I Did Not See That Coming

It’s amazing to me how completely different we human beings can be in all things. Our approach to different situations, our tastes in food, music, clothes, friends.  We are all human, same basic set up with every body but yet so very, very different.  You think you know what you can expect from people and then, boom, someone surprises you. It’s one of the wonderful things about being human, our diversity. As those great sages are wont to say, it would be a pretty boring world if we were all the same.

I was out having lunch with a friend at a small deli near my home and we had a nice table by the window next to the front door.  It’s the type of place where you order at the counter and they bring the food to your table when it’s ready.  Several young women were working behind the counter, occasionally coming out to clear tables when necessary.  Pretty casual.  My friend and I had finished our lunches and pushed our plates to the side while we continued with our visit.  We were deep into conversation, not too aware of what was going on in the deli when a woman strode up to our table and reached for my plate.  I glanced at her quickly and assumed she was a staff member there to clear my plate away.  Her hand darted out and instead of taking hold of my plate she grabbed the half eaten mini scone I had left on my plate and with a big smile she asked, “ Are you done with this? Do you mind if I take it? “  I was startled but said, yes, I was done, she could have it. I fully expected her to say that she had a dog outside who would love it.  Instead she said, “ I had such a craving for something like this and this will be perfect to satisfy it. No point in wasting it.”  She popped it in her mouth and breezed out the door.

Well....gobsmacked would be understating the effect that had on us.  "That was a first!” was my friend’s comment, finally. I am 58 years old and have eaten in many, many restaurants in many different places around the world and have never, ever had a stranger take food off my plate and eat it. At least not right in front of me.  I wasn’t upset or angry or disgusted just totally and completely surprised.  And it takes a lot to surprise me.  The woman was maybe forty, nicely dressed and with someone, although I didn’t get a chance to see who it was.  She wasn’t a hungry street kid, desperate for something to eat.  Just your average woman with a craving and no boundaries.  Maybe she was menopausal…that might make some sense.  Hhhmmm.

So the take away from this episode was this….maybe we should all leave our leftovers on a table somewhere and anyone that wants to can come by and pick through them for what they may have felt they missed out in their own meal.  Maybe there was a dish they wanted to try but were afraid they might not like it, maybe they ordered something they didn’t like and needed a different taste in their mouth, or maybe they were still hungry. Hey, waste not, want not right?  Instead of trying to make the restaurants compost their table scraps, just leave them out. Let the customers finish those fries, or the coleslaw you left behind. I am sure there is someone who loves the crusty edge of the macaroni and cheese that often gets left.  Or not, depending on your sensibility.  What do you think?  A great solution to the problem of waste in our society or just ick, that is really gross?

My hat is off to the charming lady who politely went after what she wanted in that moment, I really did not see that coming.