While I was attending a Medicaid conference on the future of health care in DC, here in San Francisco, the debate on the the ban of toys with restaurant kids’ meals was heating up this past week (translation: The ban of McDonald’s happy meals).
Because of this, I felt somewhat sheepish to find myself in the hotel restaurant after day 2 of the Medicaid conference staring down at a succulent medium-rare patty of meat wrapped in a brioche bun with just a smear of butter and piled high with avocado, caramelized onions, Portabello mushrooms and a slice of provolone cheese. On the side, a generous haystack of fries, golden brown, still glowing from a dip in hot oil. In fact, the only bit of restraint I showed was the fact I didn’t get a fried egg on top of my hamburger, thank goodness for that amount of will power.
I rarely order a burger and fries, however, the multitude of topping options on the menu lured me in the same way an extensive pizza topping list would make one strongly consider Italian for dinner. It had been a long day and I reveled in being seated at the restaurant in a discreet corner.
Beside my cutlery, my Amazon Kindle sat. It was my dinner date. Ordering room service when I travel alone on business for dinner had become tiresome. The food, after being transported up the elevator and around winding hallways just didn’t taste as appetizing. So, I have long since opted to travel down to the hotel restaurant, bringing a book with me as to avoid being entangled in awkward glances with the wait staff or other restaurant patrons.
Instead of a paper back book of course, these days, yours truly is sporting around with my Kindle. I pick up a fry, dip it in a bit of ketchup and savor the sweet, salty and crunchy sensation in my mouth.
I reach over to turn on the Kindle only to realize I had greasy fingers. With my paper back books, a simple swipe of my fingers against my napkin and I would nonchalantly flip a page. Not so easy with my Kindle as any tiny grease stain would not just be a temporary unsightly smudge on a page quickly forgotten once I move beyond the page, the book. No, in this case, any grease spot would be there for this page, the next and any future ebooks I would download.
Perhaps I must become skilled with using my pinky. On a positive note, it is much easier to keep on any given page with my Kindle. You don’t have to struggle with the natural inclination of the spine to collapse back to a book’s closed position.
Finally, perhaps I need to stick to healthier fare. No greasy fingers, no smudge marks on my Kindle.