We drove around for nearly an hour this morning trying to find somewhere that had, and I quote, “good hashbrowns.” The first few places we stopped by had unacceptable wait times. And when your cranky partner wants hash browns it’s your duty to find them.
We finally settled on an IHOP in south Naples (yes it’s a chain). I was admittedly in a somewhat cranky mood, because I didn’t want to spend my Saturday morning driving around looking for hash browns.
But once we got seated, it was a beautiful experience.
The wait staff was a symphony of immigrants from all parts of the world. Haiti, Eastern Europe, and Central America. This truly was an international house of pancakes! Their diverse accents collided with the sounds of the kitchen to form a beautiful melody. That’s the sound of the American dream 🇺🇸
Our waiter was from Lithuania. He recently graduated high school, and is trying to figure out his next steps. His mom works at this IHOP too.
I have mad respect for anyone who moves half way across the world, learns a new language, and is willing to work entry level jobs 7 days a week to create a better life. This is why I have no patience for Americans who don’t have that same level of hustle. We truly have no idea how lucky we are to be born in the country most people wish they were born in.
Suppose I value my time at > $100/hour, but I’ll just use $100/hour as an example.
The hashbrowns were $3. If it took me just 30 minutes to prep, cook, and clean up everything, the hashbrowns really cost me $50 (30 minutes of time valued at $100/hour). Most people don’t consider this.
Yes, we had to spend time to drive there, but that’s part of the experience of eating out (ie it’s a feature not a bug). I don’t really count that as a cost, because I enjoy driving more than I do cooking.
This is what makes capitalism magical. People with wildly different time values and preferences can make win-win agreements where both sides win. I’m happy to spend $3 on hashbrowns, and IHOP is happy to profitably sell them to me at that price.
Win-win
Earn this.