#1337 - Leftovers
New Year's eve.
With a small group of friends, we got tickets for a big party: music, food, drinks and plenty of people. After two years, it felt good to celebrate with hundreds of real people.
New Year's is a kind of marathon, so we took things slowly and joined the party an hour late. Knowing it was a buffet dinner, we didn't rush.
When we got in, a lot of people were already there. Almost all tables were occupied, and people were busy eating plates full of all sorts of foods. I saw people walking from the buffet to their tables while balancing several plates overflowing with food.
"This is promising", I thought while queuing for the buffet.
However, it was soon apparent that something was not working. The queue was not moving, and I could hear disappointing voices ahead.
So, I left my friends to check what was happening.
To my surprise, the buffet was empty. Despite more than half of the participants still waiting to get something, there was nothing left.
From time to time, desperate caterers would bring trays of something on which the closest people threw themselves, fighting to get something while the ones behind in the queue kept pushing and complaining.
Ironically, the first joiner couldn't finish what they took, so the tables were full of half-eaten stuff.
Luckily, I was with a fantastic group of friends, so we didn't let the awful organization ruin our night; we laughed at the whole situation and enjoyed our party no matter what.
It was, however, a small example of our society.
The first ones who joined the feast took all the food they could get regardless of their needs or what they could consume. The latecomers ended up fighting over the leftovers.
Sure, it was due to a lack of organizations. Most probably, the first ones thought there was enough food for everyone, or maybe they just wanted to get the maximum for what they paid. Or perhaps they just didn't want to queue again, so they took more than they needed to play it safe.
Maybe, I would have done the same.
I don't know.
Still, watching all that food wasted while people were fighting for scraps was sad.