Or if we had the benefit of majority rule, the answer would be “Of course”.
There is a petition at: http://www.supgv.org/
Author Archives: Larry Franz
One Plain Hot Dog and a Medium Coke
At one of my favorite hamburger establishments this afternoon, there were only a few customers and four people behind the counter, all of whom looked to me like they were from Mexico or Central America. One of the workers came to the cash register and took my order. It went relatively smoothly, although his English wasn’t great and I’d never seen him handle the register before. He’s one of the people who usually does the cooking.
The price was $6.19, so I gave him a $20 bill. He handed me the receipt, which showed that my change was supposed to be $13.81. Presumably the cash register said the same thing.
Anyway, the guy seemed to be having trouble figuring out how much change to give me. He kept taking bills out and putting them back. At one point, he had a $10 bill and some ones in his hand, which was encouraging, but he put the $10 back in the register and took out a $5. Then he picked out some coins and handed me my change.
Since he’d only given me $7.45 or so, I told him it was wrong and showed him the receipt that said $13.81. I told him he needed to give me a 10 and three ones and 81 cents. While he thought about this for a while, I asked the other three people behind the counter if any of them could do arithmetic or make change. We all smiled at each other. Apparently the answer was “No”.
I next suggested that maybe he could get the manager to come out and help. He must have thought this was a good idea, so he went in the back room. He returned shortly and looked at my change again, which was lying on the counter. Then he went in the back again.
This time he came out, smiled and handed me a penny.
I would have gotten impatient if I’d been in a hurry or there had been other customers waiting. But I wasn’t and there weren’t and he was clearly trying to do the right thing.
So I told him again what he should give me and suggested that he really should get the manager to come out front. Which he finally did.
The manager apologized and gave me the correct change and said: “I’m training him” (really?).
I said “O.k., thanks” and the rest of my visit was uneventful.
As I’m sitting there eating, I’m wondering what it must be like to come to America, not speaking the language very well and not being too clear about arithmetic or American money. Then being able to find a job, while hoping to get a better job some day. It takes a certain amount of bravery, and some optimism, possibly combined with desperation. It’s not something I’d want to do.
I also wondered about the manager who said he was training this employee. Was he really training him? Did he just assume that the guy could make change? Was this the first time he’d ever had to deal with cash? Had other customers used credit cards? Was I his first customer? Did the manager have a pressing engagement somewhere in the back and tell his crew to handle the register while he was gone? And this guy was the bravest or most confident or most reckless among them?
The food was fine and I didn’t ask.
Just a Picture
I took this last night, using the gadget that’s also handy for text messages and answering questions at dinner.
There’s something about this picture I especially like. The softness of the colors. The peacefulness. The contrast between the ground and sky. It makes the most densely populated state in America look like a garden state.
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
People who didn’t like Margaret Thatcher at all have driven “Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead” to the top of the charts in Great Britain (the British can be rude to their politicians, and good for them!).
In addition to writing the lyrics to that one, as well as “Over the Rainbow” (the actual title), Yip Harburg, born Isidore Hochberg, also wrote the words to this terrific song about the Great Depression. The music was composed by Jay Gorney, based on a Russian lullaby.
Bing Crosby recorded the most famous version back in 1931. This one is by James Crowley and the Top Hat Orchestra. It was released in 2011, in the continuing aftermath of the Great Recession.
If anyone in Great Britain records a new version of “The Witch Is Dead”, this would make a great flip side, if we still had flip sides.
Flora, Fauna and Ethics
Having spent many hours hacking away at vines and thorn bushes recently, I was especially interested in a recent TV program called What Plants Talk About. It turns out that plants behave like animals in many respects. For example, they hunt for food, although much more slowly than most animals. They also respond to injuries, sometimes by summoning assistance (for example, by releasing chemicals that attract predators who eat the bugs who are eating the plant). They even nurture their offspring in some cases.
This doesn’t mean that the plants do these things “on purpose”. They behave in ways that have been beneficial to their species. Of course, we believe that we do things “on purpose”. But we‘re products of evolution too. We might not be so very different from plants and other animals.
Coincidentally, after watching What Plants Talk About, I came across a review of a book called Plant-Thinking: A Philosophy of Vegetal Life. The author of the book apparently believes that plants have suffered from “ethical neglect” at the hands of us humans. The reviewer congratulates the author for “forcefully inserting the question of vegetable life into the mix of contemporary ethical discourse in philosophy”.
The idea that plants deserve ethical consideration sounds odd. Some philosophers would say that plants don’t need to be treated ethically, since they aren’t conscious. They don’t have nervous systems like us and presumably don’t feel pain. Yet they are living things. Should we avoid cutting down redwood trees or rose bushes simply because we appreciate their beauty or because they are part of the ecosystem? Or do they have the right to be left alone?
Nobody, even the author of Plant-Thinking, thinks that we shouldn’t eat plants. But perhaps we are obliged to treat them with respect. Maybe I shouldn’t have cut down all those vines and thorn bushes. I certainly don’t like the idea that they were calling for help as I cut them to pieces.
What Plants Talk About is here:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/what-plants-talk-about/preview/8228/
The book review is here (although I don’t recommend reading it — there is too much philosophical jargon):
http://ndpr.nd.edu/news/39002-plant-thinking-a-philosophy-of-vegetal-life/
Whereof One Can Speak 🇺🇦 
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