We were seated next to a table of three at the Pizza Hut in Monticello the other evening. Nice enough seeming folks - parents and a twentysomething year-old adult son. Plenty of pizza, and lots of refills made their way over to that particular table. And there was quite a little mess to clean up after they left. Oh sure, I'm nosey, but to my defense, the tables were real close and these folks were loud.

When the three got up to leave, old Dad pulled out his wallet and tossed a dollar bill on the table. I mean, come on fella. I'll admit I don't know the details of how the wait staff get paid at each and every restaurant. But I, and my pizza loving neighbors, we know the general rule. Those tips make up the majority of the wages.

Old Dad was a cheater, plain and simple. He hadn't paid the implied price of admission for service and a smile inside under the big red Pizza Hut roof. From the casual look of things, that was his standard operating procedure. And if he didn't want to pay his fair share, he had an alternative. He could have done the drive-thru and the threesome could have eaten in the parking lot.

Fair's, fair.

I like folks who gladly pay the price of admission.

We got to the show late the other night - saw "Dream Girls" up close from the first row. The price of admission was the money for the ticket, plus getting to the theater on time. We failed at the latter, and got what we deserved.

There are plenty of implied costs to the price of admission.

Fair's fair.

Waiting for the bus the other day, I noticed that the lady immediately ahead of me was juggling a cane in one hand and a steaming cup of coffee in the other. I offered to take the coffee while the woman boarded. She was hearing nothing of my helpful suggestion.

Up at the driver's level, the woman and the driver conferred on when he would loop around next to this vicinity. A mutual time was struck between the two. After the lady sealed her return ride, she handed the driver the coffee. A favor, for a favor. It was quite sweet. The elderly lady was paying the price of admission to her round trip accommodation.

At the next stop the bus driver stopped and the perky old woman alighted.

The conversation immediately turned to the bitter cold outside and the fact that the frigid temperature had not daunted the woman with the coffee. That's when the bus driver posed the following question.

"How old do you think she is?"

The answer was a whistle

blowing 94. Ninety-four years

old and still paying her own price of admission.

Over at the Panera lunch spot in West Lafayette last week, it was neither elder nor youth who got my attention. The gentleman who caught my eye was my contemporary, a businessman in suit, with briefcase. What made this gent stand out was his pair of shoes. He slipped them off while enjoying his lunch, pulled over a spare chair and proceeded to prop his feet up on the chair he had appropriated for his hassock.

Some folks think that by paying the stated price of admission, then anything goes once that initial bill has been settled. At the "all you can eat buffet" they waste food just because it doesn't come at an extra cost. At the festivity with a complimentary bar and no limit, they drink more than their share since the cost is on someone else's tab.

Be it pizza, or favors, or the entry gate, I like folks who make sure the cost of admission gets paid and that payment is adequate.

After all, fair's fair.