Sunday, August 31, 2008

Law & Pizza (Part 3)

The Peruvians agreed to pay Mohammed $1000 per month for 5 years. Mohammed asked me if I would collect the payments, for which he offered to pay me $50 (cash!!) each time. I would go at lunch time so I could get a free “two slices and a coke”. At first, Marco had the cash waiting for me. As time went on, there were times they didn’t have all the money, and would get the rest out of the register. I always felt bad when that happened.

We would go in the back to count the money. One day as we were counting a mouse ran between our feet.

I said “Marco….a mouse!!!”
He said, “He's not my mouse, he comes from the supermarket next door.”

I skipped my slices that day.

After about two years of this, I got a call from Marco’s lawyer.

He said, “You and your client are going to be happy….Marco is selling the pizzeria and he will pay off his balance to Mohammed.”

“Cool, who’s buying it?”

“Afghans.”

“Dogs?!?!”

"No, two guys from Afghanistan. "

It was true. We had a closing. Marco sold to the Afghans, and Mohammed was paid. I was done with my All-America pizzeria. It had come full circle…..Albanian to Egyptian to Peruvian to Afghan.

Elias Sports Bureau advises it’s the only time in history THAT has ever happened.