Subject: Memories Miller's Cafeteria bus boy
this is May 30,2003 and my memory tonight is of May 30,1935 (1 know I have shared this with some of you so just turn your machine off and go to sleep --but for you newly 'on line' ones) 68 years ago tonight I was still working in Miller's Cafeteria in Minneapolis looking forward to the next night for Graduation from Bible School and from living alone---well I was doing my job--cleaning tables and taking dishes and glasses down to the washing machine when in comes Nathalie, her Mother, her little brother Arlin, and Mrs Carpenter for whom Nathalie was working. and with whom, Nathalie's mother was staying --having come for our wedding the next day, now there I was with two big trays of glasses -some with water in them ==carrying them on my one hand up high as I always did--- to put them in the conveyor down to the washing machine, but now I had to LOOK not at where I was going but at Nathalie and perhaps to show off a bit as to my ability as "bus boy" well in the very center of that big dining room there was a pillar that helped hold the ceiling up and also inside it was the machine that took the dirty dishes and trays down to the dishwasher- that pillar was about 8 feet square--who could not see it? suddenly while looking at that One who tomorrow would be my bride, I ran square into that pillar and all those glasses, 48 total, and two big metal trays went sailing onto the tiled floor, what a clatter--wow--everyone in the dining room turned to see and Mrs Miller, the owner's wife, came running from her office to see and there I was standing in the midst of broken glasses, bent trays, and water. about as embarrassed as anyone could be AND thinking of those 48 glasses (the rule was that we workers were charged 5 cents for each glass we broke-) all I could think of then was $2.40- "a day and half wages" --there on that floor-- when Mrs Miller got to me and asked what happened- well I thought I better tell the truth so I said I was looking at Nathalie whom I was to marry tomorrow and ran into that pillar--she was so nice, called a cleaning man and told him to clean up the mess and
then said for me to forget it. well I had been brash enough to invite Mr and Mrs Miller to our wedding and sure enough they came and as they came in he said to me--"be sure and don't hit any pillars tonight." yep 68 years ago tonight. and tomorrow when we wake up it will be ANNIVERSARY DAY. Thank God for them all. the old bus boy turned preacher me
6/1/2003