How the poor dine.

I have filched this title from Orwell's 1946 essay "How the poor die". I'm no Orwell but do live in a state of constant discernment a bit like Bill Murray. So in that spirit I must report on the dismal dinner I had at Applebee's last night. I only go there as a way of avoiding my own kitchen but what struck me was lack of any service morale in the staff. Orwell states in "Down and Out" that the Continental waiter wants a social relationship with the customer and the English waiter gives only dull servitude. Well, it was pretty dull, even hostile at Applebee's. When my wife asked how the Key Lime dessert was the waitress said she didn't like Key Lime pie. When the bill came she handed me a pen from a tire store. She said she is required to buy all the pens she uses and her billing pads etc. a new low as far as I'm concerned. No wonder she's depressed. Also in "Down and Out" Orwell points out that the only thing between the civilized atmosphere of the dining room and the raucous and rough low life of the kitchen was the door between them. Applebees has now removed the door.