Tales from West

I work at the local IGA grocery store called West Foods. It's been the only store to service this town since it opened in in 1967, and seems to be doing well despite the current economic situation we are facing. This little store employs 26 of the most interesting people you could ever imagine, not to mention the owners. I work a 3 day work week, Monday's, Tuesday's, and Thursday's, doing the books, payroll, price verification... basic office administration stuff. My desk is positioned in the northeast corner of the store behind the customer service counter in a cubby, virtually hidden from everyone. Most folks around here don't know that I'm there, much less, able to hear every word escape their lips. It's a perfect set-up for an avid eaves-dropper. I have learned much more about this community and people in it than I ever really wanted to know... and some of it is dying to be shared with the blogging world. So every now and then, I will post some of the bizarre happenings from the world of West Foods.

I have a very generous employer who feeds his employees for free from the deli in the back of the store. The food is very 'Paula Deen', except not gourmet, but full of butter and lard and who knows what else. I try not to find out, because in this instance, ignorance is bliss. Anyway, I was in line for lunch yesterday and was able to practice my eaves-dropping ability quite easily in line. The woman in front of me ordered the peppers and steak over rice in a cup. As our faithful deli employee scooped up the mixture into the spoodle, the heavy-set customer asked, "Give me that piece of meat with all the fat on it... no, not that one. The one with more fat... yeah, that one. I love fat." I immediately bit my tongue to supress the giggle that was bound to escape. I had never heard anything quite like that before, well, yes I have...

As I am writing this, I remembered something that happened years ago in a little restaurant in Sarajevo, Bosnia that is sort of similar to what I heard yesterday. Ben and I were dining with a large group of friends. The restaurant served it's food 'family style', so a large plate of cheese and meats was brought to the table with bread. The meats were very good, especially the procuitto. Being a little conscience of what I eat, I refrained from eating the large amount of fat that was laced through the procuitto, and left it on my plate. A male friend across the table noticed and said to me, "Why don't you eat the white meat? The white meat is the best part." I was kinda grossed out when he asked to have what was left on my plate, but I politely obliged.

So, over the course of my employment at WF, I am sure to have more to write about. Stay tuned!