Remember Ethel? The officer survivors called a hero during the worst of the earthquake unrest, who was reportedly suspended by the Los Santos Police Department for using her firearm to protect herself and the people around her?
She is back, and this time she is armed with ketchup.
From suspension to the Sheriff’s Department
Since Weazel News first reported her story, Ethel has joined the Los Santos Sheriff’s Department. We still do not know her surname, and the LSPD has still not commented on her suspension.
But the people of Paleto Bay do not need a surname. They know her as the woman handing out food.
A “hot dog stand” for the hungry
Ethel has opened what she calls a hot dog stand at the side of the road in Paleto Bay, feeding evacuees who have been struggling to eat since they arrived with nothing. It is free. No card, no questions, no queue for a form.
Regulars were quick to point out that the stand, a battered red cart with a striped umbrella, does not actually sell hot dogs. It serves burgers, with the ketchup and mustard left out for anyone to help themselves. Nobody seems to mind what it is called.
“She says it’s a hot dog stand, the sign says burgers, and I haven’t paid for either,” one evacuee told us between bites. “Best meal I’ve had since the quake.”
On the menu
The board still shows the cart’s old prices, but Ethel is not taking a single dollar. Here is what is being served:
Burger ($1), Megacheese ($1.80), Double Burger ($1.80), Kingsize Burger ($2), Bacon Burger ($2.20), Fries ($1), Soda ($1) and Bottled Water ($1).
Every item on the list is free for anyone who needs it. The Kingsize is, by all accounts, the one to ask for.
Filling a gap
With the State’s disaster aid still frozen and motel rooms stretching wallets thin, food has been one of the hardest things for evacuees to find. Families who left Los Santos with only what they could carry have been relying on each other, on churches and on strangers.
Ethel’s stand has become one of those small fixes. People who have not had a hot meal in days are walking away with one, and nobody is asked why they need it.
No comment from the officer
Ethel did not want to talk about herself when we approached the stand. She was too busy serving.
If you are in Paleto Bay and need a meal, look for the red cart under the striped umbrella. If you want to help, Weazel News understands she would not say no to supplies.
