A DEARTH of PRISONERS???

       Only 18 sack lunches were needed today! I thought I'd been dropped off in Heaven. Before I turned around, the lunches were finished, and Joey and I had brought together as many PBJ sacks for the street folks. Meanwhile, he was baking some FINE turkeys for tonight's dinner. I could smell the garlic and onions when I walked in; the kid can cook.
       For lunch we served plates of leftovers from yesterday and some plates of freshly deep-fried corndogs, onion rings, French fries and breaded jalapeño peppers (with cheese)... oh, and salad. By the time I had taste tested the onion rings, fries, and peppers, I wasn't interested in the health-food section...
       I made plates for 3 toddlers today, but only one showed up for lunch. Sadly, his mom had him chewing on an onion ring instead of the cheese, meat, and vegetables I had carefully chipped up for him. We do what we can ...said the Jewish mother.
       So we made about a dozen plates for our pre-release folks. Joey has never gotten the count straight on who's coming to lunch from that crowd. We have a long-standing joke about his count. There were two (count them—2) people from that group for lunch. When one of them came back to the counter looking soulfully at the remaining plates, I asked him, "Are you still hungry?"
       "Yes," he said.
       "What would you like?" I asked.
       "Could I have another plate?"
       "Sure," I said, "but you didn't hear it from me."
       Sure enough, within seconds Joey was on my heels, "I don't give seconds."
       "But I do," I told him. He grinned. He knows better than to jump on me—good help is hard to find.
      The homeless were in greater abundance, and eventually nearly all of the food we prepared was eaten! It's the first time I've seen the preparations and the takers so well distributed.
       Toward the end of my shift, Joey and I tried to put a large aluminum pan of rice & water into a steamer. It wasn't the first time one of those pans had gone cattiwampus on us—darned thing spilled into the pan on the bottom rack and onto the floor. Try adding the right amount of water after the fact!
       I burned my leg on an open oven door, but Joey gave me some salve, and I haven't heard from that burn since, though it's plainly visible.
       "One" was there again. Looks like he's doing the day shift on a full-time basis. I haven't seen the young pregnant woman at that post in weeks. More brain fodder for me! "One" is s.m.a.r.t!
       And BTW (in case it isn't yet on your "ponder it" list), that can opener need is outstanding, and this one is only $509!
       Thanks for coming by!