Wait Staff I Have Known & Loved

I could never be a waitress. I get up to go to the kitchen for a drink of water and forget what I came for; wait staff remember orders for a table of six, and know who gets what when they get back. My sister was a waitress for over 40 years and I've seen her carry plates lined up her arms from wrist to shoulder, weaving through tables full of people to get to hers and never spill a drop. This after having gotten up at 4:30 a.m. to work the breakfast shift.

There is a waitress at Chili's in Broken Arrow, Aja, who knows our extended family when we come in, knows what our drink orders are and has them coming to the table by the time we sit down. We always ask for her at the front door.  I'm not sure if she thinks "Oh, my gosh, there are those Careys again!" when she sees us but if so, she never lets on. And gives us refills in to-go cups when we leave.

Sometimes waiters are memorable for other reasons. Once in St. Louis at a business dinner in a most exclusive restaurant, the kind where they put the napkin in your lap and refill your water after each sip, the waiter was insulted that our large group did not order liquor. He made it quite obvious the whole time he attended us that he thought we were unsophisticated hicks and maybe even---gasp!---Baptists. When it was time to pay the bill, which was several hundred dollars, Dennis spoke to the manager and made sure that the tip went only to the waiter's young assistant.

And, of course, some just get our table in the luck of the draw, like the young lady who helped  us last night and said she was "Sorry about our weight." I didn't say "Yeah, well, I'm sorry about it too but it is what it is!"  although I wanted to. She may have been apologizing for the time they took, I'm not sure. Or  the first time we went out to eat after my mastectomy the young man who, taking our order for Baby Back Ribs, turned to me and asked "Half a rack?" He may still  be wondering why we burst out laughing so hard we couldn't finish ordering.

Probably I should stick to ordering through a microphone and picking my food up through a window.  But, you know, I'm sure I could never master working in one of those places where there are two lanes at once and they know which car ordered what when they get there. I'll just eat and run.