@abzero 7 June 2020

Color Blind

COLOR BLIND AND REFUSING ALL MEDICATION Sometimes things happen in our lives that we see as having no meaning and then one day we wake up to find that it's beyond meaningful! What I'm talking about happened 48 years ago and I've never told anyone outside of my immediate family. When I was a kid, 12, 11, or maybe even 10 years old, I might just wake up at 2, 3, or 4 in the morning and go for a run. My parents tried to stop me, but they just gave up after a while. One morning I wake up at about 2 am and I was starving, so I ran to Howard Johnson's which I knew was opened 24 hours; maybe it was one, or two miles away. This was probably 1972, so about 48 years ago. I might have been the only one there, but honestly, I don't remember. The night manager was an older black man and for those of you who don't know, I am white and was either 11, or 12 years old at that time. I sit at the counter and the front door is almost directly behind me. I was really skinny and probably weighed about 115 lbs. The waitress comes out to give me a menu, but I already knew what I wanted, so I ordered four (4) cheeseburgers and four (4) fries, all of the cheeseburgers extra rare and a large glass of water. The waitress looked at me like I was crazy and ask if this were a joke and I said, no joke and I will finish them all. No sooner does the waitress deliver the order to the kitchen, the manager comes out and locks the door behind me. I said to the manager, "aren't you opened 24 hours?" And he just looked at me and didn't answer. I knew exactly what was going on, the manager thought I would order a ton of food that I couldn't even eat and run out the door without paying. The manager comes out a few minutes later and tells me that they're going to make my four cheeseburgers and fries one at a time, just incase I can't finish them all. I said, "sounds great!" About an hour later I finish them all and the manager is seriously impressed. I told him that I still wanted to get a chocolate hot fudge Sunday for desert and he said, "son, how are you going to pay for this?" I tell him I have cash. After I'm done, I go to pay with a $100 bill my father gave me. The manager comes back out and tells me that the $100 bill didn't check out. I say, "check out?" Not fully understanding what he meant. The manager said, "it's counterfeit, the bill is a fake!" I'm embarrassed enough as it is and by now it's about 3:30 am and I have to call my father to come pay for my meal (or meals, 4 of them), so the manager will unlock the door and I can go home. The manager brought me to the phone and allowed me to use it. My father is not happy, he thought I was sleeping and didn't even know I had left. My father gets there and explains that he gave me the $100 bill and that he got it from Chase Bank in Bronxville, NY and that he believes the bill is good, but it is very old and maybe even worth more than $100. My father said, "I promise you my son was not trying to beat you out of anything, he just has an unusually large appetite." My father payed for my food with his American Express card and gives the manager his business card, which is something I've never seen him ever do, but I think it was more to show him that he had a pretty decent title and we didn't need to steal food. Then my father said, "you can keep the $100 bill if you want, thankfully we don't need it." The manager takes my fathers business card, goes into the back and comes out with his business card and the $100 bill. He hands my father the "counterfeit" $100 bill and writes on the back of his card "1 free cheeseburger and fries" and he says, "your son is welcome here anytime!" The manager said, "I would write "All you can eat at one sitting", but I'm afraid with your son, we might be filing bankruptcy the following day!!! We all laughed hysterically! We all shook hands and we went home! I just wanted you to know what happened in my life when a white kid (me), tried to pay for a meal with a counterfeit bill in a restaurant with a black manager in charge!!! No one called the cops and there was no arguing, we just all laughed, shook hands and I even had a free cheeseburger and fries coming to me. I wanted to tell this story, because I was always treated exceptionally well by the black community. I grew up playing basketball in The Bronx Boys Club and they made me call them what no other white kid ever could; you see, it was a term of endearment among themselves which I was now one, but if anyone else said it, it would be considered the worst thing anyone could say to them. Hopefully you can read between the lines here, because there is no way I'm even going to write it anywhere ever! About three years ago I was in Jamaica and my good friend's sister was singing in a concert. Two friends of mine were traveling with me from New Jersey. I remember thinking to myself, "I can't believe how many people will be watching my friends sister sing." One of my friends from New Jersey whispered in my ear, "do you realize that we are the only white people in this entire stadium?" I didn't answer him right away and initially felt embarrassed that I didn't even realize and then I thought, NO, I'm proud that I didn't realize!!! And after about a minute I looked at him and said, "I Guess I'm Just Color Blind!" abzero..