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.
@WorldWideWob Just randomly dropping the LJ 4 point play in the TL the same day the pacers lose their top 4 pick, after the franchise’s best player tearing his Achilles, the worst season in franchise history is assault, wob.
I've been wrong about this Purdue team at every step of the season.
Thought they looked bad at the start of the season. 17-1
Thought the season was over. Ripped off the BTT and a run to the Elite 8.
Tonight, I think they get blown out by Arizona.
An annual reminder:
If you fill out more than one iteration of a bracket, you are a coward.
None of this, "Well in this bracket I picked underdogs and this other bracket what I think will happen."
🚮🚮🚮🚮
@PacersKev@mcuban@Pacers Yes. I fear the extreme idea of rookie free agency only makes it more difficult for mid-market teams to attract talent.
I’m more excited for Pacers next season than I’ve been for any season at the jump in a long time.
And will still go to games this season.