Alex and Lauren are my former neighbors, sadly moved away. Though their backgrounds and experience are rich and varied, they have one thing in common-- they have been (and Lauren still is) part of the "restaurant world." Lauren as a high-end restaurant server, and Alex was an owner and manager. What do they have to say about "working with their hands"? Is restaurant work a craft? Does it involve the same things, or not? Is it "mind work" if not hand work? Be prepared to learn lots about what goes into a nice meal, with much practical and wise insight into what really matters in a good life, how the setting of a table is a craft, if not an art, to create a seamless dining experience; the social tolerance that working in close quarters teaches us; that Patience! is as key to their work as to any; and the the shelf that Lauren created out of nothing.