Would YOU wear this T-shirt in a deep red small town in a deep red State? This is what I'm wearing..

[Ghost in the Machine]

72. Thank you, and I totally understand where you're coming from. I would have never worn it to work

back when I had my business, as I had many republican customers. I had a restaurant/coffee house, and it was the hang-out for a lot of the retired locals. Some would come in for breakfast, then sit at the counter drinking coffee, reading the paper, and shooting the bull with others until lunch time, then they would have lunch and leave for a while. Many of them would come back for dinner and hang out talking to different people they knew. I had a LOT of regulars who ate there 2 or 3 meals a day, everyone knew everyone by name, and some of them were so consistant with their orders that the cooks and servers could start cooking their meal when they saw them pull in, and have their drinks waiting on them when they walked in. I had such loyal customers that I got to where I would pick one at random each day and tell the server "Their order is on the house today/tonight, just put their ticket in the drawer with their name on it".

I had one elderly couple who ate there 3 times per day, every day. I could always tell towards the end of the month when they were getting low on money because they would start to order a plate to share. I told my servers to tell them to get whatever they wanted and not to worry about the price, I would take care of it, AND give the server their tip out of my pocket. The saddest day EVER was the evening they were headed to dinner, and got hit head-on by a speeding drunk, and it claimed them both. They only lived about a mile away, and the wreck happened right in front of the restaurant. The only comfort we had was knowing that they went together. They had no one else, and had even outlived their kids.

Damn! Typing that just brought a flood of memories back... I only have a few more to respond to, but I think I need to take a break now....

Peace to you and yours,

Ghost