I've worked many years in the restaurant business. Greasy, wet, slippery floors walking in heels and dress shoes everyday is nothing new. And I have seen thousands of falls, not myself mind you, but many ungraceful, unladylike, humiliating, "everyone laughing while you try not to cry" falls. I've seen crotch seems split wide open with out the server wearing underwear. I've seen arms and legs go in directions that are so unnatural it hurts to even look at. I've seen heads busted open and wounds only a mother GM can stomach to hold together while reaching for the first aide box and the workman's comp binder at the same time.
None have been graceful, with one exception:
It was a bright sunny day, oh lets say back in 2009 maybe. I had just picked up a bunch of dishes from a table needing to be prebussed, when with a swift kick of one heel I flung the door open entering our Restaurant kitchen. With arms full and and foot pushing the swinging door open, my only other foot, keeping me upright, slips on the wet floor below. I begin to fall backwards, losing my balance, hoping to let my tailbone break my fall since my hands were not going to be able to catch me, when by the grace of God, my superfantastic bartender JMe Braun (the GM at the new amazing restaurant Manchego in Rapid City, SD), gently places her hands under my arms - we do a quick little dip and lift dance move, and she saves the day!
But today.....there was no JMe.
Today, I climbed up on my office desktop to reach the very tip top of our office cabinets, to store something. While coming back down, for balance, I reached for a shelf, that I now know is not attached to the cabinet. Coming down faster than a ton of bricks, my one ankle buckles and I fall to the office floor. Looked around to see if anyone was watching - because today would be my luck with a serving staff of all boys, when the coast was clear - came tears. Sucked it up and wiped the tears streaming down my face away - got back into GM mode, and thought about how lucky I was that day I had JMe behind me. I was just bragging about her to my bar manager her using her as an example of who we need to look for. Huge, bright smile, fiery red hair - big personality and a laugh that screams fun without even trying. She brought energy into the restaurant, and you just wanted to be around her without even realizing it. More people sat around her rail than any bartender I can remember. Those are some great memories!!
My right ankle now looks like a softball.
Tomorrow is another day......
