wu :: forums - Print Page


    
      
        wu :: forums
        (http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~wwu/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi)
      

        riddles >> what happened >> Larry the floor sweeper
        
(Message started by: Speaker on Oct 6^th, 2003, 7:30pm)

Title: Larry the floor sweeper
Post by Speaker on Oct 6^th, 2003, 7:30pm

There is a very exclusive restaurant. Only the very rich and the very elite eat there. The staff is extremely deferential. In fact, one time a waiter was fired for going through the lobby and leaving by the main entrance. The restaurant itself is in a very expensive part of the city and it is furnished in the old style with high back leather chairs and dark wood paneling. There are heavy drapes on the windows and the atmosphere is very dignified and traditional. Larry is the custodian and floor sweeper at this restaurant.

One day, Larry walked into the lobby of the restaurant and went quietly over to a beautiful leather chair in the corner and sat down. The receptionist looked at Larry and Larry got up from the chair. The receptionist turned to take care of a guest. Larry moved to another seat, out of view of the receptionist and sat down in a different chair and stretched out his legs and slumped down in the chair. The assistant manager came into the lobby from the bar and looked directly at Larry. Larry got up quickly. Then the assistant manager turned and walked to the reception desk. Larry went to yet another chair that could not be seen from either the bar or the reception desk and sat down. The manager came in from the cloakroom and stared directly at Larry. Larry got up from the chair. The manager walked past Larry without looking at him and went directly to the reception desk. He talked to the receptionist and the assistant manager. They both told him about Larry’s behavior. None of them were happy about what Larry had done.

However, Larry does not get fired. Why?

Title: Re: Larry the floor sweeper
Post by Icarus on Oct 6^th, 2003, 7:46pm

This doesn't have anything to do with those pictures Larry took at the last company party does it?

Title: Re: Larry the floor sweeper
Post by Speaker on Oct 6^th, 2003, 7:52pm

Not at all. Those pictures were developed and everyone had a good laugh.

Title: Re: Larry the floor sweeper
Post by Sir Col on Oct 7^th, 2003, 3:56pm

Maybe [hide]Larry is eccentric restaurant owner's dog[/hide]?

Title: Re: Larry the floor sweeper
Post by Icarus on Oct 7^th, 2003, 4:52pm

A very exclusive restaurant that has a dog for custodian and floor sweeper will soon find itself far more exclusive than it wishes! :D

Title: Re: Larry the floor sweeper
Post by BNC on Oct 7^th, 2003, 5:18pm

Here are 3 long shots. So long, in fact, I won't even bother to hide them...

1. Little do the rich patrons in the restaurant know, but Larry is in fact the owner of the establishment. Being from a very welthy family, he has no money problems, but since he's a little slow on the intelectual side (an unfortunate incident on his very young years), all he can do to occupy himself is serve as the floor sweeper.

2. The combination of dark panneling, heavy drapes, and Larry's uniform, make it impossible for the other employees to see Larry when standing up (it was designed that way to keep the guests from being annoyed by the poor sweeper) clearly enough to distinguish him from other people.

3. The restaurant is meant for blind people. The receptionist, assistant manager and manager are blind themselvs. They can hear Larry when sitting in the leather (the cracking), but not when he stands quitely -- so thy don;t know who sat on the chairs.

Title: Re: Larry the floor sweeper
Post by SWF on Oct 7^th, 2003, 7:47pm

A simple answer, and probably what would happen in reality: [hide]He wasn't fired because people don't normally get fired for certain behaviors without first having been warned by the boss that this is unacceptable. Especially if he is in a union and is entitled to periodic breaks.[/hide]

I was also thinking along the lines of BNC's first suggestion, which doesn't seem so far fetched.

Another unlikely suggestion: [hide]One of the patrons had complained to Larry that she was pinched by a spring in one of the chairs and that he better make sure it never happens again. Larry had to sit in all the chairs to test for bad springs. Of course, had she know it was actually Larry who pinched her, then he would have been fired.

He could have also been breaking in new chairs. Reminds of a new leather chair I sat on last week that was so tightly attached to the wood base that it was air tight and like sitting on a ballon. That place could have used a Larry to loosen up the new chairs.[/hide]

Title: Re: Larry the floor sweeper
Post by Speaker on Oct 7^th, 2003, 11:09pm

Well, no expected answers yet. But, they are all incredibly reasonable.

SWF is using the correct approach with one of his answers.

The restaurant is not specifically for the blind, unless they are very rich. It could be anyplace, maybe New York or Dublin. 8)

Title: Re: Larry the floor sweeper
Post by maryl on Oct 9^th, 2003, 4:51pm

Could Larry have been [hide]inspecting something he found amiss maybe[/hide]?

Title: Re: Larry the floor sweeper
Post by Icarus on Oct 9^th, 2003, 7:19pm

Perhaps [hide]Larry is investigating. The owner suspects that the Receptionist, Assistant Manager, and Manager are up to no good, and has asked Larry, as someone he trusts, to keep and eye on their activities. This has become known to them, which is why they are upset with Larry. But they don't dare try to fire him because the owner would not allow it.[/hide]

Title: Re: Larry the floor sweeper
Post by Speaker on Oct 9^th, 2003, 7:25pm

Larry is inspecting something. But, it is not the softness of the chairs, nor anything else to do with the chairs.

The owner of the restaurant is not in cahoots with Larry, other than paying him and telling him what to do. Even the owner does not like what Larry is doing, but has decided that he has to live with it afterall.

Title: Re: Larry the floor sweeper
Post by Icarus on Oct 9^th, 2003, 7:41pm

Then how about: [hide] A very important customer has lost something while sitting in one of the chairs. Having discovered the loss, he has contacted the restaurant and demanded a search be made immediately. Larry has been ordered to search the chairs. Everyone is upset that grubby Larry is exposed to the view of the other customers like that, but know that the item must be found as quickly as possible.[/hide]

Title: Re: Larry the floor sweeper
Post by Speaker on Oct 9^th, 2003, 7:45pm

No, Larry is looking, whether for something or at something is the point. If you see what I mean.

Title: Re: Larry the floor sweeper
Post by SWF on Oct 9^th, 2003, 7:57pm

Excuse me for ignoring your clues, Speaker, but I have some other ideas that fit the question.

Maybe it was [hide]Larry's day off. That day he was at the restaraunt as a customer and was waiting in the lobby for his table to be ready[/hide].

Or [hide]Larry wasn't fired. He quit. They always say it on sitcoms: "You can't fire me. I quit!" Or maybe he is volunteer custodian and floor sweeper, and therefore could not be fired.[/hide]

Title: Re: Larry the floor sweeper
Post by Speaker on Oct 9^th, 2003, 8:02pm

Larry is working. In fact he just finished a very important job, and was just inspecting the results to make sure that they were in accordance with regulations.

Title: Re: Larry the floor sweeper
Post by SWF on Oct 9^th, 2003, 9:41pm

Has Larry done any work in [hide]the Sistine Chapel[/hide]?

Title: Re: Larry the floor sweeper
Post by Speaker on Oct 9^th, 2003, 9:50pm

No. But, he did use a ladder for this project, just before sitting down.

Title: Re: Larry the floor sweeper
Post by Sir Col on Oct 10^th, 2003, 3:37am

I still think that my suggestion that Larry is a dog is the best! Maybe the exclusivity mentioned is in relation to its unusual pedigree, so to speak. That is, it's a restaurant for dogs, run by dogs; the dog owners and other humans (waiters and catering staff) are at the bottom of the food chain and need to be on their best behaviour. :P

Based on the last comment, [hide]Larry was fitting new lights and was sitting in different positions to check for glare and illumination levels at different parts of the restaurant[/hide]?

Title: Re: Larry the floor sweeper
Post by maryl on Oct 13^th, 2003, 9:24am

Speaker, is Sir Col's answer correct? I was thinking of [hide]video cameras or mirrors[/hide]

Title: Re: Larry the floor sweeper
Post by Speaker on Oct 13^th, 2003, 6:14pm

Sir Col is very very close. And, maryl your ideas are also very close. So close that I guess they are right.

He did install something, and was sitting in the chairs to verify something about what he just installed. The thing he installed could be almost anything. The specific thing I had in mind has to do with the hint about New York and Dublin. Recent laws in these places have probably required the installation of these things.

[hide] No Smoking signs. I got the idea when I saw people installing No Cell Phone signs. The same day I was reading about the new no smoking law in Ireland upsetting the owners of pubs and very exclusive clubs in Dublin because it would drive away customers. Cameras or anything that needs to be seen from the chairs, or hidden from view from the chairs would work. Why did Larry do this while the restaurant was open for business? Because the management of the restaurant had refused to install the signs until the local authorities clamped down on them and forced them to do it immediately. [/hide]

Title: Re: Larry the floor sweeper
Post by Jess_13 on Feb 21^st, 2004, 10:24am

Maybe ::::[hide] Larry is the owners son... he sometimes comes and helps sweep...[/hide]:::

Title: Re: Larry the floor sweeper
Post by heywood22 on Mar 25^th, 2005, 8:01am

Larry has a bad back, so it's easier on him if he sits down to look for dust under tables, etc., rather than bending over. Firing him might lead to legal issues through something akin to the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Title: Re: Larry the floor sweeper
Post by Grimbal on Mar 26^th, 2005, 2:50pm

A group of customers, when leaving, complained that they saw dust on the floor. The complaint immediately went to Larry. But he is sure there is no dust anywere. So, he checks all vacant chairs to find out where the hell did they see any dust.

Or Larry is lazy. Not just lazy, but with passion and enthousiasm. He is checking for all the places on the floor that a customer doesn't see in normal positions, so that he can skip sweeping them.

Title: Re: Larry the floor sweeper
Post by Speaker on Mar 27^th, 2005, 5:19pm

I like the idea about Larry being a super industrious lazy person.

My sister once taught me that being tidy was just the smart way to be lazy.