24 August 2009

But what really challenges me to get up and go to work every day . . . is my deep conviction about the intense human drive to provide and receive hospitality--well beyond the world of restaurants. Within moments of being born, most babies find themselves receiving the first four gifts of life: eye contact, a smile, a hug, and some food. We receive many other gifts in a lifetime, but few can ever surpass those first four. That first time may be the purest "hospitality transaction" we'll ever have, and it's not much of a surprise that we'll crave those gifts for the rest of our lives. I know I do.
(Danny Myer, Setting the Table, p. 2)