Solidarity Fish Fry, Week 5: A Fistful of Fish

There are so many positive aspects to the Solidarity Fish Fry, it's truly been a joy to be a part of it.

For five weeks now, we have been able to show our support for our union brothers and sisters at Serb Hall, as they fight against a management that has been using every dirty trick in the book in an effort to bust their union.

Furthermore, we are showing our support and showing support for the business at the same time, giving the conservative not one thing to carp about. (Get it? Carp - fish fry? Oh, I crack myself up some days.)

Another thing I am learning to love is that you never quite no what to expect.

When I arrived, I noted that there weren't many cars in the parking lot. Did people not heed my request to show in force? It was when I got in the restaurant itself that I realized that for the first time, they had two union servers working full time on the fish fry, instead of the usual one. That certainly kept the flow of customers moving smoothly.

This evening my wife and I were able to enjoy the company of our friends Christine and Gary again during dinner. Or my wife did anyway. I was starting to feel like a host for the restaurant as I was greeting friends and coworkers, thanking them for coming and answering all sorts of questions.

Note to self: Maybe we should start billing Serb Hall for all the work we are doing bringing in customers and treating them the way they should be treated by management.

I had one young lady, a fellow employee of Milwaukee County, ask me if they were going to restore our HMO or keep us in the much more costly PPO. I gently let her down by informing her that I was a man of the people, and since Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele thinks he is above the people, he was not going to listen to me anymore than he listens to anyone else that speaks sensibly.

I also got a chance to meet another long time coworker, a young lady who I hadn't had the chance to see for years.

Then as I was about to seat myself to eat, I espied Chris Rockwood, who had the courage to stand up and run for office - in Brookfield of all places! - to try to take our state back. It was a pleasure to meet a real live hero.

Chris Rockwood

I also got to meet one of my personal heroes, former Dane County Supervisor Analiese Eicher and some mysterious stranger:

Dane County Supervisor Analiese Eicher
and some guy I've never met before.

Note to self: Look into why we now have had a Dane County Supervisor at the Solidarity Fish Fry, but not one Milwaukee County Supervisor.

And to show that we are not uncouth union thugs, here's a picture of union styled surf and turf, via Serb Hall's buffet:

And yes, Virginia, there will be a week 6 next Friday. Sadly, my wife has to work, and I hate to eat alone, so I will be looking for a dinner companion. (Hint, hint.)

One fish fry longer, one fish fry stronger.