@TruthSandwich@toad.social @fatsam To some degree, yes. High stress, high-pressure, noisy, and a lot of information has to be passed between the chefs without mistakes. And once 5 PM comes, you have to do it for 4 hours straight, non-stop, no breaks, at top speed. You begrudge the couple of seconds to drink a slug of icewater because you don't have time. I often have three pots and four skillets going at once. There's literally zero time out for 4 hours. It sounds terrible but once you get the hang of it, it's actually fun.

Speaking of unflappable, my VP of sales in the 1980s and early 90s was a great guy, very smart, brilliant actually. Great writer, typed with two fingers. Great with groups. Knew thousands of people in the industry instantly by name and remembering details about them and their family, even if he hadn't seen then in five years. Amazing. This is a skill I DO NOT have.

He was absolutely unflappable, steady, fearless. He served in the Army Corps of Engineers in Vietnam and he had stories that gave ME nightmares. Lots of stories. I remember many of them because he was a great storyteller. Some of them funny. Most of them not funny. Several things he did using his skills to rescue soldiers sounded like Medal of Honor material, but he brushed it off as all part of the job. He was also wounded more than once. One time he was in the hospital for six months for burns. He was carrying two Jerry cans of gasoline and one of the cans got hit by a .50 cal, which engulfed him in burning gasoline. I'm sure he must have had some PTSD effects too, but I finally understood how this kind of experience will turn you into solid iron, which he was.

So yeah, the samurai veteran thing is real, I'm sure. War is war and it's horrible no matter the place or time.