Clean Spoon

A Clean Spoon

A Restaurant 

Somewhere In a Seaport Town 

Above Boston, MA

Fall 1977

I had been told that this restaurant served delicious seafood chowder.  I knew it would be expensive but we thought we'd go there for lunch. The waitress brought the bowls over to our booth and quickly left. We were eating away, savoring every spoonful when the woman behind me tapped me on the shoulder.  She was offering me a spoon.  She asked if I wanted her clean spoon.

"No thanks, I have one. Why do you ask?"

"Because I saw the waitress drop your spoon on the floor and she picked it up and wiped it off on her apron".

My expensive bowl of chowder just started tasting gritty to me.  Moment ruined.