The In’s and Out’s of serving.
Several years ago,
I had an odd idea.
Odd because it seemingly
came from out of nowhere,
nowhere in particular.
I was hungry, as usual,
and thought I would go
to my favorite hamburger
drive-thru, The In-N-Out.
It was Founded in 1948,
a landmark in Southern
California and home of,
I think, the best burgers
on the planet Earth.
Everything is so fresh
and, well, I’ve digressed.
Where was I? Oh,I was hungry (as usual)
and went to In-N-Outfor a Double Double, no onion
and a Diet Coke.
There I was, in my car,
sitting in the drive-thru,
getting ready to pay
when out of nowhere
a thought hit me,
“Pay for the car behind you.”
I looked around to see
where it came from
and was shocked to find
it came from inside of me.
Inside my head, somewhere,
the little bitty neuron
connections firing off
rapidly as a result of
chemical and electrical
coincidences in specificalpath’d directions forming
that utterly unique
(unique to me anyway)thought.
I don’t carry much cash.
I just don’t. Mostly because
I really don’t have much.
But that day I had about
Thirty dollars and my order
was a bit over three bucks.
So I said to the cashier,
“I’d like to pay for
the car behind me.”
The girl blinked twiceand said, “What?”
So I smiled
and I repeated my request
and she asked,“Do you know them?”
“Well no, I just thought
it would be nice...you know,
like a Christmas present.”
“But its July," she smirked, dryly.
“Yeah” I grinned, that’s what
makes it so great,
they won’t expect it now, will they?”
“No, I suppose not,”
and at that point her face
lit up with a huge grin of her own
and gave me the order total.
(not much more than my original order)
And I could overhear
her telling her co-workers,
“you’ll never believe this,
this guy over here is paying...”
and her voice trailed away
as I pulled to the next window
to pick-up my order.
I had to smile as
the young cashier was
trying to explain to
the lady in back of me
that her order was paid
for... by a stranger
someone previously unknown,
paid for her order;
“yes ma’am, that’s right, yes,
the car in front, yes it’s all paid,
no, you don’t owe anything.”
I could just make out their faces
in my rear view mirror, I wiped
it twice, along with my eyes,
as the lady in complete befuddlement
was trying to figure out
what just happened and why.
I imagined her questions
“Who would pay for me? And why?
I don’t know him.
Why would someone do this for me?”
And I could see
the face of the young cashier
as she tried to explain.
I could see her smile
as she spoke.
It wasn’t with that
“corporate smile” you get
when greeted by shopkeeper or
tradesperson given out of
some kind of polite requirement.
Her smile was broad and genuine;
full of a kind compassion,
granted when seeing
thoughtfulness offered
freely and without constraint.
As I sat waiting for the car
in front of me to move forward,
I wondered who was benefiting
from this transaction. Well,
certainly the lady in her car,she got a free meal.
But the impact on the cashier,
I had not expected. She seemed
to be really happy to see
the simple gesture of kindness.
Maybe her day was filled with
unremarkable things
up to that point,
maybe her whole week,perhaps her life, too,
would be changed.
When I got to the pick-up window,
the young man smiled politely,
(corporate smile)
“would you like ketchup?”
I shook my head no,
while smiling, still watching
the exchange of the cashier and
the lady. The young man gave me
a quizzical look and my change
as if to say,
“what're you grinnin' at buddy”
I took my order and drove off; smiling.
Every now and then, I do this again;
a sort of a hit-and-run kindness
that usually impacts someone when
they expect it least. It reminds me of
Christ’s own love, serving others
who think they do not deserve it.
I don’t get to the drive-thrumuch anymore, but when I do
I make sure I have
enough cash to pay
for my order and the car behind me.
Why, someday, maybe,
I’ll have the honor of buying lunch
for you, too.
~r.
All rights reserved,
© October, 2006 R. Braley
(astralshepherd)
Bronze trophy winner
Adding your comment:
~ Karen ~ I'm going to take this with me today. People will wonder why I'm smiling in all this rain. 
Once I got to the end, he burst out with enthusiasm, "That was great mom!" I had to giggle and reply with a, "Thanks! But I didn't write it." To which he responded, "Oh, well that's too bad because I really liked it."
You've brightened my day. Thank you.
