This is Steffi Sandusky writing. I thought I would write about my day at work last Monday.
As you know, I work at the Golden Corral here in Nashville, Tennessee, where I am a line person/cashier. I have worked at the Golden Corral for over 6 months now, and I absolutely love my job (although, at times, it CAN get absolutely NUTZ!).
Like this past Monday. November 11, 2002. Veteran's Day.
As a rule, the veterans gave so much of themselves fighting for our freedom we enjoy today, and so, as a token of appreciation, our company has decided to honor our veterans by serving them free buffets that night. All veterans, currently enlisted or retired, were eligible for the free buffet.
I think that is an awfully nice thing to do!
Anyway, as you can very well imagine, the place that night was an absolute ZOO!! The meals for the veterans started at 5 sharp, and the business didn't slow until a quarter to 9; for nearly four solid hours we were having to seat people; and the lines went halfway around the building. It was like Mother's Day, in terms of volume and business. Lines of people, and the lines went out the door! Absolute CRAZINESS!! But despite how busy we were that night, everyone was in an upbeat mood, and the veterans that came were more than appreciative of our efforts to feed them.
Of course, in that course of time, I saw my family, and I saw Roberto and M'buti; and they came, good and hungry! Of course, my family only added to the already chaotic pace; see, I have a big family, and we had them go all the way to the back, to Section 8, where the big parties sit; and of course, Roberto and M'buti joined them. (Jubaki was there, too; and when he saw me, he gave me a bear hug and a kiss. He is so cute; he is growing so much!!)
I also saw several of the regular customers, and I even saw Early Pike, this veteran who now lives in a veteran's home; and he couldn't believe the hospitality that was being shown to the veterans. He absolutely cried; and I nearly cried myself!
The servers and other employees were wearing white or red t-shirts with the Veteran's Day promotion logo on the shirts, and they were so glad to see the veterans who came to the restaurant; everyone was so nice, and I enjoyed chatting with all of the old veterans and the younger ones; they seemed so touched that we thought of them. Some were so touched they gave us (the liners) a tip; and, of course, the wait staff made a killing, what with all of the tips THEY made! And, of course, there were two people in the back who were busily rolling the vast amount of silverware; every so often you would see them carrying one or even two pans full of silverware to the line; and they were both sweating heavily and were working extra hard! I felt so sorry for them, especially since I accidentally made one drop a pan of rolled silverware! (That pan had to be rolled all over again, obviously. The poor person wasn't amused; but she went back to re-roll the pan. [A full pan of silverware holds a total of 120 pieces..a knife, fork, and a spoon rolled up into a napkin.])
But we managed to get through the night with nary a problem, and everyone continued to be in an upbeat and positive mood.
It was absolute craziness, but it was also a BLAST!! I had an absolute ball!
Especially since I discovered that I made $30 in tips! :)
Can't wait until NEXT year for the next Veteran's Day Appreciation Night at the Golden Corral!! Come hell or high water, you can BET I will be there! :)
i'm so glad we survived veteran's day at the golden corral...it was a wonderful night, serving those that served our nation...great story here, karen! (((HUGS))) and love, karla. :)
Hi Karen,
My goodness you have written lots of stories! Will take me a lifetime to write that many. Enjoyed this, and congrats on the unexpected financial boon! Vicky
