SUNNYSIDE UP MOMENT - MAY 15, 2020

DAY SIXTY OF THE CORONAVIRUS QUARANTINE FOR US AT STACK 'EM HIGH PANCAKES AND SO FORTH

The evolution of the word “hospitality” is a beautifully hopeful progression.  In Latin “hostis” means “stranger” or “enemy.”  This is where the words “hostile” and "hostage" come from.  Eventually “hostis” turned into “hospes,” meaning “host” or “guest.”  This is where the words “hospice”, “hotel” and “hospital” come from.  Two characters dramatically transformed the meaning of a word.  Two letters converted enemy into guest and the inference of anger to an offering of healing. 

I know it sounds over-zealous, but I firmly believe working in the restaurant affects me just as significantly.  I would imagine a good portion of the people who walk through our door probably don’t align with my political views or my spiritual beliefs.  We probably prioritize the needs of our communities and of our world in a different order or on a different scale altogether.  But for an hour or so over monster biscuits and strawberry waffles our differences make no difference.  We tread happily on a sliver of common ground. 

That’s the greatest fringe benefit of working in the hospitality industry.  Day in and day out we are given opportunities to exercise our capacity for compassion, flex our friendship muscles and in the end our spirits are healthier and stronger.  Rumi said, “Everyone has been made for some particular work and the desire for that work has been put in his or her heart.”  Our work at Stack ‘em High isn’t just serving breakfast.  It’s welcoming strangers as guests and celebrating the albeit brief opportunity to connect with each other with no strings attached.  If we do our work well, strangers leave our restaurant as friends.  And that certainly is a beautifully hopeful progression.