the kitchen where soup is made and served

it’s a funny place sometimes.

i go there on wednesdays.

my main job there is to prepare the drinks and then serve them. it sounds easy but it can get tense when i run out of things like milk or coffee or a certain kind of juice. people can be a little cranky sometimes, and you’d be surprised how many people have certain things they can’t / won’t drink.

i have been going for almost a year now. i see many of the same people every week. and some only come once and are gone.

there are regulars. i know them by what they like to drink.

1. the "coffee in a cup" lady
2. the guy who only drinks water
3. the guy who takes multiple trips through the line and only drinks water
4. the guy who drinks milk with his meal, and coffee afterwards
5. the guy who thinks i look like ellen degeneres, who drinks milk
6. there used to be this one lady who always wanted 4 milks
7. the couple who always get apple juice for the lady, milk for the guy
8. the guy who always says "i'll take milk if you have it" (we always have it)
9. the guy who can't drink anything made with city water except coffee
10. the guy who always asks if we have orange juice
11. the guy i refer to as "the milk man" because he always says "leche"
12. there are 2 guys who look very different who always drink coffee with 1 cream, 2 sugars
13. the guy who wears the carhartt coveralls who either drinks coffee exclusively (and lots of it) or occasionally tea

some people only drink coffee and lots of it. some people only drink juice. some people can't have citrus. it's very amusing sometimes.

of late, there's been some controversy about how old i am. i have white hair, in streaks on top of my head. and there's one guy who asked me 2 weeks ago if i was 60. then last week, he wasn't sure if i was over 40 or under 40. but he started calling me old timer.

the guy in the carhartts always makes some comment about my tie dye shirts. i wear them to cheer up the place, it could use a little color. anyway one time he asked me if i was a hippy and i didn't know how to answer. i said no, but then i thought maybe yes, and he said we needed more hippies around. then last week he asked me if i drove a volkswagon micro bus. i said no. he said i should get one and paint peace signs on the side of it.

anyway, wednesday is a day i always look forward to. the kitchen always smells so good when we get there, and i get a ride from margrete, my diagonally across the street neighbor. the dynamic in the kitchen is interesting because everyone is older than me. that is not what makes it interesting, but everyone has such dynamic personalities. there's margrete, who is german. then there's pat, who is always making jokes about me dancing or playing rugby or running out of milk. pat is the dishwasher and is quick witted. marilyn is just very nice and is generally smiling and in a good mood. tom scrapes the dishes, and always smiles when i bring him something to wash. and there's vicki and marge who work very hard, and bob and his wife who do most of the cooking along with dorothy.

together we're a great team!