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.
@johnnygwitz Jack watching the double J's on SNY and calling the plays with both of you. Wishing we were there but he has school tomorrow. See you Sat and Sun.
@rosannascotto When my son was in public school,I would give him mental health days. I had a rule,if you had a bunch of sick days &were out, then I could not give you 1 or 2. He never played sick and had mental health days to go see a movie he really wanted to see on opening day.
@deancain Thank you for the wonderful hug! Hope you like your Superman and Bugs Bunny Bobbleheads. Thank you for coming to Chiller Con. I wish we could have talked more. Have a blessed day and safe trip home.
@rosannascotto I have been waiting for Gov Hochul to redo bail reform, now 2 weeks before election she decides more police on subways. I now decided who has my vote. Bail reform needs to go.
@MariaBartiromo Watching the parade & my husband says that is my fathers 1st cousin (Frank Guariglia). I asked why our families have never met. He said our families lost touch. Do you remember him?