Saturday, December 1, 2007

The Dangers of "I'm Lovin' It"

I enjoy going to Mickey D's on a Saturday for a little bit of 'off the graph' breakfast. Since being diagnosed a diabetic five plus years ago, I've been more often that not (and way more often than I'd first thought I would be) good about what I eat, how much of it I eat and when I have it.
I do the whole grain, big fiber, low sugar, routine during the week (I think I'd like eating the boxes of cereal more than the cereal itself some days). But I like to get a little footloose on the weekends (and not being a dancer, what should I do? Play Kenny Loggins' Greatest Hits at maximum volume while driving?) and Mickey D's is my idea of getting jiggy with it (I blame my parents, so you should, too.).

The commercials for McDonald's and just about every other good and service we purchase are all filmed on sound stages somewhere in Oz as NONE of the places I ever visit in the real world even vaguely resemble the joint on the TV commercial.
Moment of Zen this morning as the 'team member' (we no longer have employees; we have 'team members' and 'associates') at the counter, who did us all a favor just showing up (based on her attitude and her body language) but was unwilling to do at least me a favor and go home (and stay there) dragged out every order for what felt like hours. The line of customers snaked from the register down the open area near the soda and ice dispensers and then hung a left past some of the tables. Child of the Sixties that I am, I kept listening for the chopper blades overhead signalling the US helicopters had landed on the embassy roof in Saigon as we bid farewell to the domino theory. Luckily, for all of us, that didn't happen this morning (the drive thru would have been unable to accommodate a hovering chopper I suspect).

How often everyday does the gap between the promise and the performance become so obvious? Keep track for yourself and then try to remember if the sound of things falling apart was as loud when you were a kid.

It seems to me we expect things to get goofy and for programs and people to "Go South." No matter what it is, personal, business or government , and no matter how enthused the initial reaction to something is, part of us waits for the other shoe to drop. With my apologies to Winnie the Pooh, we're most comfortable when we can all be Eeyore. We look forward to things not working out and feel reassured when the calamity we projected happening finally comes to pass.
Oh bother. Care for a smackeral of honey on that hash brown?
-bill kenny

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