Our latest video production voyage to San Diego makes me feel a little dirty.
We stop at an airport cafe because we are interested in overpaying for food. While a woman behind the counter asks me whether I want bacon with that, she appears to briefly place her glove in the tip of her mouth.
Now what? Do I suddenly pretend I’m no longer hungry even though I’m very much so? Do I confront her so, in her frustration with me, she does something worse when I turn my back? Option 3: Buy the breakfast and then conveniently drop it on the floor and wait for the plane’s peanuts.
During these crucial moments of split second decisions, I try to reason with myself. She is heating up the food, so that process should rid my meal of any potential cooties. I take a closer look and she seems clean. And she offers a friendly smile.
During these debates, the ludicrous also competes for attention with the logical. While I await for this controversial breakfast, I realize my hands are resting on a leather cushioned seat and I’m probably not the first to enjoy its comfort. Where’s my hand sanitizer? It’s not in my purse because I don’t carry one. Why worry about a young woman’s possibly tainted glove when my seat allows me the opportunity to practically shake hands with the general public?
I convince myself heat and my hunger outweigh the ridiculous and I attempt to eat the sandwich. Full disclosure: I attempt to eat it with a napkin, which didn’t work when the grease soaks through and makes the experience even more delightfully disgusting. Due to this sight, I decide not to finish my breakfast, instead feeding it to the nearest trash bin.
To be fair, the cafe impresses me by diligently creating a perfectly square egg for my breakfast sandwich. I don’t call it scrambled. I better describe it as congealed.
I wonder what’s on the menu for lunch. What would you have done?