Mr Mohammed Shakir I first worked with Mr Mohammad at the 1 Miracle Mile, Coral gables store. Ironically it was him who had hired me after I walked in & introduced myself(1998). I left the store after a year, because I could not get along with his brother-in-law, My Ayub Ansari. I treated everybody nicely the American way, with respect. I always tried to avoid any India-Pakistani concversation with the guests, as I never wanted to offend them in any way. But sometimes people would just talk to me about it & I would explain them in a truthful manner.
I started working with Mr Mohammad again at the Kendall store(2001). I served him his T-Bone steak-dinner, couple of times at work. I never mentioned anything to him about eating beef. One day he saw me eating a Turkey BLT & just shriveled his nose & told me that I was eating worms. I was embarrassed. I loved the Turkey BLY, Sausage slam , etc, etc. I did not say anything & kept on eating. I always tried to avoid them, but it was impossible. They were the managers & I was a waiter. I even tried to apply at other restaurant, in the vicinity, but I was told by Mr Ramone Peterement, that I could not get myself a job in any of those places, where they had friends. Mr Peterment even threatened me couple of times, that if I would not leave the restaurant, he would get me arrested. He even threatened to cut my head-off once. He was pissed off about something. I worked there for 3 full years & endured all that harsh treatment. This man knew everything that had happened with my life in Springfield, Illinois. He even claimed that he knew Dr Mary Ann McRae & she had offered me 50 Million $. I heard him tell many guests, that I will be getting 45 million $ when I get to see her. One day, I sat down with him & confirmed it. I told him that he was right & in reality, I did not know this woman. I also told him it was not her fault, to accuse me as she was lied & tricked in a conspiracy at the Hospital. I was trying to meet with her & clear up all accusations & move along with my life. THATS IT !
In the fall of 2003' I went to India on a 30 day vacation & came back and began working at the same place. One day I was talking with some known guests at the table & they asked me about my flight to India & back. It was not very busy at the restaurant & I had no other table to attend to, so I started explaining my flight-experience back to the US. I was telling the guests that I enjoyed the good view of the Atlantic ocean on my way back. It was a clear sunny sky & we were cruising at about 37,000 feet and I saw clearly chunks of icebergs floating around the North Atlantic. It was a pretty sight, with a passenger-ships sailing by. All of a sudden, Mr Mohammad came from behind & interrupted me by saying, that I was lying & making things up. He said a B-747 cannot fly higher than 33,000 feet. I fely very weird. I told the guests that I saw the altimeter-display above the seat & it kept on flashing the altitude. I even said that I have flown on a B-747 as high as 39,700 feet once. I excused myself & left the tabl, without saying a word. I felt very insulted. I wanted to tell Mr Mohammad, that I have flown practically once every year on Indian Airlines & Air-India jets, on domestic flights, for 20 years in India. After that incident, I started avoiding him and began looking around elsewhere for work.
They hired an ex-Navy guy as a waiter whose name was Steve Nordstrom. I told Steve that I had tried for Navy Officers Training School back in 1987 & was trying for Aviation Officer Candidate School. I was slightly over the age limit of 26, as I was 28 years of age. So I did not qualify, moreover I did not pass the tough entrance test. I told Steve, that I was offered PETTY OFFICER position eventually, if I signed up. But I was bent upon the Aviation school. I even told Steve, that the US Navy & the Indian Navy warships were performing live exercises in the Indian Ocean every alternative year. Steve just got cocky & said we do not want your Indian warships coming close to our US warships !!
I knew that my time had come to an end. They had hired a military-guy, to put me down. Besides, I had never ever told anyone that I was in the military. I also never knew whether Steve was actually in the Navy or just plain faking it, like all the rest of the hot-shot-guys, who normally do. So I left Miami Dade-county and found me another damn waiters job in Ft Lauderdale, Broward-county at a Denny's Restaurant. I have a lot to tell from my experiences at the Oakland Park Denny's ! Darn !
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