If you were hungry you'd eat that.
Probably one of my favorite quotes from any member of my family,
this one is from my grandpa, a man who had worked in any number of
bars and restaurants, owned a restaurant of his own, and most of
that side of the family had all worked some sort of foodservice job
(or three, or ten) over the years. He loaned my parents some of the
money they needed when they opened up a pizza and icecream place
when I was in middle school.
It's pretty deeply ingrained, food and serving it Along with that.
implied 'you shouldn't turn your nose up at that' .
They can't help themselves in evaluating the staff and service in
any bar or restaurant they gather in. Not (too) obnoxiously mind
you, it's just something they do in the back of their minds
subconsciously like jockeys looking at a horse. Sizing things up at
the subconscious level. At the same time, food is important to them
and they really do appreciate good service, they know how much it
takes to do it right and even how hard it is to keep a place
serving good food well and actually making money at it.
One other great line from my family comes from my Aunt Jude, who
when we got together at the restaurant Grandpa used to own once
upon a time, after his funeral, remarked that our family actually
knows how to behave in public - we just don't like to.
If those two lines don't tell you what you need to know about that
side of my family, well... you're just not going to get it,
explanations are useless.
I remember spending whole days with Grandpa and my cousins in his
gigantic Cadillac driving around to his various bars where he'd
have a beer or two at each and catch up with everyone. I remember
my sister and I sometimes hanging out with Dad at a bar as kids,
eating potato chips and playing pinball machines and such. That
might sound pretty odd to a lot of people, most people, now or even
back then, but bars were just places people went to socialize and
have a good time. They socialized. Dimly lit, with a jukebox and
lighted signs for several brands of beer, most served some food as
well on the side too, other just had potato chips and pretzels.
NO CARRIER