I shouldn't be remiss

Hello again! And let me say a special 'HI' to the folks who posted to my
last entry, thanks so much for reading and I hope you continue to do so,
and do visit me at the restaurant! Well, today, I want to go a different
route, I have been writing on about goings on with some of our lovely
clientele, waitstaff, even one of the hosts. But I have been remiss!
Yes, the time has come to introduce some 'behind' the scenes
characters...the cooks! A varied crew indeed, from Adam and Herman,
who have been with us almost 20 years, to Dale, who on and off is
approaching about 8 years, and Jake, at about 3 years. All of them
do a great job, and to be honest, the restaurant would not be
successful if these guys and the other cooks didn't put out the
food right. We can have attractive and sultry waitresses, hosts
and managers with great personalities, but the cooks have to pull
it all together. But I digress! Jake is a single dad, with 2 kids
who look just like him, He works dayshift, and despite
doing so for almost 3 years, it is clear he is not a morning person
yet...he comes in, sort of grunts a greeting, and makes a beeline for the
coffee machine! He is ok after his second cup, able to conduct a lucid
conversation! What is rather surprising is how very responsible Jake is,
raising 2 kids on his own and all; it is proof that appearences can be
deceiving. He listens to heavy metal, has tatoos, and has one of the most
interesting haircuts I have seen - very long in the back, braided, while
the sides and the back of his head are shaved. So all that hair
cascading down his back comes from the top of his head! Hey, to each his
own, bottom line is that he is a good guy. And another good guy, with a
big heart, is Dale. Dale is just part-time now, and for a spell was not
with us at all. It isn't because he does a bad job...far from it, he
does quite well when he is there....but that is the operative word,
WHEN. It is a shame that someone in their early 40's has yet to learn
how to tell time! I can probably count on one hand the number of times
he has actually been on time. To make matters worse, when he worked
for us full-time previously, there were times he just never quite made
it in....he would call, say he was running late, then an hour later, call
again and say he was on the way, and then nothing. Very frustrating.
So why do we put up with again, even on a part-time basis? Well, it is
very hard to find good help, particularly cooks, willing to work the
night shift (very late hours). And when he actually DOES make it in,
Dale is non-stop, doing sidework, cleaning, prep, even helping the
waitresses if they get in a bind. And his personality is such that even
as you may be seething, mad as heck at him, you just can't help but like
him. Guess you take the good with the bad! Dale has also provided us
with adventures due to his personal life.....his girlfriend is about 10-15
years older than him, and in the past, when she was mad at him, she
would call the cops on him! On more than one occasion we would have
to loan him bail money! After 6 or 7 times of this, the judge basically
threatened her, saying next time he would jail her as well! Yet Dale
stays with her, to the comprehension of no one. Oh well, I repeat, to
each his own!