Geppetto’s Log - Stardate 050222.1

A Night to Remember
#grateful

Last Saturday night Geppetto’s had the pleasure of serving plated dinners to over 100 attendees at the Saint Joseph School Auction.

Shout out to Angela Badgett, a Saint Joseph School parent volunteer, for thinking of us, for calling and pushing me a to accept the challenge. The order was pretty tall but Chef Frank Primley knew what he was doing as far as the food was concerned (which was delicious btw) and as promised, Angela was there to help with plating and dinner service.

Student volunteers delivered the salads and entrées to the gym and according to one cutie, “The people are raving about the food!”

As the dishes were cleared by servers… and returned to the kitchen… they began to mount. I realized pretty quickly I had not thought through to the finish line of the night. Suddenly I knew… I would not be leaving that event until the last table was completely cleared. The plates and flatware were rented by the school but the dressing and butter cups as well as serving spoons were ours. I was definitely going to be there till the end. There would be no other way to guarantee I had retrieved all of our wares.

As the student parade of dirty dishes continued… it hit me… there was no one to start the washing process but me. The adults were all at the event and rightfully so. Their job that night was to be together in community celebrating, spending lots of money in support of a worthy cause.

I asked Chef Frank to show me how to run the dishwasher before he left and my quest for completion commenced.

Here’s where it gets interesting. Without verbalizing a cry for help… an eighth grader named Isabel appeared at my side. She was tall and smart and driven. I could tell.

“Don’t worry. She said. We’ve got this and I’m not leaving you.”

Isabel’s parents and a Saint Joe’s education have obviously done an amazing job of teaching her the importance of service, responsibility, hard work, respect for others and perseverance. She and I worked side by side sorting and rinsing, racking and washing while other students scraped plates and laughed about how gross it was.

As Isabel and I worked we chatted. I asked her about school and her family… and what she wanted to be when she grows up. “A Neurosurgeon, she said… and if not that then an author.”

I thought to myself… I’m an author… but Isabel didn’t need to know that. This night… I was the dishwasher and Isabel helped to make that the best job ever. We worked until her ride had to leave and parents returned to the kitchen after the event had ended.

Finally, Geppetto’s last spoon and dish accounted for I was free to go. What seemed like a nightmare at first turned into a night to remember for all the right reasons.

We are all here to serve. I predict Isabel will help many people in her life. If being a neurosurgeon is what she is meant to be I pray she will sail through the process unencumbered, celebrated as an incredibly intelligent woman, respected and appreciated.
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Perhaps one day Isabel will write a book… which inspires others to serve. Wouldn’t that be something?