Were there not too many people bearing witness, one would be hard pressed to believe that I saw a mid-sized roach jump out of the menu booklet at a five-star hotel in the city. I acknowledge these are hard times, when anything and everything could be dismissed as “fake,” so I am not taking this narrative lightly.

But the roach was real, resplendent in its brown hues, with a belly that had a hint of cream to reveal it was well fed. I have several inferences to make about this strange find. One, it could that there is an over-population of roaches in the kitchen in this establishment, necessitating some to seek asylum at the table.