For months and months I have been frequenting a particular place for lunch. Oh, to be sure I have mixed it up a bit. In fact I found two other restaurants of the same chain in my local area where I would go occasionally to avoid being considered something of an oddball and to further mix it up a bit. I have been a regular because of lingering issues from recent illness. My dietary choices have become severely limited. The particular place serves chicken and turkey along with sides that do not threaten my delicately balanced digestive system. I guess it is okay to say it is Boston Market, which has risen high on my list of eateries , for I think they were instrumental in allowing me to return to health in some measure.
I can get turkey and mashed potatoes and creamed spinach slopped in a bowl, have it called a Market Bowl and off I go. It is not the least expensive lunch, and not the most expensive. That I have been able to eat it over and over again is a testament to its fundamental good taste. I have come to like is so much and order it so often that when I walk in they help says :" Will you be having the usual today Sir ?".. Probably behind my back they refer to me as Mr. Turkey Market Bowl.
Early on I explained that I had been sick and could only eat certain foods, because it is pretty weird for a guy to come in 5 days in a row and order the same meal for lunch. That meal allowed my gut to heal and in my mind saved me. Because of the benefit I derived from that meal, which was great, I have no qualms about ordering it over and over again. It taste good to me.
The cook behind the line who would cut the turkey to apply to the bowl has been there the entire time I have been ordering the bowl. She is Hispanic, no doubt from South America and each day she has dutifully but together part of my order.
The other day she was on the other side of the counter not preparing food, but serving customers. When I cam in , I very clearly noticed and said to her "What are you doing out here ?" Her uniform was different and she was doing face to face with customers. She started to smile broadly and laughed a little that I had noticed . But what was clear was that she was happy that someone had noticed and her little promotion within ranks was making her happy. So I made it a point to tell her how nice it was to see her in her new position, where clearly she was going to grow, perhaps into a manager. Her move up made me happy for her.
She got me to thinking about how we have left our immigration situation drift for ever until it has become a thorn in our paw. It has caused us to lose part of our humanity , we have become enraged, embittered and reactionary.
Our responses are largely directed toward the immigrants , who for the most part are like the lady seeking better opportunity by stepping out from behind the stove. We however have our own limitations and I fear that we are well beyond where we should be as the burdens of providing services for half of central America is draining the coffers and harming the citizenry.
In actuality our ire should be reserved for the political drones who have let this situation fester unchecked. We do have an immigration problem, we are overburdened, they do make enormous demands socially, economically and those burdens threaten American way of life. But let us not forget that the problem is not created by immigrants but rather by out own leaders who can not seem to exercise any form of intellectual problem resolution and allow the situation to worsen.
The flip side to the young ladies happiness at her minor promotion and my noticing it is seen only a mile away where outside of the Home Depot Store, over 100 day laborers sit in the shade of the trees seeking a days work for a days pay. They are sad sights, downtrodden, surly and mistrustful. The contrast is striking, some come and succeed, more often they come and do not. Upwards of 75% are fully dependent on public welfare programs and it is drowning entire states and regions.
Our leaders need to get this under control. DO Something