Was that Jackson Pollok or candle making 101?

While bemoaning the sanitary glove episode, or the lack thereof, posted yesterday in my blog, it brought to mind a particular incident years ago.

LT was still operating at full capacity with about 250,000 employees worldwide, the stock price was at its highest and I was happily employed with a very fat 401K. The facility I was located at was more like a college campus than an industrial park, it was beautiful. It consisted of five buildings, each tagged with a letter from A through E. There was a quaint little red trolley car that would motor residents around to the different buildings in the complex and for those who wanted to get a good stretch of the legs there were rambling walkways stretched throughout the landscape. Personally I loved the pond the most, there was a sitting wall at one end where you could take a moment to enjoy its fountains and the fish teeming in the waters. Very paradise-esque; the place was dressed to the nines.

The interior of all the buildings were encased in rich, warm wood, very stately. There was a workout center in building C and although there were three cafeterias, the main one was in building D, which is where I was located. The food was phenomenal...salads made of crisp, fresh vegetables...sumptuous exotic entrees... soups freshly made each day. It was a delight to just walk through to look at the pastries each morning when you were getting coffee. Sigh, what an aroma!

One morning I ventured down to that pristine café for my first cup of java. While I was waiting in line to put a few drops of cream in my cup I watched as one of the kitchen staff stuck his right pinky finger in his ear. He then worked it around to loosen whatever was bothering him, pulled it out and for a few moments concentrated on what he had extracted. Dumbfounded I watched in sheer amazement as he proceeded to take that wax covered finger and apply it to the cafeteria wall as if an artist stroking a canvas with paint. My face must have mirrored my revulsion, because all of a sudden I caught his eye, and as quickly as his face turned beet red he slipped away into the adjoining kitchen.

Now you may think that there was no issue with this, because he would probably have washed his hands and donned a pair of sanitary gloves before handling food. But, if you thought that you were wrong! He had on a pair of gloves when he put his wax impression on the wall. Just thinking about this wretch makes me retch.

Needless to say, I left my coffee, stepped out of line and walked away. I did mention it to the manager, but it all happened so very fast that when asked to point out the culprit I wasn’t able pick the gentleman out of the sea of faces.

Hmmm, now I remember why I started to pack a lunch every day! Sigh, well hopefully that is one art form I'll never have to witness again in my life.

Rubber glovey you're the one, you make lunch time a whole lot of fun!

About once a week I’ll look at my home packed lunch with disdain and run out to pick up something to eat, instead of suffering through the typical hard boiled egg and salad. The place that tends to be my favorite haunt lately is a simple Italian meat market quasi deli that not only carries decent sandwiches, but also has upscale hot food dishes. They’re a little pricey, but definitely worth every penny.

And so all morning I dreamt of one of their turkey and provolone sandwiches with romaine lettuce and a hearty brown mustard slathered on a fresh hard roll. As soon as the clock struck 12:00 I sped over there, only to find that I wasn’t quick enough. There were at least a dozen people in front of me. Bored I began to watch the guys fill the orders and as I followed their actions it struck me that they weren’t wearing protective gloves. It was then one of the deli workers handed a wrapped tuna on rye to the customer in exchange for a crisp $20 bill. This guy opens the register, puts in the $20 and then hands the patron his change. I thought yuck! Didn’t I just watch some news report making statements about germs and bacteria on paper money? Didn’t they say the longevity of staphylococcus bacteria on a bill was 17 days? No problem, I thought placating myself, they probably wash their hands a lot, but before that thought finished he waited on the next victim in line without so much as dipping his fingers in holy water.

Overwhelmed by the potential food contamination I directed my attention elsewhere, but to my horror I watched as the owner, who was making a pair of subs for a snobby metro-retro couple, asked, “Do you want lettuce and tomato on those?”, and before he finished the word tomato he wiped his nose with his right hand. In their sing-song voices they responded, “Yes”, while inwardly I screamed…NOOOOOOOOO!!! Calmly I stepped out of a now exceedingly long line without a word and walked [I was proud of myself that I didn’t run!] to the door.

Once back to the safety of my car I realized that although I was repulsed by this newly banned food establishment I was still hungry and pondered where I could possibly to go that wouldn’t put me off of take-out for the rest of my life. I needed a place that enforces sanitary precautions, a place that gets audited by the health department on a regular basis

And so I ended up going where every other germ-a-phobic person would go, to Costco’s. It was there that a very clean gal, wearing a hair net and gloves, gave me a hotdog and a large soda with unlimited refills. Sigh, all that for a dollar fifty and peace of mind as well! Life doesn’t get any better than that!