It’s funny how experience teaches us what to consider right and proper as well as what to reject as substandard and downright unacceptable.
This is the first of two examples.
When I was growing up, I worked in various capacities at an exclusive golf club in St. Paul. These positions included work as a caddy, the caddy-master, a pro-shop retailer, a golf-club modifier, a golf range picker, a bartender, a waiter, and a busboy. I never shined shoes, but I did wonder about it. I wasn’t a very good swimmer either, so lifeguarding was a non-starter.
I remember the elaborate parties. Our task included the set-up, the serving, and a tear-down within one shift. There was always another reason to repurpose the room on a mostly immediate timeline. This sometimes prevented us from leaving the clubhouse for nearly 40 hours on a weekend. "Hi Mom, Remember me?"
Most dinners were quite extravagant with only the best crystal, numerous silverware placements, and more plate sizes than you can imagine. The tables were draped in colored silk underneath a handcrafted netting all lighted from beneath. Shimmering candles encased in opulent display pieces surrounded by the freshest of fresh flowers were carefully placed on each whiter-than-white tablecloth. Live bands, Disco-balls (remember those?), and strangely shaped dance floors (another task) were standard. Expectations that each ostentatious effort would be met with mandates that the next event would exceed the highest bar of the last.
This is the second of two examples.
When I was much older, I worked for a wine and liquor wholesaler. I had a few different positions there as well but suffice to say that in all areas, I was exposed to a good measure of enological revelation. On many occasions, we sampled extremely rare wines. Our distributors had but one bottle and there would be no more – not ever!
Along with this truly blessed experience, I was also quite familiar with the dollars and cents of wine pricing. I knew what we paid as a wholesaler. I knew what our customers paid, and I knew what the retail market was charging from package stores to restaurants, from bottle size to ounce.
This is the result of examples combined.
Those two work experiences flavored my taste for the world. I considered perfection within the scope of my experience.
Because of these examples, I lost the ability to eat in most restaurants. The establishments were so very ordinary. The wait-staff was slow and made mistakes. The food was mostly mediocre. "Fancy" was a colored placemat sometimes made out of paper that one could draw on! The coffee? Horrendous!
Where was the opulence that was expected of me that I now expected from everybody else? And consider the arrogance of the Restaurateur! They have the nerve to charge outrageous prices for a 6-ounce glass of wine. I might express outrage better by calling it downright thievery! I knew the pennies spent to acquire each ounce.
This is reality learned.
There are all kinds of restaurants. Like anything else, some aim for wealthy clientele and some do not. Some are excited to serve families with children, some will shy away from this group. Some prefer the concept of the greasy spoon, lunch-from-a-truck, or the cost-is-no-object celebrations of weddings, anniversaries, and job promotions. Some provide authentic ethnic cuisine to those who yearn for a taste of home. And others are blessed and educated by this experience! Sometimes a truck-stop can be more enjoyable than a 7-course meal.
Yes, they have unique and individualized purposes. They also need to show a profit over and above the expenses incurred. They need to provide a living wage to those who serve.
I finally realized that ‘outrageous’ was a concept that looked only at 1 point of the financials. Within my statements, the hard-cost expense was not tempered with the realization of the hundreds of other expenses required to keep the doors open. My judgments were arrogant and they served only to limit and constrict any ability to enjoy what was in front of me.
But, I was young.
Once I considered the whole picture, I found that I am capable of thoroughly enjoying the restaurant experience. I stopped searching for perfection. This goal is self-defeating at best. I realized that in many cases, perfect is not even desirable.
This is today's interpretation.
Not only are there all kinds of restaurants, but there are also all kinds of people.
Some are extravagant, some are not. Some have families and some do not. Some like ethnic cooking, some do not. Some like expensive wines and some do not. Some expect lighted tables and strangely designed dance floors. Some have no need for the lights and have 2 left feet.
The restaurant experience comes alive when we can enjoy all types of foods, surroundings, and decorations. We are gifted with choice and experience.
The same can be said of people. We are gifted with the ability to engage with all kinds of people. We have the choice to experience the array of God-created human variations. Life will explode with enjoyment when we allow for diversity, learn from others, taste their lives, and share our own. None of these contacts will shine with perfection. Thank God for that!
May you find love wherever you go and may you provide the same to all you meet. Happy Valentine's Day
"Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact, God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be" 1 Corinthians 12:15-19
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