It has been a month (yesterday, 01 Oct 2023) since we lost Jimmy, but thankfully he is still with us. His Margaritaville channel did a great 3-week tribute and continues to bring us his tunes. Known for many a sailing song, he was also a pilot with a CPL (Commercial Pilot License) & ratings for multi-engine land & sea aircraft (getting to do a flight with the Navy’s Blue Angels). I think he would’ve made one heckuva Park Ranger Pilot for NPS. When I think of his aerial tunes I think of:
Somewhere Over China
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KB15lm89RsE ;
Jamaica Mistaica
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsKZewdhDtk ;
Silver Wings
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIw68ePV9TY ;
Strange Bird
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziG30rMYF6o ;
Treetop Flyer (a Stephen Stills song)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRI-cK5QDS0 ;
Thanks again Jimmy: we know you loved the air & sea (“Mother, mother ocean…”)
Now, some thoughts about tipping:
“… she would leave him the tip, the typically grand sum of one dollar, our nod to what we considered a ludicrous American practice.”
The Sympathizer (by Viet Thanh Nguyen)
The subject of tipping is usually a good hand grenade to mix-up (or explode) conversations. I just finished reading the above noted work, and was reminded that while traveling in foreign lands it is best to find out about, and follow, local customs: some places tipping is not the norm, or even considered rude.
As Meme & I have both had jobs (once-upon-a-time) where tips were an essential part of our income, we practice responsible tipping and reward good service. In addition, we still have relatives in the service industry that count on tips. A semi-recent LTE here said in essence: if you can’t afford to tip 20+% you shouldn’t be dinning out. I felt it conveyed a message not supported by the hospitality industry (and restaurant owners/managers) in that it said to many: “don’t go.” I thought it missed the point also about any association with service.
A semi-recent personal experience highlights something to be alert for:
A nice local (Santa Fe) café specializing in Mediterranean cuisine brought the check with a 20% “service charge” already added. They didn’t note that upfront or at that time. Then they had the tipping chart (18%, 20%, 25%, etc.) noting what a tip would be based on your total (that figure included your 20% service charge). I guess they heard from enough of us that they stopped that practice: the next time I went they no longer did that, but I noticed their tipping chart was based on final total (with tax) and started at 20%. They boldly recommended 25%, also showing a 30% calculation for consideration.
Many of us have been faced with an appropriate tip for take-out food orders. The numbers of which mushroomed during the pandemic. The NY Times did a fair job of addressing the perplexities of this, indicating that 10% is fair for grab-n-go from a sit-down place; fast food remaining at nada. There are proponents of simply adding a 20% service fee to all orders. I find that contrary to the notion that it should be earned. Everyone has had an experience that you just don’t want to positively reinforce and reward.
Other services are getting into the action as well, and I can only wonder how long will it be before when you pickup your dry cleaning they put the pad up to your face to select the proper tip amount? (We may already be there).
Coming in another month: “Equal Strain On All Parts”
