The Jar 
~ by James Banzer

   You would not expect to learn a lesson in the unfairness of communism at your local all-night diner. That's just where it happened during a recent late-night breakfast.
   A waitress came to the table, took the order and served yours truly and wife of the last 23 years. During the meal, the waitress came back over and said
that she was making fresh coffee. She promised to return with it when the brew had finished.
   In the meantime, an unusual conversation took place in the nearly-empty establishment. It involved our waitress, a second waitress, and the cook.
   The cook broached the subject. She stated that the manager had reached a decision regarding tips. She revealed that the plan was to put all tips in a jar,
and divide them up among all the waiter staff at the end of the day. Each would get an equal amount of tip money.
   The second waitress was obviously incensed by this proposition. She said that the manager could not do that. The waitress who had served us disagreed. "Oh,
yes he can," she stated. By the tone of voice and quick response, it was obvious that our waitress was pleased with this plan.
   Long before the meal was finished, our coffee had been consumed. New coffee had finished its drip, and was sitting there.
   There was no return visit from our waitress. She was busy sitting at the counter, reading her newspaper and puffing on a cigarette. This lasted far longer than what might have been any obligatory fifteen-minute break. The woman was oblivious to everything going on around her.
   Minutes passed. The waitress who had not served us walked by and asked if everything was alright. Since she was the only one who seemed to care, I asked if she would mind bringing me some more coffee. She cheerfully complied.
   We sat there and consumed the coffee. After a few minutes, it was time to go. My wife handed our waitress a small tip. She remained at the counter smoking and reading.
   Truthfully, she did not deserve anything more than the much less than minimum wage which waitresses are paid at diners. It seemed proper protocol to give the tip to our original waitress, but shame on me for not suggesting that it go instead to the second waitress who cared more about the customer. The cigarette-puffing waitress got her extra money, and did not even have to divide up money from any yet to be created community tip jar.
   Such happens in a communistic system. Those who don't do their share still get a piece of the pie. They don't need to worry about excelling. There's no need to fret about earning their money, as the money will be there for them, whether or not they have turned a hand to deserve it.
   It does not have to happen just in a system where communism is the law of the land. It can happen right in your own nearby 24-hour diner. The jar is the
community pot. It takes away incentive. It is not fair, but the system calls it equity.
   When the jar makes an appearance, our waitress is going to be happy. It will give her plenty of cigarette money.

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James Banzer has enjoyed a long career in broadcast news and is now writing on his observations about the world around us. He is currently residing in Louisville, Kentucky. You may send an e-mail to him at  jamesbanzer@yahoo.com .