METROPOLITAN DIARY
Pizza Place
Dear Diary:
In 1979, I was a freshman in high school. On a warm spring day my friend and I took the Long Island Rail Road into the city to sign up for an American Youth Hostel bicycle tour.
Having finished our business by noon, we looked around for someplace to eat. We saw a pizza place with a line of people out the door. The line was moving quickly, so we joined it.
When I got to the front, I placed my order.
“Two slices and a Coke,” I said.
“Two slices, Coke,” the counterman repeated.
Within an instant, the food was in front of me.
My friend ordered next.
“I’ll have the same,” he said.
“Same,” the counterman repeated. And then he ran through a door into the back.
My friend and I stood there for about a minute, wondering what was going on.
When the counterman reappeared, he had another man with him.
“Here’s Sam,” he said.
— Rob Kotler
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/02/nyregion/metropolitan-diary.html
