"Management reserves the right to refuse service [for not ordering in English]" (#162, Topic L)

If Father's Day is to bring joy, today's Washington Post delivers a one-two punch in sadness. I read that, at home, one must not hoard, lest one might be evicted or declared mentally incompetent(#161); when ordering cheese steak sandwiches from a certain fast-food restaurant in Philadelphia, one must "speak English," lest one would be refused service. Since I lived in Philadelphia during my first year in USA; since I like fast food, including cheese steak sandwiches that make Philadelphia famous; and since I always want to learn more about how English is spoken in USA, I read on. Well, according to the story, when ordering at the said restaurant, if one wants onion in addition to cheese and steak, one is to say "Cheeze wit" or "Cheez Whiz" -- presumably, these are examples of "standard" English. While reading it, I ask myself: how one is to order if one is mute? On this front, I think McDonald has a good solution -- all food combinations are illustrated and clearly labeled as "1", "2", "3", and such. One can simply order using sign language, regardless of whether one is mute or not. McDonald does have another menu -- the "Dollar menu" -- in which items are listed in plain English without photographic prompts. Since I like the double cheeseburger in MCD's dollar menu, my poor English is put to test every time I go to a MCD restaurant. Luckily, I have yet to be refused service. For this, presumably, I shall "know how lucky [I am]." So, there is an uplifting message for Father's Day after all. Come to think of it, I was at a huge MCD restaurant (covering almost a block) in Paris last July. If it had a policy of refusing service unless the order is in French -- I presume that is the language Parisians speak, not English -- I probably would have to leave with an empty stomach. What a depressing thought -- let's perish it for Father's Day's sake.