They Ain't No Steak In Stakeout

We have, perhaps, been spoiled by TV shows. Stakeouts are sort of boring, but at the same time sort of exciting. We have the FBI looking for Mafia dons, elite police units keeping eyes on serial sadistic killers, and various operatives looking at and after a motley of suspicious characters. We don't see much of private eyes in baggy pants and gravy-stained ties busy proving or disproving that a spouse of odd behavior is cheating with an insurance agent.

When the stakeout is over, or when the next shift takes over, it's time for pasta puttanesca, or Chinese takeout, or a quick two or three pick-me-ups at a hotel bar, or at a cop hangout. In more or less real life, though, what sustenance and refreshment is available is a little different.

Think lukewarm or cold coffee from someplace definitely not Starbucks, a peanut butter sandwich (or more likely a day-old salami treat on a short path to salmonella). Think stale doughnuts and a bag of Cheetos. And, the next shift is you - the cavalry is not riding to rescue.

Our work is a bit like that. We grind through doing what has to be done. We see our fair share of leftover Krispy Kremes. Our idea of hydration is a bigger mug of watered-down Folger's. That is the fuel of supply chain execution.

Every so often, and without warning, we get a shot at a John Gotti or a Carlo Gambino, an opportunity to superhumanly solve a new problem and, for a moment, be a hero. To handle the 100 truckloads that no one expected, or the 10 containers on a ship arriving 3 days early.

Do we get the steak? Probably not. But pizza is a possibility.