Taco Shame. in Whey and Sonic Screwdrivers.

Two things you probably already know about me: I was a shift manager of a Taco Bell for over seven years, and I have had a bad relationship with my dad for most of my life.

Now, I had Taco Shame before this incident. As in, I felt embarrassed whenever someone I knew came in. Like, I remember when a girlfriend-at-the-time came in, and I immediately seized up, embarrassed. All that managerial behind-the-counter retail face confidence was gone. It’s…

Maybe it’s because they know me when I’m not working?

I don’t know. I’ve seen so many coworkers just CHAT with their friends across the counter as if working at fast food is nothing. That “shame” I felt for working at fast food? They didn’t seem to have it, nor care. And I KNOW I shouldn’t have felt ashamed, but well. Look at how much the “McDonalds worker flipping burgers” as an insult is engrained in society.

Just establishing that this feeling of shame existed before this. And again, I shouldn’t have felt ashamed. I was a frakking MANAGER, liked by most employees, trusted by my boss, and recognized affectionately by customers.

So. I think that covers the preamble.

In 2012, I went to an Aunt’s wedding. It was back when I had firetruck red hair. Knew I could only do it with short hair, as I have JET BLACK hair, and dying (long hair) frequently sounds like a pain. Dying my hair red was on my bucket list, and MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.

Dang, I looked so pretty then.

Ahem.

Sorry if that’s too distracting. I DID look gosh daRn pretty then.

Anyway, the non-punch line. After the wedding, my dad told me something.

He said he told the family that I worked at a bank.

I’ll let that sink in for a bit.

He told the family I worked at a bank. He lied to the family and said I worked at a bank.

Like, how ashamed of me can you be?

It would have been SO easy to lie in the other direction. “Oh, he’s a manager, and I think he’s up for promotion soon. He’s really good at his job and should get his own store.” That’s it! That’s SUCH an easy lie!

Nope.

Can not put into words how insulted I felt. And still do, reflecting.

I’ll stop here before I go into tangent-city of things he has said/done that would make you go “WTF dude, treat our Timmy better.”