Confessions and (possibly) Hope on a Thursday Morning
Thursday morning. That means I have to make the 20-30 minute drive out to Nambe to tutor the kids. To ensure I get there on time I have to leave by 8:15, but I have a pretty good chance of making it if I leave 5-10 minutes later. At any rate, the kids are usually running a good bit late themselves, so everything works out. We get out the door on time this morning (a rarer occurrence than I would like), but we don't have time to get any breakfast, or even make a caffeine-laced beverage. I really don't want to go through the morning without either of these things, and I should have time to stop somewhere to do something about this.
The next issue to be delt with is cash. Not having a cash-rich job anymore, I scrounge the house, my purse, the floor, for petty cash, loose change, anything. No such luck. We do have, however, a can on the table wherein we were collecting spare change for the poor and hungry during Lent. Needless to say, we haven't turned it in yet. . . hmmm. . . I'm hungry. . . I think even Peculiar was a bit appalled to see me taking a can opener to it, but I did put in an I.O.U. $4 less I'll have to count later!
The only place that's on my way where I can get a fast, cheap, somewhat decent breakfast and coffee is McDonalds. I noticed a few weeks ago their coffee has drastically improved. It seems to be on the low side of coffee-shop coffee instead of at the same level with gas station coffee (which I've also noticed is getting better -- I guess capitalism does really pay off from time to time!). So, although there are many better cups of coffee in this town, McDonalds, I have to say, is acceptable in a pinch. And, try as I do to hide the fact, I do have a weakness for the sausage-egg breakfast sandwiches. I'm secretly glad when I'm "forced" to get one, whether on a roadtrip or on a morning when breakfast is necessary but unavailable through more acceptable means.
I pull in to the parking lot, with plenty of time, but am dismayed and appalled by the length of the drive-through line. Do this many people really get their breakfast here? I heard on a commercial awhile back that some astounding number (a third, maybe?) of Americans get breakfast there, but had hoped it was just overstated propaganda. Maybe not. The only thing worse than the number of people there is that I'm one of them.
I decide that going in must be faster than the drive-through. Usually, fast food restaurants are a bit scary. Maybe it was just unfortunate timing, but the last time I ate in one my dining companions were several rough-looking cholos, a guy in a wheelchair who kept up a constant, incoherent conversation with himself in Spanish, and the pimply high-school-drop-out looking counter attendants who couldn't seem to figure out the timing of onion rings and fries. But this morning, however this McDonalds actually felt like. . . a restaurant. The people in line looked like they, too were on their way to work, running short on time, a bit ashamed to be there. I noticed a group of happy looking retirees sitting at a table, leisurely reading papers, drinking coffee and obviously enjoying an idle morning. The whole place had the feel of an early-morning diner, that particular combination of leisure, efficiency and anticipation of the day.
Now, don't misunderstand me, I'm no fan of McDonalds, or fast food in general. I was properly appalled by "Supersize Me," and, having worked in a restaurant, have seen firsthand the gustatory damage inflicted on the populace by these places. But I have to say, while waiting for my ill-gotten breakfast I found myself setting the heavy case against McDonalds aside, at least for a few minutes. It's a crazy-busy, insane world, after all and at that moment I was grateful for the small comfort and pleasure that this place could provide for me and my fellow diners. Maybe the world isn't such a dark place after all. I read in a reliable source not long ago that McDonalds is now the number one purchaser of. . . fresh apples, apparently substituting them for fries upon request in some areas. And they're now offering Newman's salad dressing and purchase milk from a natural (if not organic) producer. (I know all this, in case you're wondering, from looking up incredibly boring information on very large companies for hours a day.) Incredible as it sounds, a big, evil corporation can, seemingly, change for the better, even if it is only to boost its bottom line. Still, better is better, whatever motives are behind it. Hmmm. . . that gives me a bit of hope for the day.
Thursday morning. That means I have to make the 20-30 minute drive out to Nambe to tutor the kids. To ensure I get there on time I have to leave by 8:15, but I have a pretty good chance of making it if I leave 5-10 minutes later. At any rate, the kids are usually running a good bit late themselves, so everything works out. We get out the door on time this morning (a rarer occurrence than I would like), but we don't have time to get any breakfast, or even make a caffeine-laced beverage. I really don't want to go through the morning without either of these things, and I should have time to stop somewhere to do something about this.
The next issue to be delt with is cash. Not having a cash-rich job anymore, I scrounge the house, my purse, the floor, for petty cash, loose change, anything. No such luck. We do have, however, a can on the table wherein we were collecting spare change for the poor and hungry during Lent. Needless to say, we haven't turned it in yet. . . hmmm. . . I'm hungry. . . I think even Peculiar was a bit appalled to see me taking a can opener to it, but I did put in an I.O.U. $4 less I'll have to count later!
The only place that's on my way where I can get a fast, cheap, somewhat decent breakfast and coffee is McDonalds. I noticed a few weeks ago their coffee has drastically improved. It seems to be on the low side of coffee-shop coffee instead of at the same level with gas station coffee (which I've also noticed is getting better -- I guess capitalism does really pay off from time to time!). So, although there are many better cups of coffee in this town, McDonalds, I have to say, is acceptable in a pinch. And, try as I do to hide the fact, I do have a weakness for the sausage-egg breakfast sandwiches. I'm secretly glad when I'm "forced" to get one, whether on a roadtrip or on a morning when breakfast is necessary but unavailable through more acceptable means.
I pull in to the parking lot, with plenty of time, but am dismayed and appalled by the length of the drive-through line. Do this many people really get their breakfast here? I heard on a commercial awhile back that some astounding number (a third, maybe?) of Americans get breakfast there, but had hoped it was just overstated propaganda. Maybe not. The only thing worse than the number of people there is that I'm one of them.
I decide that going in must be faster than the drive-through. Usually, fast food restaurants are a bit scary. Maybe it was just unfortunate timing, but the last time I ate in one my dining companions were several rough-looking cholos, a guy in a wheelchair who kept up a constant, incoherent conversation with himself in Spanish, and the pimply high-school-drop-out looking counter attendants who couldn't seem to figure out the timing of onion rings and fries. But this morning, however this McDonalds actually felt like. . . a restaurant. The people in line looked like they, too were on their way to work, running short on time, a bit ashamed to be there. I noticed a group of happy looking retirees sitting at a table, leisurely reading papers, drinking coffee and obviously enjoying an idle morning. The whole place had the feel of an early-morning diner, that particular combination of leisure, efficiency and anticipation of the day.
Now, don't misunderstand me, I'm no fan of McDonalds, or fast food in general. I was properly appalled by "Supersize Me," and, having worked in a restaurant, have seen firsthand the gustatory damage inflicted on the populace by these places. But I have to say, while waiting for my ill-gotten breakfast I found myself setting the heavy case against McDonalds aside, at least for a few minutes. It's a crazy-busy, insane world, after all and at that moment I was grateful for the small comfort and pleasure that this place could provide for me and my fellow diners. Maybe the world isn't such a dark place after all. I read in a reliable source not long ago that McDonalds is now the number one purchaser of. . . fresh apples, apparently substituting them for fries upon request in some areas. And they're now offering Newman's salad dressing and purchase milk from a natural (if not organic) producer. (I know all this, in case you're wondering, from looking up incredibly boring information on very large companies for hours a day.) Incredible as it sounds, a big, evil corporation can, seemingly, change for the better, even if it is only to boost its bottom line. Still, better is better, whatever motives are behind it. Hmmm. . . that gives me a bit of hope for the day.
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