raising suspicions among fans.
Anthony Edwards was reportedly shocked by what he saw, while Kevin Durant jokingly added fuel to the moment, saying, “Now they’ve been exposed. SGA’s giving them shoes every game in exchange for 20 free throws.” 😭💀
@realapp Bar is pretty low considering that the next best player on the team is 30+ years old and has been basically relegated to backup SG/SF. His shooting is some of the worst in his career. Then you have Naji, Gaff, Christie, Middleton, and PJ who are all the definition of mid.