[HN Gopher] The Pasta King Trusted Us
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The Pasta King Trusted Us
Author : severine
Score : 147 points
Date : 2020-11-26 15:54 UTC (7 hours ago)
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(TXT) w3m dump (www.kqed.org)
| me_me_me wrote:
| We need more stories like this.
|
| But more importantly more people like him.
| tomcam wrote:
| I don't know if this counts, but there is a place in Redmond,
| Washington that sells honey using roughly the same approach.
| They leave jars of honey worth up to $100 each on the shelf
| outside their barn wall with a locked cashbox and you just pay
| on the honor system.
| mtnGoat wrote:
| i live in central washington, lots of fruit growers have
| unattended cash only fruit stands along the roads. its good
| for everyone; fresh as possible fruit for me, easy money for
| farmer.
|
| they usually have cameras and the community usually comes
| together to catch anyone screwing around.
| superkuh wrote:
| In the midwest this is done with corn stands.
| jelliclesfarm wrote:
| a lot of small family farms have honor system. i used to let
| people come in for u-pick strawberries and fruit. also honey
| and during tomato season. until my insurance said that i cant
| do that and i will have to pay extra on the premium. even if
| i kept it hush hush, the homeless/drug addicts started moving
| in and trashing the place. it became a genuine liability
| risk. so i had to fence as much as i could and put up signs.
|
| didnt make a difference to the thieves. i have had a tractor,
| a trailer and multiple metal trellis systems and greenhouse
| building materials stolen anyways. but my honor system farm
| stand doesnt exist anymore. to even put up a farm stand, i
| have to get a special permit. the regulations are killing
| small farms.
| dvtrn wrote:
| There are quite probably a LOT of people like him, at least I
| choose to believe there are.
| logicchop wrote:
| Make sure there are by being one.
| dvtrn wrote:
| This is the idea.
| me_me_me wrote:
| I was fortunate to have meet some :D
|
| The last paragraph with line about selling bridge :) it feels
| like i was seating there and heard them laugh together :D
| spicymaki wrote:
| There are plenty of generous people out there. Unfortunately we
| spend most of our time idolizing greedy and selfish people.
| Kindness and generosity does not have high ratings.
| mikeg8 wrote:
| I live right around the corner from Art's home and love stopping
| by to pickup a frozen lasagna or Pesto sauce. Although I only got
| to meet him a couple times, he always felt like a neighbor and
| grandfather figure. He served pasta at many of my high school
| fundraisers. RIP to a great man. It was really nice to see this
| tribute make its way over here on HN. Happy Thanksgiving to all.
| js2 wrote:
| There used to be (I'm going back over twenty years) a roadside
| honor market off of NC 28 in the NC mountains. It was just a
| simple wood shack with honey, jams, chowchow, etc. You could take
| what you wanted and there was a slot to deposit your money.
|
| I was in Miami for Hurricane Andrew. A gas station near me, the
| attendant had to leave. They left the pumps on and a sign to
| leave cash. There was an article later in the Miami Herald that
| folks ended up leaving more than the amount of gas sold (this is
| from memory, I may not have the details correct).
|
| People are mostly trustworthy. If not, society would collapse.
| Yes, there are bad people. The trick is to not become cynical and
| more importantly, not to build a society that loses all
| compassion. Otherwise the bad people win.
| rmk wrote:
| Is this a cultural thing? I have noticed that people from Latin
| cultures are very generous, particularly with the hungry.
|
| I was at a small Mexican restaurant, waiting to order some
| takeout. Outside, on the pavement, there were a few diners
| enjoying their meals, including a Hispanic person who looked like
| he worked construction or some similar trade. A vagrant was
| passing by, and he slowed down, ever so slightly, at the sight
| and smell of the delicious foods inside. The diner quickly called
| out to the vagrant and said he should order something for
| himself; it would be paid for.
|
| It was a spontaneous act of charity from someone who was not too
| well off himself. It made quite an impression on me.
| jelliclesfarm wrote:
| it is true for any culture where there is visible poverty. and
| where there is a stark scarcity of any particular resource that
| will make survival difficult.
|
| for example, if you go to the middle east, they are very
| generous with food. poor feeding is part of islam. bedouin
| hospitality is a thing. in the old testament, there are stories
| too as nomadic communities set up their tents around water.
| because in a desert, if you are lost and you dont have the
| generosity of strangers, you will die.
|
| in india/hinduism, the day starts with feeding the crows, dogs,
| cows, birds..and then the poor and hungry. even the ghosts and
| spirits of ancestors are fed. god is fed and because stone
| doesnt eat, the rest of us partake communally.
|
| poverty has become invisible in today's world. especially the
| modern world. and you dont think that someone is hungry if they
| are wearing fancy shoes and has an iPhone. that makes you
| clench your palms tighter. so in america, they will send money
| to africa while your neighbour is probably starving.
|
| also: food is so plentiful these days..and cheap. people go
| hungry because they dont know how to cook. at least in the
| western world. the other day, someone told me that children are
| in poverty and starving because all they had was vegetables and
| beans. i was dumbstruck. thats a feast to this vegetarian
| indian. you have milk, vegetables, rice and beans..thats a
| veritable feast!
|
| so i offer food to those who are experiencing poverty of
| culinary knowledge too. they are hungry because they were never
| taught the most important survival skill of all..cooking.
| rmk wrote:
| Don't know why you are getting downvoted, but most of what
| you have said is reasonable.
|
| I also share the sentiment of making things better around
| you, not someplace far away (although that's good too, I
| think improving your surroundings takes precedence).
| [deleted]
| fishtacos wrote:
| I don't believe it's cultural, in as far as we're not
| conflating culture with shared misery (poverty, struggle for
| daily survival, food for self and family, roof over head, etc).
| For context: I emigrated from Eastern Europe in the mid 90s.
|
| I've worked restaurants and blue collar jobs much longer than
| white collar ones, and it was easily the most formative period
| of my life. The heart that those of lesser means have, sharing
| whatever they can, is truly enlightening. It's an expression of
| care and comradery that seems to come out almost involuntarily
| and it's incredible to witness. Can almost categorically say
| it's not the case with upper middle and upper classes (in terms
| of my anecdotal experience, at least).
|
| Obviously those with means can (AND DO) make a much greater
| impact in terms of charitable contributions and investments
| fighting poverty and homelessness, not dismissing that at all.
| djur wrote:
| I think there's a degree of affluence at which the question
| changes from "how much can I give while still attending to my
| needs?" to "how much can I give while maintaining my social
| position?" If you're just getting by and you give all you
| can, there's a good chance that the community you're
| nourishing will pay it back in kind. On the other hand, if
| you're rich and give away most of your money, you're not
| going to get that lifestyle back. And I think that's where a
| stingy mindset begins to set in.
|
| I also think more affluent people are often socialized to
| expect that generosity will be taken advantage of, which
| leads them to favor formalized charities where their
| responsibility is clearly and legally defined and limited.
| AnimalMuppet wrote:
| Empathy and compassion. If you're close enough to their
| circumstances that you can _feel_ their situation, you 're
| more likely to be willing to help (literally, to feel like
| helping).
| fishtacos wrote:
| Put succinctly, that's precisely what it is. I like to
| expound a bit for context, so that part might be cultural
| :)
| et-al wrote:
| Don't know if you've heard of Paul Piff, but he did a study
| about the empathy gap caused by wealth:
|
| https://www.npr.org/2014/04/04/295360962/does-money-make-
| you...
|
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJ8Kq1wucsk
| Natsu wrote:
| I've seen the same when visiting Brazil. It's more common to
| give the homeless food than money. Pai would go out to give
| someone food and a "fica com Deus" pretty regularly.
| secondcoming wrote:
| In London if you give some homeless people food they'll
| either throw it away or curse you out for not giving money.
| mFixman wrote:
| Beggars are people. Have you tried asking them what food
| they want?
| freeflight wrote:
| Beggars can't be choosers is a saying that exists for a
| reason.
|
| That's not to belittle people in dire situations, but
| people in actually dire situations are usually grateful
| for any and all assistance they get.
|
| Somebody who suddenly makes all kinds of demands of the
| "charity" they receive, just comes across as ungrateful
| and greedy.
| asveikau wrote:
| I'm in San Francisco and I've heard people say that here
| too, but I've never had anyone turn down my leftovers on
| the sidewalk.
| cpach wrote:
| I've stopped offering food to beggars. These days I just
| ignore them.
| abstractbarista wrote:
| Why is this downvoted? I've only been to London once, but I
| can certainly speak to identical behavior from panhandlers
| at many intersections in central NC, USA. They'll hold
| signs pleading all sorts of sad stories, typically asking
| for finances for food. Sometimes faking limps or missing
| appendices (one time I could clearly notice the guys leg
| tucked up inside his jeans...)
|
| If you offer to buy them a big meal at the restaurant down
| the street, they'll cuss you out and harass you. Then
| promptly heckle the car behind you for cash.
|
| They want cold cash for _drugs_ , nothing more or less.
| Many of these folks run it like a job, panhandling for 4-8
| hours a day, then hopping in their car and returning to
| their shared living situation to shoot/snort/smoke up. It's
| a racket than can easily generate more income than an
| honest hourly job around here.
|
| It's really quite sad, because amongst them are _some_
| folks who seriously need help, and would be nothing less
| than extremely thankful for any food or clothing provided
| to them. Sadly, the druggie gremlins are in the majority,
| so I don 't give anything to anyone. Lock the doors and
| look straight ahead. I keep my hand near my firearm too,
| because I've had them vigorously pull my car doors before.
| freeflight wrote:
| Not sure if London is such a great example, lot's of
| organized groups just begging for money as income in those
| "developed" urban city centers.
|
| The same also exist in Germany and can lead to quite weird
| situations.
|
| One time a bigger man, with a cane and a somewhat shabby
| suit, approached me asking for money so he could buy food
| for his children.
|
| I offered him to buy food, went with him to a nearby
| bakery, let them pack up a whole bag of breads and other
| stuff, ask him how many children he has got as I wanted to
| buy them pastries.
|
| He didn't reply at all, he just kept insisting he needs
| money, now for... milk.
|
| I gave him a bag worth 20EUR of bakery stuff and just went
| my way, as he kept insisting he needs _money_ on-top of
| that.
|
| On the opposite end of that: I'm on the subway platform and
| see a obviously homeless man going trough the trashcans for
| bottles with deposit on them, pulling a small cart behind
| him with all his belongings.
|
| I had a bag with 2 chocolate donuts on me, after eating
| most of them, I gave him those two donuts and he lightened
| up like the sun and was super thankful, over donuts worth
| 2EUR..
| croissants wrote:
| I wonder if it's related to the nature of the societal safety
| net.
|
| Here's a somewhat strained comparison: a few years ago I
| listened to a podcast featuring Juan Pablo Villarino [1], who's
| hitchhiked through nearly 100 countries. If I remember
| correctly, his observation was that the hardest place to
| hitchhike was northern Europe, and that by comparison poor and
| even war-torn places were quite easy. The suggested explanation
| was that in northern Europe, the expectation is that if you are
| hitchhiking and relying on strangers, then you've done
| something weird to fall outside of the normal run of things,
| and you must be a weirdo. By contrast, in more chaotic places
| it's more plausible that you have just fallen through some
| cracks that anyone could fall through, and it's perfectly
| reasonable to need a lift (or a meal, or some other helping
| hand).
|
| [1] https://medium.com/conversations-with-tyler/tyler-cowen-
| juan...
| idclip wrote:
| Checkout peterson's "why hitler bathed more often than you
| think"
|
| Lack of generosity and increased distrust are the sad result of
| the more "civilized" societies since their progress stems from
| their orderliness.
| jacobwilliamroy wrote:
| Holy shit dude. I think you might be a white supremacist.
| Maybe get that checked out.
|
| Edit: Based on downvotes, looks like that's you and two other
| people. It is in fact, racist to say your culture is more
| civilized than someone else's. Fuck all of you too.
| youngNed wrote:
| > Checkout peterson....
|
| Nope.
| jacobwilliamroy wrote:
| It easier to make sense of these kinds of things if you try to
| understand them in the moment. That is, go talk to the specific
| people you see behaving in this way and see why they do what
| they do. I've got a friend who would give out free meals to
| poor people on the street. I won't tell you what race he is,
| because I think it kind of misses the point to fixate on the
| circumstances of one's birth. He said he had some experience
| with poverty and being hungry so he took it pretty seriously
| when he saw it in our community. That may or may not be what is
| going on with that specific person you observed feeding that
| other poor person. We don't know. You have to ask.
| culopatin wrote:
| How many countries are we putting into this Latin category? In
| mine that is not the case.
| superflit wrote:
| Yes, Specially in Latin countries.
|
| When I was like five years, we don't have money for food. Then
| maybe once a week we had liver beef (cheap meat).
|
| Then my mother will cut one beef for each member of the family,
| But you always had the one that is the biggest.
|
| My brothers and I fight for it.
|
| To make things fair, we did a draw to select who will choose
| the first beef. We call it "Sorteio do Bife".
|
| Later as the country/economy progresses, it became a joke. Like
| if you don't hurry for something, you will lose the Draw.
|
| It was not uncommon to NOT have enough, and the parents just
| look at the kids eating while they did not eat anything. And If
| you have other parents, you get your kids and ""appear"" by
| surprise at someone in lunchtime.
|
| It was intended and a costume that if someone arrives at your
| house in lunch/dinner time, you share the food.
|
| If you and I are going to a coffee place/bakery, I would ask
| something and offer to pay you because I don't know if you are
| in a good financial state or not. So by default, you Always
| offer to buy you something.
|
| It is so ingrained inside you that I feel very sad when I throw
| away food. And I have a hard time leaving anything left on my
| plate.
|
| I have to remind myself to eat less and that it is ok to leave
| food on my plate. That excess of food is bad but still.
|
| I remember that my dream when I was a child was:
|
| When I grow up, I will be rich, and I will eat filet mignon and
| Pepsi every day. That was the peak of being rich for me.
|
| Disclaimer: Today is Thanksgiving. Things are not perfect.
| Things are not all we want. But let's be thankful for the good
| things we have. Be thankful for your friends, health, good
| humor.
|
| If you don't have something to be thankful you still have power
| to do _any_ good.
|
| We argue, we downvote, we rage. Be thankful we can still do it.
| [deleted]
| CameronNemo wrote:
| >As a teenager in Italy drafted into Mussolini's army, he escaped
| and joined the resistance forces as an underground freedom
| fighter, planting explosives on roads and railroads to thwart
| fascism's spread across Europe.
|
| If the war had gone a bit different, this man might have gone
| down in history as a little-known terrorist. Makes me think how
| lucky I am to live in such peace. Not everyone in the world, or
| even my community, gets to experience that.
| idclip wrote:
| Lets be more like him
| minitoar wrote:
| Grew up in Sonoma County, love the pasta king. Whenever we go to
| the Sonoma County fair it's a tradition to visit his permanent
| food stall, and get a massive plate of spaghetti to share. Also
| lost count of the number of charity dinners/lunches I went to
| catered by the Pasta King, more often than not Art himself was
| there.
| [deleted]
| pwarner wrote:
| If you are in the area, there are other amazing old school
| Italian American experiences that are great.
|
| Two in Petaluma http://www.angelossmokehouse.com/ - the Past
| King's brother https://volpisristorante.com/
|
| Plus some wineries, although those have lost some of their charm.
| jelliclesfarm wrote:
| i second volpi. i drive through petaluma often because it's
| between my farm and orchard. so petaluma is often the break i
| need in the 2 hour drive. petaluma can be a tad twee these
| days..but still good food. you can tell ingredients are super
| fresh and local.
|
| also: della fottaria http://dellafattoria.com/ and petaluma
| creamery https://www.springhillcheese.com/
|
| and my fav deli ray's delicatessen and
| tavern..https://www.rays-deli.com/history ...local breweries
| too.
| minitoar wrote:
| lol angelo's email is moregarlic@foo.com
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