Eireann
12-14-2006, 07:07 PM
Some of you have read my "Just stupid" post about the American women wanting decaf coffee in a tearoom.
I go to this tearoom a lot. It's in a 16th-century building, in a fairly quiet courtyard, and I tend to see the same people there. The workers know me and greet me when I come in.
One of the servers is a guy in his forties, I'd say, and I've often had the impression that he, along with several other staff members, is stoned much of the time.
One day, when I was meeting with my student, a woman sitting at a nearby table ordered tea, then left. I don't know where she went, but it was clear that she was coming back; her books were at the table. Maybe she went to the bathroom, or maybe she went outside to smoke. I don't know.
The server came to the table with a tea tray. The woman wasn't there.
This did not compute. Where was she? She wasn't here, that was obvious.
He took the tea tray back to the kitchen.
A few minutes later, he returned, again bearing the tray. She still wasn't there.
By now, he was horribly confused. Where on earth could she be? She wasn't there! What should he do now?
Fortunately, some guys sitting nearby told the server that she was coming back (evidently, the books on the table weren't clear enough evidence for him). He carefully set the tray on the table and left. The next time he came by, she had returned. I think I saw a look of extreme relief on his face.
This same server came to take our order once, when my student and I were sitting at a table still littered with the tea things of the previous customers. The server stared muzzily at the used cups, pots, trays, and assorted paraphernalia, and picked up...
One cup.
Yes. And that's all the cleaning that he did. When he brought our tea, we had to push the other utensils out of the way.
I love that place.
I go to this tearoom a lot. It's in a 16th-century building, in a fairly quiet courtyard, and I tend to see the same people there. The workers know me and greet me when I come in.
One of the servers is a guy in his forties, I'd say, and I've often had the impression that he, along with several other staff members, is stoned much of the time.
One day, when I was meeting with my student, a woman sitting at a nearby table ordered tea, then left. I don't know where she went, but it was clear that she was coming back; her books were at the table. Maybe she went to the bathroom, or maybe she went outside to smoke. I don't know.
The server came to the table with a tea tray. The woman wasn't there.
This did not compute. Where was she? She wasn't here, that was obvious.
He took the tea tray back to the kitchen.
A few minutes later, he returned, again bearing the tray. She still wasn't there.
By now, he was horribly confused. Where on earth could she be? She wasn't there! What should he do now?
Fortunately, some guys sitting nearby told the server that she was coming back (evidently, the books on the table weren't clear enough evidence for him). He carefully set the tray on the table and left. The next time he came by, she had returned. I think I saw a look of extreme relief on his face.
This same server came to take our order once, when my student and I were sitting at a table still littered with the tea things of the previous customers. The server stared muzzily at the used cups, pots, trays, and assorted paraphernalia, and picked up...
One cup.
Yes. And that's all the cleaning that he did. When he brought our tea, we had to push the other utensils out of the way.
I love that place.