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.
It took a lot longer than I was planning on, but the bluebonnet State Connect hat is finally finished! Now I have to see about getting a jersey made! #AllForTX
…of the same style and size in the angler’s boat.
Curtis Lee Daniels, of Willow Park, was arrested and charged with violating fishing tournament law. Because the tournament’s total prize value exceeded $10,000, the charge is a third-degree felony. (3/3)
On Sunday, March 8, #TexasGameWardens in Wood County were contacted by organizers of the Lake Fork Lure Co. Tournament to investigate a bass presented during weigh-in that raised concerns of possible tampering. The fish was flagged after a metal detecting wand alerted…(1/3)
We are now approaching the last 100 laps on a beautiful day for the 2001 Daytona 500.
Earnhardt is making moves, but the cars are starting to bump together.