It is a spring day, this April 7, 2026. It is a Tuesday and battle stations are being prepped in anticipation of Yancy’s visit tomorrow. He is due, it is scheduled. I have butted heads with Yancy and he was right and I was right but he refused to recognize my side of the story and appeared to resent my speaking up on my own behalf.

It’s simple really. At the fruit stand I receive requests alongside Janis and Kimberly and of course, Yancy. There is a two hour window to fill these requests but when nothing else is going on, you might as well fill those requests. Now last week, I had a problem with hot links in my emails and so I copied a response from Kimberly or Janis and pasted it as my own.

In doing that, I overlooked a date that was in the copied text that was not the requested time. The email went out but at the bottom of the email was another line that I had copied from my entry in the system, Monday Apr 6 8AM – Friday Apr 10 11:59PM which seems like it was not read by the person who requested and was confused.

This is where Yancy stepped in, annoyed at this mistake, saying that I had rushed through and did not read the request carefully. I did read the request carefully, it was the response that was not read carefully, having taken it for granted that the copied text was the same as it had been previously.

Yes there was a mistake, and there was the correct answer at the end but the correct answer was unread. Yancy stepped in and set this bloke up for today’s request and I took it upon myself to answer the request for the rest of the days of the week. I am certain this issue is not settled and it’s an irritant for me at this moment.

I spoke with Marcus about it and he recommended emailing the counselor that set me up at the fruit stand, knowing that Yancy is doing exactly that, contacting my counselor to complain. With Marcus looking out for me, I did just that.

So a feeling of apprehension hovers over my head. On top of that I was going to order a salad for lunch, but the menu changed since my last order leaving me wondering what shold I do. I do try to eat healthier but an $18.00 salad leaves one wanting. I am remeninded of when I was working for Barry McGarry and a salad was no more than $12.00, $14.00 with tip.

But that was then, this is now and Wendy’s looks affordable and appetizing. ANd it was affordable and appetizing. Not necessarily the healthiest but it was something. Before I went to pick up my food, I was working on a list of requests, numbering around 65 people. Halfway through I decided to get my food, thinking I would just pick it back up when I returned, only to have forgotten that the page would refresh and without me being there, all my work would be lost.

And it was lost. I worked through my lunch, adding and checking names and times, and after an hour or so of doing that, I could not make sense of it anymore. I should have taken an actual break; I should have stepped away from the desk for my lunch hour, but I was trying to prove that I am a team player.

Kimberly was out today. Lex Luthor will never return. Janis and Yancy held down the fort at the main fruit stand and I felt I should do more than my fair share, but at the cost of my sanity. I came home and had the idea, a hope that Yancy will let today be today and tomorrow be a new day.

I guess I will find out tomorrow morning, 8:00 AM.

April 6, 2026. Been at my desk for 90 minutes, a slow chilly Monday morning. Yesterday it was damp and I did not leave the apartment until this morning. Nothing was going on anyhow.

Evelyn Lampkin’s name popped into my head. Evelyn was a cook at Automat Kitchen. A newly opened restaurant in the Newport Tower in Jersey City. Good food, good concept, unfortunately they opened during the pandemic and during normal times it is hard enough to open a successful restaurant, during a pandemic it is even harder.

I contacted Bob Baydale who was a good guy. At the time I was working at Trader Joe’s and had 2 strikes against me. Being the flighty beasts they were, I knew I had no chance of staying there much longer. One strike was warranted, the other strike was arbitrary. I applied for the position of restaurant manager at Automat Kitchen and it was a good position, a Monday through Friday job, 10 AM – 6PM.

But there was no foot traffic in a building that used to house 4000 workers and now had 300 workers passing by and they were bringing their lunches.

It was an interesting staff. Bob was forever saying ‘to make a long story short’ which invariably would be an even longer story to be heard. But Bob was a good guy and it was not a big deal.
Jose was one of the cooks and he had hired two Turkish brothers who were nice enough.

Bob also hired Evelyn Lampkin who was a talented cook but rubbed people the wrong way. Evelyn insisted that we all wear matching uniforms, in front of restaurant and kitchen staff. I was dressing nice enough and no one would see the kitchen staff so it seemed like a silly idea.

Evelyn was surprised by my resistance and was offering to reimburse me for whatever slacks and shirt I could get in the nearby mall. I mentioned that we should focus on other pressing matters than how we should all dress alike.

The Turkish brothers and Evelyn did not get along. They may have worked together before Automat Kitchen but things had changed. Things were so different that one weekend afternoon, the Turkish brothers walked off the job rather than work with Evelyn one more minute.

Evelyn was accused of being too bossy and not having any social skills to not ruffle feathers. The Turkish brothers might have had a problem working with a Black woman. It was a no win situation and Evelyn was shown the door.

Somehow I had the foresight to know that Automat Kitchen was not going to last much linger and I set about getting a better job. Barry McGarry had liked my resume and I was called in for a Saturday morning interview.

I met with Rafe Dais and it went well. In hindsight I went from the frying pan into a wok. Barry McGarry was good for the first year or so but after that it all went down the gluteous maximus like Lito Semana after a trip to the bookstore.