Friday was Independence Day, the day that we, as a nation, were given the gift of freedom. Being the good, upstanding citizen and patriot that I am, I decided to give a gift to some random person by going out of my way to buy them something, such as a Coke or ice cream. Actually, it was just an assignment for my Technical Communication class. But it was still fun.
On Friday I passed up opportunities to complete my task at the movie theater, the grocery store, and the fireworks stand. It is not easy to go out of the way to do something nice for some random person, although it should be. I am typically shy and have a harder time stepping out of my comfort zone.
On Saturday, as the deadline was approaching, I conceived an ingenious way to accomplish my mission without even having to interact with the complete stranger for whom I would be doing this service. The plan was to insert $1.25 into the soda machine in front of the grocery store and leave. When the next person came to purchase a soda, they would discover that it had already been purchased and they would end up with a free Coke. My plan was foiled, however, as the machine was out of service.
Panicking, I scrambled for ideas when my wife suggested a trip to the McDonald’s drive-thru where we could purchase someone’s order before they were able to. I am sure she thought of this because she also wanted a delicious soft-serve ice cream cone. So we went, ordered a cone, and pulled forward to pay just as a mini-van full of kids pulled in behind us. My first thought was to get our order and go find another drive-thru to avoid paying an outrageous amount for the bill that a mini-van full of kids would rack up. However, when I asked the McDonald’s employee how much was owed by the family or two in the van behind me I learned that it was only about $2.00. So I paid it and drove off. As I pulled out, I glanced back at the mother driving the mini-van who had a very confused look on her face and almost seemed to be arguing with the cashier at the drive-thru window. Just to see the look on her face was worth the $2.00.
2 comments:
Brad, sounds like you had fun and made someone's day or at least gave them something to think about for the rest of the day. Maybe that mini-van bought someone esle a "coke" and the chain continued for the rest of the day. Or maybe they just reported you to the nearest police department! Keep on bloggin!
Excellent! You're too funny - foiled plans and all.
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