Wednesday, January 01, 2020

A Stranger and I share an amusing event ...

I've written about this little incident before but that was over 10 years ago and I think it bears repeating. It occurred when I was driving North to visit my children in NY and had stopped for breakfast.


It was just past 6 AM when I entered the restaurant and I saw that only one other customer was there. He was a nice looking young man and I nodded a silent “good morning” to him as I was seated. I ordered a Spanish Omelet and coffee and noted that my friend was equally conservative … 2 eggs, no meat, a biscuit and coffee.

We were just getting down to eating when we heard the loud approach of an 18-wheeler and, a few minutes later, the driver of the truck was being seated. Now there were three of us in the room and, once again, we nodded to each other pleasantly.

Our new man was very large & I wasn’t surprised when he ordered the equivalent of 3 breakfasts. It took two waitresses to carry out all that he’d ordered and it was placed ceremoniously in front of him. He had pancakes, 3 eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits in gravy and a side order of their special hash browns with cheese and a large Pepsi to wash it all down.

The breakfast seemed to be literally swimming in butter, gravy and syrup but there was an addition to it that caught my eye. A large slice of twisted orange had been placed artistically atop the pancakes and the driver literally reared back when he saw that. Then, very carefully, with thumb and forefinger, he plucked the offensive orange slice from the stack and, with a sigh of relief, deposited it in the ash tray.

The stranger and I could only smile and shake our heads as we locked eyes across the room. We didn’t have to hide the look of amusement on our faces however since there was no way that the truck driver would have seen us. Now that he had successfully rid himself of the one healthy element of the meal he was completely and happily engrossed in the orgy of eating.

7 Comments:

Blogger NCmountainwoman said...

You have to hope that the driver was planing a break after that heavy meal. I should think it might make him drowsy to get back in the cab and drive. We are often amazed at the amount of food some people consume in restaurants.

4:29 PM  
Blogger Marie Smith said...

Lol. Wonder where he is today? Maybe he’ll outlive all of us!

4:54 PM  
Blogger Anvilcloud said...

I have to confess that I always pass that one silly orange slice onto Sue. It's not that I don't like and eat oranges, but not on a breakfast plate.

6:45 PM  
Blogger Arkansas Patti said...

That is so funny:)) He either has long since passed or is defying all logic and is living his life on his terms, full of pleasure without guilt. I wouldn't have the nerve to tempt fate like that.

8:59 AM  
Blogger kenju said...

It made me full to read about it. I don't know how one person can eat that much in one sitting.

I always eat the orange slices!!

7:21 PM  
Blogger Linda P. said...

I don't even want to think about how that trucker's breakfast would have made me feel.

10:05 PM  
Blogger Joared said...

I delight in orange segments in a lettuce bed with apple slices and grapes accompanying a 3 egg breakfast of scrambled eggs, slice of ham, hash browns, but no toast. I relish eating the greens and fruit, halve the rest of the food to refrigerate that portion for microwaving to provide another meal. I almost gag now when I see meals of huge proportions you describe.

Interestingly to me when I was providing swallowing therapy I frequently encountered patients whose poor intake had alarmed staff that they might have a problem. Quite often I discovered they were turned off from eating, complaining there was too much food in front of them. With portions decreased, more frequent but smaller meals, their daily dietary consumption increased.

1:27 PM  

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