Police Called to Local Restaurant

by I. B. Lyon

Bubba’s Buffet has been a fixture in The Valley for many years. They have great food and a friendly staff, and people come back time after time. Bubba Biggers decided to let kids (12 & under) eat free on Leap Day, Feb. 29th, this year. It was something fun to get people in the door during a week night . Biggers did a good job of getting the word out on social media, and they had a great crowd last night.

Not long after they opened, Bubba realized that he might have made a mistake. One of his waitresses came to him to talk about an angry customer. The waitress told Bubba that a grown man with a wife and two kids claimed that he was 9 years old, and he let the waitress know up front that his meal along with his kids’ meals should be free. The waitress basically told him that he was full of it, and he would have to pay for his meal. The customer then explained to her that he was born on leap year 36 years ago, but he was technically 9 years old. So, the waitress told him that she’d have to talk with Bubba about it.

Bubba said, “I told my waitress to let him know that his meal would be free, but I realized that he probably wasn’t going to the be last customer to make this claim. And, I was right. My waitress came back to me 5 minutes later with the same issue, and I told her that we were one and done. Another waitress came to see me a few minutes later with another customer making the same claim. Then, I stopped what I was doing and talked to every sapsucking adult that claimed they were born on Leap Day. I let them all know they would have to pay for their food. It really ticked me off. There’s no darn way that many people in The Valley were born on Leap Day.”

A couple diners got downright ugly. One diner made one of Bubba’s waitresses cry. She said, “This guy started cussing when I let him know he’d have to pay for his food. He started making fun of the way I talk, and he even made a comment about my weight.” Bubba did all he could to put out the fires all night, but he was losing his patience.

Things came to a head when a gentleman told a waiter he was born on Leap Day 48 years ago. So, he claimed he was 12. The waiter informed him that he’d have to pay of his meal. The diner got very angry, and he and the waiter exchanged words. Bubba said, “I know the guy a little bit, and I know he wasn’t born on Leap Day. I saw on Facebook that he had a birthday about a week ago. This idiot was just trying to get a free meal like 20 other moochers tonight.” The gentleman told Bubba and the waiter if he couldn’t get a free meal because of his age then they’d have to give him one since it was his birthday. Things escalated from there. Bubba said, “I told him to leave my restaurant immediately. I may have called him a name or two.”

One of Bubba’s employees called the police because they feared things might get out of hand. The police arrived after the irate gentleman had left. Bubba said, “I told the police what had happened all night, and they laughed about it. I never dreamed people would’ve tried this stuff. I guess one person came up with the idea, and they must’ve told all their friends. I even had one diner say he identified as a 10 year old boy, so he should get meal for free. I won’t be doing this on Leap Day again I promise you; I probably won’t even open up on Leap Day again.”

Valleyans, the moral of the story is that no good deed goes unpunished. And, people like free food. They will do anything under the sun for free food. Stay alert out there today Valleyans, and don’t fall victim to any Leap Day scams.