Well. I read the last line and understood, felt a little tingle of shock. I don't know, I would probably have gone back there the next time I was in the area and apologized, maybe ordered another meal to see if the service was generally functional. If not, you may feel justified, maybe don't even bother with a tip the second time. If it's excellent, or even decent, tell them your story and give a double tip. I don't know, just my thoughts on the matter.
I don't really know how people didn't get the drift of this one from that ending, though perhaps I'm just used to hearing/reading stories with a one liner at the end which changes one's perspective on the whole thing. Eh, I don't know.
I don't know why I said "I don't know" so much in this comment. I don't believe I usually do so, not really sure. (Eh? eh? see what I did there? Ok, I'll just leave now.) (well not right now, but soon. Hmm, kinda spoils the effect).
Oh yeah, and I should probably mention that I got here from @dollarsandsense entry post for the pay it forward contest this week like half the other people here. Gonna do a little snooping.
I really want to know why you would want a restaurant-style meal when you can just cook yourself, unless you're not in the mood of doing the work (welcome to my life), just like the food in that restaurant, or want to explore a couple of restaurants (always a fun pastime, and then you know what's good)
I know you like to be edgy, but auto-cannibalism? Geez.
Funny that you say "tingle of shock" because that's exactly how I felt. I got goosebumps and my jaw probably visibly dropped open a little. His closing demonstrates a powerful writing technique - shame it went over the heads of a few (who probably read the title, skimmed the post, and moved on with a quick comment).
Hmm. Seeing as you appear to like that style, at some point I'll share a random story I heard from someone else, also pretty powerful, similarly nice ending. I don't really know why I'm not sharing it now, I just... don't feel it, I guess.
And wow! I can't believe I missed that one. I'm usually the one to catch mistakes like that in others' speech/writing. Eh, I'll leave it like that, it's funnier that way. And I usually eat myself raw, I generally don't bother cooking myself first.
The article only works for people who understand the phrase "My 9/11 story is" and it usually only works one day a year.
The generation before me remembered the day that JFK was shot. The generation before that remembered where they were after the Pearl Harbor attack.
These JFK and Pearl Harbor stories lost potency with time.
BTW, After I went the sporting goods store, where I was freaked out by the people buying ammunition, I went to Island Park where I met some kids who were checking the Salmon River bridge for explosives.
I thought they were playing a game. They told me how, if someone blew up the Salmon River Bridge, people on the Bar Hill couldn't get to the post office! (Actually it would close US89 for several months).
It is the only bridge spanning the "River of No Return" for about 40 miles in either direction.
The Salmon River goes through a steep canyon in the Frank Church Wilderness. When Lewis and Clark crossed into the Salmon valley, the natives in the area warned against going down the river. They called it "The River of No Return" because people who go down it rarely came back up.
The Lewis and Clark scouts tried going down the river and came to a class IV rapid that they called "turn around rapids" and decided to hike over Lolo Pass and through the mountains instead.