Singing Potatoes
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Thursday, 18 October 2001
Making each other's day

I was out doing an errand, and on my walk back to the office, I decided I wanted a snack, but none of my usual snack foods sounded appealing. And then I saw the sign of the Indian restaurant near my office.

Aha! Papadams! Wonderfully crispy, paper-thin, slightly spicy lentil-flour crisps -- just the thing for a midday snack!

So I walked up to the take-out window, scanned the menu... and they weren't listed. Well, I figured I'd try anyway. "Do you have papadams?" I asked.

I have absolutely no idea what the man behind the counter actually said to me, but the torrent of syllables was accompanied by a nod, so I took it as a yes. "How much for an order of them?" He stared blankly for a moment, held up a finger and went to get the manager.

"You want papadam?" the manager asked, coming outside to speak with me. When I replied in the affirmative, he asked, "For how many people?"

"Just me," I said.

He looked puzzled. "You only want one order of papadam?"

"Yes, I just want a snack. I like papadams." A huge smile broke out on his face. He went inside, wrapped up some papadams in foil, and handed the package to me. "How much is that?" I asked.

"No charge!" he said, dismissing the thought with a wave of his hand.

Taken aback, I asked, "Are you sure?"

"Yes, yes! Enjoy!"

Cool.

Posted by godfrey (link)
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