Taking a Leap of Faith

I was sitting out the front of my favourite cake and pie shop eating my lunch.  They make the most delectable food ranging from mouth-watering pastries to great sandwiches and rolls.  The pies they bake have a lovely thin crust which means you get more filling.  These beef and gravy pies are the best I’ve found in Melbourne and range from the basic to the curry.  The pasties are to die for and their sausage rolls don’t leave you burping yeast for hours after you ingest them.

I like their coffee too.  I’ve been in Melbourne long enough to know a good brew when I taste one.  The milk is never burnt and the beans used are high quality.  To top it off they are the friendliest group I’ve come across in ages which also why I frequent the joint.  I know their names and they remember every regular patron’s name (and there are many) along with mine.  In all it’s one of those rare gems that you make sure you polish and look after.

So, it’s sad when you overhear people who decide not to go in simply because of the cultural orientation of the staff behind the counter.  These guys had all but ploughed in through the door stopping short when they realised the ethnicity of these people.  I couldn’t help but ask them why they were suddenly hesitating if they hadn’t eaten there before. They had assumed the food would be "overpriced, terrible and of poor quality".   After a bit more friendly chat about the merits of trying something new I left it up to them to make the choice.  After all, they could have gone to any of the other places around the district.  None of which I will go back to, I might add.  The other places are staffed with skin colour and ethnicities that are a bit more accepted in mainstream society yet for me provided shoddy service, overpriced and poor quality food. 

Sometimes it’s great to look beyond our fears and take a leap of faith.  The irony is that whilst these two men were worried about inferior quality meat in the pies and possible food poisoning they failed to understand their responsibilities for themselves.  You see one was obese and the other was a smoker.