Points2Ponder by Alan P. Scaglione

“Big Brother’s watching...what I’m EATING!”

This one is lighthearted, but…after all I have been through lately, I can take something to laugh about. Bet you could too.

Ever notice how full the buffet restaurants are?

All you care to eat…seems like it’s America’s mantra…if it’s all you care to eat..let’s just test it and see…how much DO I care to eat?

And so many of us, myself included, have to check out the newest Buffet just because…they could be serving something new, right?

Whether it’s Chinese or Salad(which is NEVER just salad!) we all file in, sit down and try it out.

I am a “sampler”…

First plate-- I place a little on my plate of everything I “think” I might want to sample…

Second plate—I go back to get more of the stuff that won the sample test.

Third plate—anything else I forgot to get first round or… saw on somebody’s plate and said, “gee, wish I had gotten some of that!”

Hey…that’s the purpose of the buffet, right? Go back to the trough as often as you like….it’s all you care to eat!

Well, not anymore!

POINTS2PONDER When does the line “you get what you pay for” apply to a buffet? If it’s free, it’s for me may not be so free anymore.

So we go to our favorite, okay honestly, one of our favorite buffet restaurants recently.

The waitress asks if we’ve ever been there before. We explain that it’s been a while, but…we have come several times over the years.

She then starts speaking what may as well have been German or Spanish or Czechoslovakian…words we were not familiar with.

Here’s what she said,” In an effort to reduce our overhead budget and keep prices down and NOT raise prices on everyone, we have instituted a

Waste Not/Want Not program. Bottom line is…if you eat it, no extra charge, but…if you leave a whole lot on your plate--$2 extra!”

What did I just hear? I asked her to repeat herself.

She went on to explain that so much food gets left on the plates. They of course can’t re use it, so the waste contributes to their rising overhead!

She repeated, “If you eat it, not a problem. If you leave too much on your plate, we will have to assess you an additional fee. WasteNot/WantNot!”

I was stunned! My brother was dumbfounded. They were charging us for what we didn’t eat? We looked up at the sign…it DID say Buffet!

She assured us that…it would have to be a sizeable amount left over for them to assess the fee.

Hmmmm.

Remember that I am a “sampler”?

Yeh, well…truth is…I build a big plate, but I only eat a fraction of what I build.

Boy, was I in trouble!

It’s so funny, but every time the waitress came by, I made sure to be eating something. She just smiled and assured me I was passing the test.

What test? That I can eat everything on my plate? Was I back at home, when my parents said I had to eat everything on my plate or else??

Or Else What??? I remember what “what” was then, but…what could “what” be now?? A public spanking? Hmmmm. That could be entertaining!

I have never been so conscious of what I was eating or rather, what I was leaving, on my plate.

My wife asked me if I was okay; but I actually felt that I was going to fail at the “new rules of eating—buffet style!”

Needless to say…no “sample platter” for me. And, as is not usual for me…I left hungry. Would rather do that than…be labeled a WASTER!!

It wasn’t the $2 extra dollars—it was the fact that someone was watching what I was eating…or NOT eating!

What if this became a trend? It could revolutionize the way we eat in America!

And then I thought… PRECISELY!!!