Labor Day 2011: The Holiday

As I walked to work at 7:30 Monday morning my senses became aware of a foul odor, slightly sweet and sour, pungent, which grew stronger until I had to put my handkerchief over my nose and mouth to prevent gagging.

When I arrived at  the source of the stench there were two garbage trucks idling and piles of boxes, bags and other containers waiting to be chucked inside. The stench obviously caused by rotting foods. The refrigeration in the truck trailer - used to store the leftovers (and trash) of some big party event - died and no one was aware until the garbage trucks arrived to take it away.  I cannot imagine anyone surviving the initial blast when those doors were opened.

All was well at the restaurant; staff arrived either early or on-time and we were open at 11:30 as usual. At 11:33 a stream of people came through those doors; a party of 12 closely followed by a party of 9. These 2 parties were settled quickly as smaller parties arrived in a steady flow that continued throughout the day.

The 7 servers were put through their paces; the locosguys jumped in - one behind the bar, the other in the kitchen - to help keep things moving quickly.  Other servers were scheduled to arrive every hour and they did so right in the nick-of-time, as they say. I was all over the place cleaning tables, replacing flatware, delivering extra napkins, all while greeting guests and answering the G*ddam phone. Due to the bad thumbs I am not allowed to handle dishes or glassware

Of course the damned plantar wart picked this time to deliver pain to my tired foot to the point that I was hobbling and trying to put as little weight as possible on it. By the end of my shift I wanted only to get off my feet and relieve the pain.  I knew if I sat down for an AS cocktail I would never get up again.   Hobbled home (again) took a few aspirin, and hit the bed and read for a while. 

Bumper-to-bumper traffic forced most people to hang around a few extra hours.  Spending it in town and not in traffic seemed the better option.  That said, I have no idea how the evening ended (Monday night Karaoke is always a big draw) but if the day crowd was an indication, it was a crazy ending of a super Summer season.  Nobody wanted it to end.

It was over for me and I was happy to be home and off my sore feet.

And so it went.
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