In those days you filled out your own Guest Check. ... The waiter picked up my order. He asked my companion, "What will you-all be havin' this mornin, sir?" He replied, "I think I'll have the same thing my friend here is having." He could not have seen my order. He could not read or write. [I offered a thin smile at his clumsy attempts to blend with the lettered. --fabricated quote from Ray]

...

I carefully poured syrup over my pancakes, and coffee into my cup. ... Something was wrong. They tasted bitter. I looked again at the table. If the coffee was on my pancakes, then where was the maple syrup? ... Trying to make the best of a bad situation, I picked up my coffee cup and poured it over the pancakes. My friend studied this, and then poured his own coffee over his pancakes. [Checkmate.]