Through Thick and Thin
By Tone Matrix on October 5, 2024 9:53 pm
Hello there. 
These past 7 days were a bit of a changeup compared to my usual weeks at home this year.
Back in 2012-2016ish me and 2 of my friends ran a small food truck (an ’86 Grumman pic below).
We sold all kinds of empanadas, steak and shrimp skewers, mac n cheese balls, ceviche, fried plantains and pulled pork tacos to name a few.
It was probably thee most demanding job physically I’ve ever had but it was also the most rewarding (not so much financially lol).
It definitely makes a difference when your “boss” is your best friend and you’ve known him since 3rd grade. So shouting at each other is allowed 
My friends Bruno and Luis both went to school for their careers. I was thrown into the fire just by luck and needing an extra hand. But in those years I learned so much about cooking and the food service industry. Hence it was my fav job ever and just about the only one that understood that I wasn’t always “on” or “ready’. You didn’t clock in or out you just wanted the business to succeed and to get to that next event.
So Luis has been living up north in Central Florida (we are down in South Fl, Miami) for awhile now and it had been a long time since we all had hung out together.
During the food truck run we basically saw each other every day and night since we had to constantly prep food for events taking place the next night. So you learn a lot about each other being stuck in a tiny kitchen and an even tinier food truck for hours on end. Imagine 3 bodies trying to shimmy and shake around each other. I quickly learned the dance word… “BEHIND!!!” Me as I took an order with sweat dripping from my head (cuz bald and humid miami), Bruno explaining how we prepared a dish to a customer while also adding finishing touches to the plated order and Luis sweating his @$$ off as he tried to tame the fryer from hell we had in the truck. No AC like the newer fancy trucks and no speaker system. We had a boom box that was stuck in demo lights mode playing my phone’s music. We also learned quick that crispy frazzled onions were not fun to clean up in a fryer reallll quick. But i digest…..
Most nights before an event we would have family meal together with Bruno’s family and all of us. I was going through some tough times before I started with them and this was a great way to find some consistency and distraction from everything.
So as I realize I rambled wayyyyy more than I intended i’ll try and sum this up as best as I can. The food truck crew was reunited for a full 10 days this time and we had a blast. My body is a bit angry at me since apparently my usual hermit mode of sitting hunched at a computer screen was not the healthiest for me this year.
We had multiple family meals, movie viewings and all the fun stuff we used to do together as 3 friends in a tiny yellow food truck.
I am very thankful for the few friends I still have. Few is fine, it’s the close and understanding kind of friends that matter most and thankfully those 2 have helped me through a lot. There is nothing either of us wouldn’t do for the other. When one is in the hospital, the others are there visiting etc..
Which meanssss I haven’t done diddly with music all week. I definitely need to catch up on tracks 
But as I sat Saturday afternoon at the keys I thought about how I was already missing them knowing I was going back to hermit mode for a bit.
I thought about how grateful I am that they have stuck by me even though most times I can barely get myself out the door. Once I do and I just hang with them things start to feel a bit more at ease and it’s like we’re back in the kitchen prepping again. It isn’t the answer, but it sure helps get through those tough days.
So the few chords I smeared out yesterday for this week’s noodle are with them in mind. Also I have appeared to return from space this week. No OMMMbiance, no crickets and no space dust sized reverbage. Plain old Pianoodles
Thank you for reading this rambly incoherent description.
I hope you are well and enjoying spooktober time to go pray to Thor that this next hurricane doesn’t go anymore south and that it doesn’t strengthen Supposedly arriving by Tues/Wed
**fingers/toes_crossed**
ps. this text desc looked much smaller in the tiny white box before seeing it go live eep!
**dives back into hermit hole**
FLOOMP!
"Putt Putt" - The lil yellow truck that could (at least until the highway killed it)
**taps_heard_in_the_distance**
Audio works licensed by author under:
CC Attribution Share Alike (BY-SA)
Sounds like a wonderful group of friends. This piece felt like the perfect soundtrack for the memories you’re describing!