A Friday Morning Reflection

Veteran's Day could have made my week. That wonderful mid-week random day off that should be in place so you can get some rest and "battle" through the final two days must be amazing...right?

Not when your me, and you have to use the night to inhale Tequila and go to a club and fail to return to your apartment until some ungodly hour of the morning (Key word being "have to" because you know I never have such choice in these matters of the liver). Just kidding. Totally self inflicted. Now, as I sit here on this dreary Friday morning, sick with flu like symptoms and laughing about the fact that despite knowing it was not a good idea, I wouldn't change a thing. This day will probably we wrong and it's all your fault.

I woke up this morning with a rock at the front of my forehead. A bitterly obnoxious headache that refused to shake until I chugged one of those major sized Poland Spring bottles full of water. I was anxiously awaiting my coffee moreso than usual and decided to take the Mass Pike (As opposed to the J-Way) to work this morning. The timing could not have been much better as I arrived at my favorite Dunkin' Donuts on Morrissey BLVD in Dorchester. There is something interesting about having people know what your going to order before you step up to the counter, and on this particular morning, I was especially anxious for my caffeine fix.

A young girl that works there smiled like she does every morning and remembered two of three from my coffee routine before I asked her to please provide some Sweet N' Low. She fixed the coffee in absurdly fast form and she was headed right towards me with that XL French Vanilla, moving in slow motion step by step. Ok--probably overdramatized--but at that split second I heard a horrific sound.

Something like if you took a huge piece of meat and swung it over your head and smashed it off cement as hard as you could type sound (haven't done it but like I said I'm a wierdo and this was the description that came to mind).

The girl immediately swung my coffee off to the side and retreated behind a wall that separates the customers from the food section and the drive through window. I watched helplessly as the coffee spilled and dripped all over the serving table while at the same time listening to the brutal soundtrack of meat slapping going on behind the wall. I'm not sure exactly what happened or how it started but over the course of the next minute and thirty seconds I heard the following:
"You fuckin' bitch"
Slap. Slap. Punching noise.
"Get the fuck off her"
Punch. *CRASH*
Ugh (or like the sound of someone groaning after being hit in the stomach)
Another CRASH. This time trays and plates came smashing down onto the floor.
"You fat cunt"
"Somebody call the police!!!"

Ok time out. So I'm sitting at the register and pretty much thinking to myself selfishly about my coffee. I mean did she have to go over there and try to break it up? I mean, I suppose. The situation had become quite awkward. Just as you thought it was going to calm down, it only escalated. I didn't have the balls to look at the line or anybody else in the store for that matter.

Fight continued:
"Slap, slap, slap".
Punching sounds.
"You fuckin' bitch I come over there to help and you hit me!?"
"slap".
"Your coming with me!!!"
"Get the fuck off me!"

At this point in time a younger girl came from behind the wall. She had an Irish look to her and at some point someone called out her name and it was indeed an Irish sounding name. The manager tried to restrain her by the arms but that failed as this one girl wrecking crew had destroyed the whole back end of the DD's and subsequently fucked up two of the serving girls. She yelled the whole way to the front door and exclaimed that she would "see you after work, bitch!".

The older women at the register apologized almost hysterically, citing "I'm sorry about that, that shouldn't be happening". I almost laughed, but held it in out of respect for the poor girl who had been making my coffee, who now had a lump the size of a chocolate glazed donut on the right side of her face. My coffee was made and I drank it as fast as possible, hoping to quickly erase any connection with that DD's for the rest of the morning (Of course here I am writing about it).

I walked out the front door wishing there was something more I could have done besides the meager 1.00 tip I leave in there cup every morning. I thought about the girl who started the fight, pushed to the edge and probably furious with the everyday schedule serving asshole's like me coffee. I thought about the smaller Spanish girl she clocked the shit out of and how she probably wasn't going to last much longer there either. Then I thought about the sweetheart that served me the coffee, who smiled at me, made my coffee and was only trying to help. I thought about the manager and how she looked surprised, but not really that surprised. I left and got into my car and went work. I'm glad I don't work there. I'm glad I don't have to work there and for a split second I'm completely and utterly happy with my job. Back to reality.

Now I'm sitting here thinking about my morning thus far what the rest of the day will bring. I'm glad I've always been good to the people at that DD's because for the most part, they've always been good to me. Nothing pisses me off more than people who get all frustrated over nothing, most of the time it's not over a screwed up order, they're just in a bad fucking mood. Grow up. This goes for myself as well. Those "Yeah, I'm annoyed at the world this morning, I have to go teach a fuckin' art class all day with a bunch of kids wah wah wah" days. I usually regain perspective fairly quickly, but it doesn't hurt to experience mornings like this.

I'm also thinking how I may never take the Mass Pike again.

I mean it's common sense to be good to everyone. Your whole life your pretty much force fed "treat others as you'd expect to be treated" philosophy. Maybe it needs a tweaking. The problem nowadays is alot of people expect such shitty behavior and shitty attitudes from people on a daily basis (not to mention when you work a busy Dunkin' Donuts where half the people suck because they have not yet woken up). I think that sucks, and I'm hoping more people are good to those DD employees than not. For some reason, I don't think so.

As I walked out of the store I glanced toward the break area in the rear of the Dunkin' Donuts. The cute women who prepared my coffee and threw herself into the mix had just gotten off the phone. I'd like to think a boyfriend, a loving father maybe a really cool older brother, but I got the sense it was with her mother. She put the headset that connects to the drive thru back on, pulled back her hair under her hat, adjusted with a deep breath, and walked back inside.

I'm suddenly realizing my morning is not that bad after all. Somewhere, someone's morning is 1,000 times worse than this DD employee's. I'm just hoping she has a much better rest of the day and that the majority of people she encounters do too.