Ode to My First Job

As a sophomore in high school I got my first real job at the food court, at a place called Petro's. Some people call what we served "frito pies," that is, Fritos and chili and toppings. I made one of these tonight for dinner and they are just as good as I remember when I was fifteen (and sixteen, seventeen, and eighteen). I was also thinking about how progressive Petro's was at the time. I think it was the only "restaurant" in the food court that served vegetarian food that wasn't pizza or french fries. I'm also getting nostalgic for the days when I only worked 15 or 20 hours a week most of the time, and my boss was really cool, and I could exchange my company's products for cookies or ice cream or photo development.