Random Thoughts While Riding the Train
Riding the CTA everyday gives one a different perspective on life. In my case it has been a blessing. At first what I felt to be an annoying part of my day has turned into a way for me to reconnect with society. When you work in upscale restaurants all day and spend time with a certain layer of society it’s easy sometimes to forget about the vast majority of the people that can’t afford to eat at those places or just don’t know of their existence. Each day I see people struggling, suffering, just trying to go about their day, often despite challenges that life for whatever reason has thrown their way. I see small acts of kindness, here and there, that reaffirm my belief that people are basically good and decent. Of course there are days when I want to bang my head against the wall because of delays or people being rude or self centered.
There have been many times I have seen people selflessly give up their seats for an older person or someone who is disabled. Bus drivers have let people off at places that aren’t stops, just to get them closer to where they need to go. I’ve seen drivers stopping after pulling away to let someone on that was sprinting for the bus. I’ve seen people pay it forward for those who didn’t have the money for fare, one man gave the driver a bag of candy as he got off the bus. One time, as an unhoused person got on the bus, he was eating a sandwich, and he saw me looking at him and he held out his sandwich and offered some to me. In that moment I saw through his appearance, and saw his humanity. It struck me. It struck me because it seemed genuine, real. Maybe he thought I was hungry.
As annoyed as I get sometimes riding public transportation, it has given me a shot of gratitude for how fortunate I am. It has shown me my privilege. Put it in my face and rubbed my nose in it. It has taught me patience, kindness, taught me to be curious not judgemental. Most of all it has given me hope. It seems daily that our world is crumbling around us and each new day brings its share of outrages and yet, there are “regular folks” just trying to get through the day the best they can. My wife and I often discuss the events of the day, where things are headed, our concerns, our fears, our worries, and it can be heavy. It can be overwhelming.
And among the people I see are restaurant people. I recognize them, their uniforms, their chef pants, their t-shirts with the restaurant logo on their chest, or the white shirt in the plastic dry cleaner bag. Sometimes I can tell they are on their way to work, or if they are coming home, just by the weariness that covers them like a dim aura.
The regular working people, it seems like we have forgotten them. My wife mentions this to me often.
Staring out the train window on my ride to work this morning I thought about all the things I thought were so important not so long ago. I thought about the James Beards awards, Michelin stars, book deals, the typical chef bullshit. Yes, it’s great for the restaurant, and a busy restaurant hopefully means the staff gets paid and has some job security. But why as an industry aren’t we making things better for the working people? Why do we keep opening the same restaurants, the same way, the same menu, the same interchangeable buzzwords, locally sourced, seasonal, artisanal, plant focused, rustic, sustainable, chef driven (ugh!). I get annoyed because I did the same thing and participated. But lately I want to know why we have shifted focus to customers and influencers instead of our own staff. Of course we should be hospitable to our guests but why not our staff as well? My wife years ago ingrained in me that hospitality starts at home. So why is the restaurant business so resistant to change? Why are we following a woefully outdated business model? Why are we giving food away to influencers that care little to nothing about the health of your business, only the clicks and attention they receive for your hard work? The covid epidemic was a huge wake up call for this industry and it feels like everyone tried to do things differently for a few months then just went back to sleep.
The more I ride the train and bus the more time I have to ponder these questions. I guess the burden lies with me ultimately. What can I do to make things better? Who am I? I’m someone that has spent 35 years in this forsaken industry who is tired of business as usual and feels like it's time for something different. My wife and I together feel like there needs to be more voices talking about the issues that the restaurant business is facing but also ask what the hell is going on?