1. Rig

In order to be a functional professional tomato slicer

You need a pair of slip-resistant shoes

You need an apron

You need a hairnet (plus a beardnet if your facial hair exceeds 1/8″)

You need six gloves, and each hand must wear a glove sandwich of vinyl glove, mesh-cloth cut-resistant gloves, vinyl glove (nitrile gloves may be used instead of vinyl if there is an allergy)

You need protective sleeves on your arms

A compliant work uniform

A large container to throw tomato scrap in for possible use as salsa ingredients

A sheet tray (layman’s “cookie sheet”) or the lid to an XXL container to rest the hand-operated tomato slicer on that will keep tomato juices and seeds from making a mess on your station’s work surface

Product trays to put the sliced tomatoes in

A roll of 12″ plastic film in a box with a built-in cutter to wrap the tomato trays in

Labels that accurately describe net tomato weight, creation date, use by date, and description (“Sliced Tomatoes”) to affix to the plastic film after wrapping

And you will need two tomato slicers,

One of which is yourself

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2. Ma

I never called my late ma Ma

Nor even called her Mother

But since our time is limited

I call my brother Brother.

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3. Role

Today I have been a sleeper, an alarmist, a driver, an idler, an employee, a tomato slicer, a diner, a puzzle solver, a correspondent, a customer, a distant admirer, a fertilizer manufacturer, and a poet. The last two roles are not mutually exclusive.