Weekly Reflection Paper to "Huge Mirror at Balthazar Café Comes Crashing Down"

Can you imagine sitting down to enjoy a meal in a restaurant only to be startled by a mirror falling off the wall? This unexpected, frightening event occurred at the Balthazar Café located in Soho. Erik Badia, Tina Moore, and Corky Siemaszko recounted this incident through the statements made by the eye witnesses present at the time. Due to the quick reaction of Arnaud Montebourg, these circumstances did not escalate because he was able to catch the mirror before it fell to the floor. Others came to the rescue of Montebourg and were able to assist with holding up the enormous mirror. Luckily, no serious injuries occurred from this potential disastrous situation, except for a mirror head injury to Montebourg. This café avoided a significantly dangerous incident that could have severely damaged their business as they know it.

Erik Badia, Tina Moore, and Corky Siemaszko presented this example of how quick a hazardous event can occur. When entering places like a restaurant, customers are placing trust in that establishment that their personal safety and well-being are always kept in mind. This heavy mirror becoming detached from the wall placed everyone inside the café in danger, which violates the notion that these buildings are safe for customers. The authors’ of this article are able to bring about the idea of how whether everyone thinks it or not, sometimes safety can be put into jeopardy unintentionally. The possibility of the situation having much more severe results allowed the authors to build upon the statements of those who witnessed the mirror falling. I agree with the authors of this article because this situation could have escalated to severe consequences quickly.

The choice by the authors to focus on how much worse the situation could have been prompted me to think about what it means to go inside of a business, like a restaurant. The owners of Balthazar Café took a silent oath to provide safety to those entering their business, which was compromised with this occurrence, unintentionally or not. I feel that the factor of safety is often overlooked by the majority of individuals, but this article brings it to attention of the reader. This article has impacted me, and I know that I will be checking my surroundings for any falling wall décor the next time I am in a restaurant.This unfortunate incident in the Balthazar Café in SoHo can be an example to all in the business to ensure the safety of customers truly comes first. Putting anything else first can result in things that are detrimental to all things associated with the establishment. As a customer, it is comforting going into somewhere my safety is a priority, which is an essential component of a successful business.