The sun has begun to set once again! My favorite time of the day! My campfire is made & lit. The night isn't quite in the fall season as of yet but roasting food over an open flame? That's all year round! Speaking of food, now is a good time to start my next adventure story.
However, before I do... I'll give you a bit of a back story. I worked as a bar manager at a restaurant for several years. I was also the only closing manager but I did have a few opening shifts throughout the month. I had a lot on my plate & was usually stressed out beyond belief. We also had people breaking into the restaurant in the evening after we had closed & before I could get everyone else out of the restaurant. Homeless people would get treated poorly because they would be considered as only addicts & drunks that got themselves into that situation. *That is NOT ALWAYS the case!*
Anyways, it was about a hr before we closed down the restaurant. I had only the closing cook, two servers & one bar tender left on the clock. We had a rough shift & I had a few tables walk out after finishing their meals. Several people bitched me out because they wanted free food or drinks. Call outs on both Front Of House *FOH* & Back Of House *BOH* so we were over ran with the work load that was dealt to us that night.
A rough looking guy came in through the To-Go door. I greeted him since I was already walking that way. He looked pale & weak so I got him a chair & told him that I'd be right back for him. I opened the door to the kitchen.
"Three open & possibly one to go order." I called out to my cook. He responded with a heard.
I walked back to the man who was sitting on the chair I was about an arm's length away from him. He was acting anxious so I asked him if he'd like to order something or if I could get him anything to drink. He stood up reached into his weathered jeans & pulled out a gun. He held it to my head & told me that he needed all of the money that was in the restaurant's safe.
My brain went completely blank for several moments. That blaring ring was the only thing that I could hear & I spaced out involuntary. It was only when a customer screamed OMG did it bring me back to where I was at & what was happening. My bar tender called the cops. He pulled me closer to him, holding the gun at my temple & told the table of 3 people to shut the fuck up!
"I'm not going to open up the safe. You will have to shoot me." I responded dryly to him I turned my head & looked directly at him. He looked back at me in disbelief..
What I saw wasn't anything other than desperation, hunger, & the need to be treated with some dignity. I knew exactly what it felt like to not have money for food & beyond starving. To not be treated like an equal regardless of status. I didn't see an armed man like others did. I saw someone who was on their last attempt to be able to eat. I didn't know how much time had passed at that point in time.
"I will however make you food & you won't leave here until you are finished with it. I promise." I continued as I searched his face.
The man's arm was shaking excessively as he barely had the energy to stand upright let alone hold the gun to my head. He started to cave when the police showed up & shouted at him to put down his gun.
It caused him to grip my arm pretty tightly given the fact at how weak he looked & acted.
I begged the officers not to shoot him that he would give them his gun. Not to my surprise he lowered it a moment later & dropped it on the floor next to our feet.
They went to arrest him & I told them that I promised to feed him before they took him away. Since I knew the officers that had come in they agreed but handcuffed him regardless. I made the gun man food & the three officers shared a sampler & got them their preferred soda/tea/water.
I sat at the booth across from him just before he finished eating his meal. He had thanked me & told me that he hadn't ate at all that week. After they had taken him out of the restaurant one of the officers pulled me aside.
"That was a very stupidly brave thing you did. Why are you always getting into these types of predicaments?"
"I attract it?" I replied with a laugh
"Well, it was a BB gun & not a real one. So you got lucky!" He shook his head. "Just try not to get yourself killed, okay? It's not worth it."
"I risked nothing today. He was just hungry."