The Smell of Rotten Eggs

I stood in our new duplex with the smell of rotten eggs flowing from the water faucet. Why does this smell continue to haunt me? I recalled when I was a twenty=nine

-year-old chef and happily married with two children, until the smell of rotten eggs ruined my life The smell of rotten eggs brings me back to the time that everything in my life changed. This smell, however, was not rotten eggs at all. It was a smell that was identical to rotten eggs, but you probably have never heard of it. After I tell you my story you might understand where this horrific smell came from and why it was so life changing for me.

Fifteen years ago, my husband Greg and I had our own restaurant in Louisiana. This is a state that takes its food seriously, so, we worked hard to have the best food around. The locals said they could smell our food for blocks away. It starts in the morning with the smell of bacon biscuits and benneits. Of course, the aroma of our coffee added just the right pep to their step. Or maybe hash browns, sausage, and eggs over easy would sizzle its way into their mind until they found themselves in the long line of patrons. Patrons waiting to be let in as The Greasy Spoon opened its doors.

The restaurant business is not an easy way to make a living, but it can bring great satisfaction. But many people on staff feel overworked and underpaid. This is the way it is, and I have my doubts that will ever change. We were satisfied that we brought the best food to the table for the best price that we could This was done for our customers. We called it customer satisfaction. We also believed that we treated our staff well and paid them according to industry standards. Some got paid more than others but that is true in any business. We also made a point to praise a job well done. But praise does not pay their rent, put food on the table, or give them that vacation in Hawaii. The day was fast approaching when these employees would show us exactly how they felt about our praise.

We had heard the murmurs of the disgruntled employees and decided to meet the problem head on. A mandatory meeting was held after closing on Friday night. Many employees voiced the same concerns. They felt we asked too much and gave too little. Our dirty little secret was that we knew this to be true. Greg and I felt if we lost employees that they could and would be easily replaced. This was the way of the restaurant business. The meeting ended with the promise of an eventual raise in the future (translated: we hope you forget) and of course more praise. This was also the way of the restaurant business.

Saturday, we had a nice breakfast crowd and looked forward to a bigger crowd at lunch. We locked the door for the customary hour between the two shifts. Greg and I left together to go home and check on the kids. When we returned, we opened the dining room doors. Customers were seated and we welcomed close to a full house. We went to the back of the house, and it looked the same as it always did. The smell of our good food once again filled the air. Greg and I went into our office to do our paperwork (this is the king counting his money.) About half-way through the lunch rush the most horrific smell came pouring through our air conditioning vents. We had a very large air conditioning unit with many vents, both in the front and the back of the house. There were twenty-five vents in the dining room. The customers began gagging and screaming as they ran towards the door.

I asked Greg what the hell happened here? I don't know Jill; something is in the air conditioner he said. You go apologize and I will try and find the problem. Greg called the air-conditioning man and told him we needed him asap (because the king didn't fix what the king could pay to have fixed.) Tony (my ex) owned the air-conditioning service. He told Greg that he could possibly make it there on Monday but was much too busy to make it earlier.

Greg did what he thought any good owner would do. He pulled out the ladder and told two of his most under-paid workers to find the problem. Yes sir, they said. They took down each vent to have a look inside. While adding to the problem they each came down the ladder claiming they didn't see anything. It was not until they got

to the very last vent that Steve yelled down, I found them! That's when Steve handed Greg a rotten egg that he pulled from his pocket. Thank God, you found it Greg said.

We locked up for Sunday. Greg told Tommy to leave the air blowing full blast until Monday. I guess he was trying to clear the smell from the air system. Greg said he intended to put air freshener in the vents on Monday. When he got home Greg called Tony to tell him to cancel the work order. The source of the disgusting aroma had had been found and taken care of.

Monday morning Greg went in to open the restaurant and was bowled over at the door. He called me in a panic. The smell was back and worse than ever, call Tony. I did and Tony told me he had already filled the appointment slot and he could make it on Wednesday. O.K. we'll take Wednesday I said. I called Greg to let him know and he snapped at me. I will call Tony myself. So, he did, and Tony didn't. Greg will learn one day that Tony doesn't jump when Greg says frog. We finally reopened Thursday having paid a very high price.

The first price was the high expense of Tonys services (Tony did not like Greg.) Then there was the price of lost customers. Some might not ever return. But the biggest cost of all was the fact that it just kept happening. Soon nobody even bothered to come.

Rotten eggs were not the cause of the smell, it was a rotten fruit called Durian. It was continually spread throughout the air conditioning system as well as hidden in the dining room. We could never figure out who was doing this. I think it was all of the employees and I think Tony helped them.

One last thing, Greg and I were forced to downsize. Did I mention when I run the water in our duplex, it smells like rotten eggs.

the end