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| My dinner at the Event Spring Roll, crab dip, chips, marinated veggies, and Reuben sandwiches |
At my advanced age (and man oh man I am really old now), I sometimes think I can no longer be surprised. But every now and then someone of something happens that catches me off guard and momentarily speechless. Such an occurrence happened this past Wednesday while I was at work at my 3 to 11 shift at my hotel front desk clerk job in Lewes.
I arrived at work at my usual time of 2:45 pm and clocked in. I noticed everything was cleared away in the kitchen where I clock in. I asked Mike the maintenance man "Is something going on tonight?" He said "Yes, we have an event." For those of you who don't know what an 'event' is in hotel terms I'll explain it to you now.
An "EVENT" is a gathering of people at the hotel for an "EVENT." Pretty straight forward huh? The event could be anything from a wedding reception to the local Rehoboth Film Society meetings. The hotel where I work at in Lewes has twenty-two rooms and two VIP suites for guests to rent. We also have two meeting rooms for 'events.' Tonight an event was scheduled for the Lewes Chamber of Commerce 'mixer', which is nothing more than a gathering of local businessmen and women to get together and network.
These events are almost always catered by a local caterer. Sometimes the event organizers bring their own snacks but that is a rarity. In the Lewes/Rehoboth Beach/Milton area we have several fine caterers who serve up some mighty fine horse dervies which is washed down by red or white wine which is provided by the hotel. Tonight was such an event.
Events are good news and bad news for the front desk clerk. First it disrupts my normal routine. Since tonight's event was running from 5 to 7, that meant I wouldn't be able to eat my dinner at 6. Also, it means I would be standing behind the front desk for hours. When the event attendees arrive, the owner of the hotel prefers that the front desk clerk be standing behind the front desk to greet the guests as they arrive. I understand that, it's part of my job. A big smile and a friendly greeting, I'm good at that. But I knew my back would be killing me later plus my stomach would be aching from hunger.
Thus it was with some surprise that after a couple of hours standing at attention, greeting and smiling, Lorraine, the wife of the caterer placed something on the desk in the back office. I questioningly looked back at her. I wanted to know who it was for. She said "Here is something for you." For a few seconds I was puzzled. "For me?" She said "Yes, it's some of what we're serving tonight. If you need more, let me know."
Well, my heart was touched. Here is one of those rare moments where I didn't have to ask, plead, beg or demand something. Someone saw my situation and took pity on me and provided me with sustenance. Hey, that simple act of kindness by Lorraine just knocked all the cynicism out of me for the whole day.
Thank you Lorraine.
