Gator Bites.

So, we're sitting in the Service lounge of Gator Ford, outside of Tampa, waiting to hear the estimate for fixing our blown up brake lines.

We had slept overnight in the RV in the parking lot, after being towed from another Ford garage that didn't have a lift big enough to put our baby up in the air. Big Manny woke us up at 7.30am to get the necessary mileage and other such data. We had plans of waking up early to have a good breakfast and freshen up before camping out in the lounge, but, the bottle of red wine we cracked open (due to lack of ice to make any other cocktails) and subsequently finished while playing rummy and trivial pursuit, kept us in bed until the knock at the window.

We were happy to see that there was a small diner counter in the lounge, and even more happy to see a sign reading free coffee! While we sipped our hot water with slight hints of coffee out of tiny styrofoam cups, we looked forward to ordering the scrambled eggs, sausage, and french toast breakfast for $3.95, but were letting our stomachs wake up a bit. Just as Mary Lou was standing up to order us said eggs, the lady behind the counter wiped the wipe board clean and started writing "grilled boneless porkchop with chezzy taters". Really? At 8.30 in the morning?

So Mary Lou says, "Oh, sorry, we were just coming to get some eggs." And the lady says, "Nope, sorry, they're done. They're really for the men in the garage anyway." Mary Lou says, "Well, we surely aren't ready for pork chops at this hour." And lady says, "Okay," and goes back to reading her newspaper.

This woman has not done anything for the hour we have been sitting there, and continues to do nothing but watch tv and read the National Enquirer, for the next hour. It doesn't occur to her for a second that, seeing as we're the only ones in the lobby, and her only chance for a sale and some tip, that she should just offer to make us the stupid eggs.

Kyle is always scolding his big sister to not compare India to this country, but, seriously, if we were in India, the lady behind the counter would offer to make us eggs benedict and pecan waffles if it meant a chance for tip, instead of sitting idly for hours. No wonder the United States is worried about losing engineering jobs, and the space race, and biomedical venture capital. We can't even make money off a small monopoly of a basic and much needed commodity, food. Make us some eggs dammit.