You've been 86'D...

Now if you're in the industry you know what 86'd is.

For you newbees out there it is used when something is out of stock, of the menu, and just plain gone.

It is usually on a Bulliten board so the whole staff can see what we are out of and let the guest's be aware.

So several years ago I worked for a corporate establishment called LoneStar Steakhouse and Saloon.

Now corporate restaurants are the epitome of evil as far as any server worth their salt is concerned.

I might have a little rant about those on another day.

But needless to say they generally hold no value for their employees and feel only the customer makes them successful.

Nerer recognizing the efforts put forward by the servers, cooks, and staff that their business is held up by.

Now back to LoneStar, they decided to hold a wine meeting to explain to us the value of their White Zin, Sutter Home Merlot and other "fine" wines.

At this point I was working two part time jobs, also jockeying as a server/bartender at a local bar and grill.

Well the meeting was on a Saturday morning and I had to be at my other job that morning, the wine meeting was mandatory however so I went to one of my "managers," Tim.

"If you don't show up you're done," Tim quipped. "Your already on thin ice for being late..."

(3 minutes on a clock that they run 10 minutes fast)

"If you walk in thirty seconds late you know I'm authorized to to fire you, you know."

(So I've been told every shift for the past 3 weeks, when running directly on time)

"You had better find some way out of your shift."

So ya, like I'm going to put my better job out and miss a hundred dollar shift on a college football day.

I don't show.

No call from the manager firing me, nothing...

Until I get a call from Jarad, one of my serving brothers, he didn't make the meeting either due to his other job.

"Man, we've been 86'd!!!"

"What? I know they were threatening termination to no shows." I sputter

"No man, they actually put our names on the 86 board on Saturday nite's shift, they let me go when I showed up for work."

So I was put on the 86 list, along with chopped steak, Texas roses (bloomin onions), and chicken kababs.

No phone call, no call to the office to be fired, just intended public humiliation in front of the entire staff.

We where nothing but chopped steak to them, easily replaced and re-ordered.

The chickenshits intended for our friends to tell us we where fired, our jobs where nothing but a joke to them...

Their small lives are nothing but a joke to me.

So go down to you local Texas Saloon, Have a Texas Rose, a Texas Meltdown Margarita ($9, watch out they upcharge the size without asking)

And have a toast to the poor soul that delivered it to you...