Schöneberg, Kultpizzeria: How a wobbly table taught me a lesson for life – Commentary

Schöneberg , cult pizzeria. My friend was already sitting at a table for two when I arrived a few minutes late, as usual. What I noticed immediately: the table was wobbling. I resorted to the tried and tested method of folding a napkin and pushing it under the square base of the table, into which the central column on which the table top rested merged. Result: the wobbling got even worse. Because the reason for the instability did not seem to be that the table was on uneven ground. It was wobbling. We moved to the next table.

The restaurant filled up quickly and two young men sat down at the problematic table. They soon noticed that the table was wobbly. I immediately bonded with them: "We were just sitting here and we switched," I said. They laughed. This option was no longer available to them because there were no more free tables. They remained in a good mood even when the food was brought - they had both ordered pizza - and they had to use some strength to cut it up, which made the table wobble even more. They mastered this task brilliantly, seemed to see it as a challenge and kept casting glances at us, seeking recognition. We were generous with our goodwill and praise.

The man at the wobbly table seemed desperate

We were still sitting when a new guest sat down at the wobbly table. He, too, quickly realized what the problem was. But how differently he dealt with it. First he waved over a waiter, a man with earrings and hair in a ponytail, who made a very half-hearted attempt to stop the wobbling by moving my napkin, which was still under his foot, to another place. But that didn't change anything. But he was not contrite or in any way trying to please the guest. With adorable arrogance he shrugged his shoulders and left. The young man seemed desperate. He waved over the waiter again and asked him, quite obviously intimidated, if he could sit at another table, he couldn't possibly stay here. He was allowed to.

The lesson for life: I thought, there are so many different ways of dealing with the challenges that life presents to us. And how much better they can be solved with a positive attitude.