Those Who Are Tardy Do Not Get Fruit Cup

The first rule of good management is that providing food makes workers happy, so today the boss forked over for lunch. Many of our previous fearless leaders have not been as wise as our current principal since they called many more meetings and neglected to feed us so much as a cookie crumb even when the meeting was during lunch. Apparently this guy knows that if you feed them they will come - and we did.

Pizza was the special today, which seems to be a perennial favorite among students and faculty. School contest winners are frequently rewarded with this dish. (Donuts run a distant second on our campus.) Today's varieties included cheese, pepperoni, and sausage - basic fare - from Hungry Howie's, which resides across the street from the school. The pizza was alright, but not nearly as interesting as it could be. I prefer my pies smothered in peppers, onions, olives, mushrooms, and pineapple along with some added feta and parmesan cheese. Now that's a pizza. The crust, too, has to be right. Jeff goes for chewy deep-dish while the boy is fond of stuffed crust. My all-time favorite pizza base is Pizza Hut's pan pizza because it is slightly sweet, a little chewy, with a golden brown crunch on the bottom. In lieu of that, thin and crispy is always good. Hungry Howie's offered up a standard crust that held the ingredients but offered nothing extra in the way of flavor or texture. Still, beggars can't be choosers, so I gratefully ate my share of warm cheesy goodness during the meeting.

It seems to me that many employees could be easily appeased with a free lunch every now and then. It is an appreciative gesture, no matter how simple the fare. This has worked for me during department meetings when an offering of homemade cookies made it much easier for everyone to show up, sit down, and be quiet. (Even English teachers know it isn't polite to talk with your mouthful.) Often, our faculty is happy with a potluck as well, if someone only organizes the whole thing to begin with. Only this morning several English teachers were contemplating the benefits of a chili cook off held last year during AIMS testing. When I mentioned that chili seemed a little mundane, we decided that a dessert contest would provide much more excitement with judging in categories like pies, cakes, cookies, and other goodies. Just the thought of having a dessert buffet (and skipping "lunch" altogether) was enough to make our mouths water. Who could resist a chance to enter a dessert contest and taste all the goodies provided? Besides, winning could mean bragging rights for months to come.

So, I think when jobs get tough, as they frequently do for all of us, we should contemplate improving the situation with food. It brings a sense of camaraderie, comfort, and hominess to people and places we find stressful. Maybe that should be my new philosophy of life: When the going gets tough, the tough make something to share.