Leftovers

I have long wondered at the inclination of many restaurant patrons to fight for the opportunity to pay the bill, and not to shirk it. I believe I may have mentioned it. Maybe I don't really understand human nature very well. I guess I'm atypical, because I have never exactly been spoiling for a fight to shoulder more than my share of any burden. I'll do it, but I won't argue over it. A similar scenario plays out over and over again when there's a party of some kind. If it's a good one, anyway, there's a great deal of food left over. The host of the party pleads lack of space, and sometimes insists they won't eat it all anyway. They beg for the few guests remaining to take food home. Now, I would think that it would happen very quickly that guests would seize upon this opportunity for free food to take with them. I know I always do, but as I noted, I am perhaps rather abnormal.

Now, I have my own limitations. As I often leave parties on public transportation, some foodstuffs can be a problem to transport. Should they be heavy or cumbersome, that's an obvious stumbling block, but not an impossible one. After one of my early gigs in LA, there was a huge quantity of craft services to be disposed of. I took about all of it, and stuffed it in a garbage bag which I took all the way home on trains and buses. It was worth it. Other times, there are just plain messy foods or ones inclined to spoil in some fashion. I declined some ice cream following a recent pool party, but wasn't happy about it. I did take some beer. The general rule for me is that if it's at all possible, I'll take free food with me- it doesn't matter how inconvenient it is.

With others, I don't know what they're thinking sometimes. There's a certain diminishment of dignity in accepting the food, maybe. Perhaps some are in fact making an assiduous effort to look successful by means of appearing to have no use for such complimentary items. I'm not immune to that impulse, but will resist it in such cases as this. Of course, I must concede that others may have similar practical considerations to mine. They are likely to be driving their own cars, so there isn't that, but storage space may be even more of a concern. I've seen some refrigerators that don't appear as if they could accomodate so much as a can of soda, let alone a pan of lasagna. Ours most often has more than enough space. Were I to be depending on my mini fridge, I certainly could not take anything.

A final point of consideration is appetite. I am just an eating machine- a veritable bottomless pit. I have no shame in saying so. Anyone will confirm it. Ask my father, who will undoubtedly be able to recount several outstanding stories off the cuff. One occurs to me. He had requested anchovies on a pizza once, thinking this would insure its leftovers against oblivion at my hands. No such luck, as he found out. What I'm getting at is that many people are not like me, and perhaps see the food spoiling even should there be room in their refrigerator. The reason is simply that they have an ordinary human appetite, and not that of a dispose-all. That reason and the above ones probably explain the hesitance of people to accept leftovers. It seemed a more intractable mystery before I started writing.