It's a Jungle Out There

In my 7:00 to 4:30 workday, there are two times that I can without a doubt say are my favorites. Lunch time and quitting time. Usually when noon rolls around, I head to my apartment which is virtually across the street from my job. Today, however, given the fact that I haven't been to the grocery store in 2 weeks, and that I was in need of some girl talk, I decided to go to Pizza Hut with my friend and co-worker Liz.

Side Note: When we got to Pizza Hut there was a red helicopter in the parking lot. I have no idea why it was there...it simply was.

Now, one of the great things about going to Pizza Hut during lunch time is that for a few hours only, they have an all you can eat buffet, with pizza, pasta, salad, and bread sticks. One of the not so great things? The crowd. The line was so long at the hostess' podium that Liz and I were basically squashed together against the door while waiting to be seated.

When we were at last seated and the waitress had taken our order, we made our way up to the buffet, and prepared to dig in. We grabbed our plates, picked up the spatulas and served ourselves heaping plates of...nothing. Except for a few scraggly looking pieces of pizza and salad, there wasn't much to choose from. We heaved impatient sighs and went back to our table until they could refill the buffet.

After a few minutes, several workers came out from behind the counter, holding trays above their heads. The diners looked around nervously. You could cut the tension with a knife. Who would get to the buffet first? Who would make it before all the pizza was gone?

When at last all the trays were safely on the steam table, madness ensued. I've never seen so many people converge on a single spot so quickly in my life. I'm sure that if a small child had been present, they would have been trampled. Men in business suits pushed there way to the plates, big construction worker guys elbowed their way into line, cutting in front of a group of elderly ladies in the process, and my toes got stepped on. But...I did get my pizza.

As  we sat back at our table, happily munching on our lunch, I couldn't help but giggle at the buffet scene. The pizza had run out again, and hungry customers were pacing in circles around the steam tables, like vultures  or crows circling their prey.

I remarked to Liz my observation that it was like watching animals go to the watering hole. All different kinds of people, all looking for the same thing, and fighting for the best position to get it.

All this pushing, shoving, and stepping on of toes....for pizza. There's gotta be something wrong when otherwise mature and sane adults result to playground antics to see who will get to the pizza first. I mean, really....it IS Pizza Hut....do you really think they're going to run out of pizza?