Husband of Tanya, father of Madison and Cameron and journalism adviser of many. Passionate about family, journalism, leadership, M&Ms/coffee & Duke basketball.
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.
CONGRATULATIONS to this year's Pacemaker finalists in newspaper/newsmagazine and specialty magazine! We'll honor finalists and announce winners at the Boston convention. Join us.
https://t.co/EpnHOg4TQm
Congrats Morgan Hooker, Portfolio of the Year Design,
Khadijia Khan, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion “A Walk in Her Shoes” & Caroline Steidley, Story of the Year, “Former KHS student set to be executed”
https://t.co/nRYTD1Nm9t
https://t.co/Izqsw5Ao7W
@KirkwoodHS@TheKirkwoodCall
CONGRATULATIONS to all of our finalists for NSPA Individual Awards, celebrating the nation's best individual work in scholastic journalism. Join us Nov. 4 in Boston for the awards ceremony.
https://t.co/4TF7IsmI4B
It’s a great day for journalism! Breakout sessions? Break with a Pro? On site critique? National Student Media Contest? Attendees: what are you looking forward to today? #nhsjc
So good to be together. Stop by Exhibit Hall 1 to meet the sponsors and exhibitors and get some swag. They’re here until 7 p.m. tonight and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. tomorrow. #nhsjc
there are teachers and students in other countries who just…don’t have to worry every day that someone will murder them at school. and that’s mind boggling to me