TheBanyanTree: Mexican Fortunes

[Dale M. Parish]

Un dia sin risas, es un dia sin Sol.

I'm used to opening fortune cookies in Chinese restaurants and seeing
Chinese on one side and English on the other, but this was the first
time I've ever opened a Mexican Fortune Cookie.   "A day without 
laughter is a day without sunshine," the other side translated.

It was a Chinese restaurant.  But then, the other Chinese restaurant
that we frequent usually has Mexican boys servicing the buffet line.
The one at which we were eating is staffed only by Chinese, some of
whom know only marginal English.

Once, at the other restaurant, I was watching the young Mexican boy
bring out a heavy bin of fried rice and work awkwardly at getting the
hot stainless still bin out of the steam table while balancing the
full one at his hip.  I was trying to read the back of his tee shirt--
it looked strangely like the word "manure" but was just far enough
that I couldn't read the rest of it to be sure that was the word in
context.

When he turned around with the empty tray to return to the kitchen,
the front had big bold letters that read "Zoo Doo" with zoo animals
scattered around the words.  On the back read something to the effect
of "Custom Manures for your garden."

As he went out of sight into the kitchen, I smirked just as the
manager stopped by my table to ask if everything was all right.  I
laughed out loud-- "This is the first time I've ever eaten in a
restaurant that advertises 'manure' on its buffet!"  He was taken
aback, and asked me what I meant.  The young Mexican boy reappeared
out of the kitchen door with another heavy tray full of food, and I
just nodded in that general direction.  He kept looking for
something-- maybe a sign-- towards the buffet line as the boy came
back and swiftly changed out the egg rolls.  As the boy turned, the
manager saw it, and started after him, leaving me wishing I'd never
said anything.

I don't know what the manager told him, and I still wonder if the boy
even knew what the tee shirt translated to, but the look on his face
as the manager accosted him was not good.  Me and my big mouth.  But
it was amusing.

Hugs,
Dale
-- 
Dale M. Parish
628 Parish Rd
Orange TX 77632
parishdm at att.net