In the kitchen at the restaurant there are eight guys that speak Spanish and three guys that speak Spanish with an Indian accent. They always seem to be having a great time washing dishes, singing along with mariachi music, and making jokes about madres and culos. I always look forward to the few times each night I get to run back to there. A typical trip lasts two minutes; I’ll make my way past stove tops and ovens, shout a few things en espanol to Lupe, high five Raoul, and totally miss all but three of the 85 words Ricardo spits out at 100 miles per hour… when he wears his blue t-shirt and chef’s hat it’slike ...giant loveable smurf meets telemundo game show host
Jose manages the kitchen and he comes off like a total badass. He’s never laughing or singing like the other guys and he freaks me out when he’s got knives in his hands; he cooks with the intensity of De Niro in Raging Bull. He looks indignant, pissed off, and dangerous; like a gangster 20 years removed from the streets.
Every night when the kitchen closes Jose comes out to the bar to get himself a drink. I usually try to speak to him in broken Spanish and thank him for dinner but he just turns and walks away.
Last night when Jose came out to the bar I casually asked how his night was…. For five seconds he just stared at me with those pissed off eyes and filled his cup... I said, “Not good a good one, huh?” and then he spoke, delivering his words with the same angry intensity he carries in his eyes.
“Every night for ten years I’ve been doing the same thing, cooking in that fucking kitchen!”
I’m not a fan of anger but intensity is different, and some level I just have to respect the power in that presence… I took a minute to soak it all in, studying his eyes, shoulders, and jaw and then said without any sense of irony, “Jose, you come off like a total badass, and I bet if a big fight broke out somewhere you could kick everyone’s ass.”
I’m pretty sure that made his night because for a moment Jose let it all go, his cheeks widened into a smile, he chuckled, and walked away.
Posted by Mike at August 3, 2005 04:39 PMI liked your post on this. I think it is important to make someone's day. I know the grocery store clerks, etc. are all supposed to say "Have a Nice Day" but they sure seem surprised when someone takes the time to say it back to them. Too many people these days just consider others to be "little people" and don't take the time to be kind to their fellow humans.
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