I’ve heard it said that you get what you pay for. I have also heard it said that the best things in life are free. Tonight was a little of both. When you have a wife who actually stays home to raise her own four children, there are times when it behooves the parents to pile the kids into the car to take advantage of promotional events at local restaurants.
Today happened to be free chicken day at popular fast food place. Not only did each guest get two free pieces of chicken, but they also got two tortillas. To top things off, drinks and additional sides were discounted as well. Needless to say, lines were sure to be long. To avoid the rush, we showed up at the restaurant at ten to five and were surprised to see that the line was already beginning to wrap around the building. “It’s still early,” I said to my wife. “We might as well wait it out.”
And wait we did. Over the course of the next hour, we engaged in a mini sociology study as we observed the types of people who come out of the woodwork when things are free. Of the fifty to sixty people in line, ours was the only traditional family composed of a mom, dad, and kids. Perhaps other families were in tact, but only a few of the members wanted free chicken.
One woman in front of us looked as if she had lived a very hard life. The pain of years of bad choices was etched on her face. As she stood in the long line alone, puffing away on her cigarette, it was nice to see her smile when the man for whom she had been waiting finally arrived to join her. Despite the gaping hole where a tooth should have been, she greeted the fella with a disgusting version of a kiss that announced to the world that they were not married. No married couple would intentionally gross out a crowd in the way this man and woman did.
I could go on about the unruly children, incompetent parents, and other derelicts of society, but that’s not the point of this post. What amazed me as I waited in a long line for free food was how polite some of the people around us really were.
As we stood in line there were two young teenagers in front of us. Judging by their strikingly similar looks I surmised that they were probably brother and sister. I kept one eye on them periodically while we waited. It struck me that, despite their difference in age and gender, they seemed to be enjoying each other’s company. They waited patiently, talking quietly so as not to become a nuisance to those around them. Once we got inside, they sat down and shared a meal together. How refreshing it was to see two siblings who were unsupervised get along so well in public.
The second person to catch my attention was a former student at the school where I teach. I noticed her and her younger sister arrive about 30 minutes behind us. The younger sister immediately jumped to the middle of the line to join a group of friends. The older sister, who had always been a very respectful student, refused to cut in line. Instead, she went to the back and waited alone. Again, what a refreshing sight. As an eighth grader, she knew right from wrong (even if some may consider this a gray area) and refused to take the easy way out.
A final example of good in the midst of bad became evident as a mom entered the restaurant with six kids of varying ages. I am not sure if they all belonged to her, but they were all quite polite as they squished themselves into the booth next to us. The youngest, a two-year-old boy, immediately struck up a conversation with me about my daughters. Once he had learned their names, the older siblings joined in the conversation and complimented us on our beautiful baby. The little guy continued talking to me as he pointed to my wife. “What is your mom’s name?” he asked. I explained that my mom was at home and the woman beside me was my wife. When he again asked her name, I simply said, “Mommy.”
“She’s pretty,” the little boy replied. By this point my wife was all ears and suddenly she found herself fond of this little guy.
“Don’t forget she’s mine,” I said.
Besides being polite, this family had a certain integrity that was lacking in many of the families at the restaurant. I can’t tell how many times I saw someone who had ordered their free chicken take a water cup to the soda fountain and fill it with stolen soda. Call it a pet peeve of mine, but it irks me to no end to see people who brazenly flaunt their criminal behavior by stealing drinks from a restaurant. This mom, however, carefully filled six water cups with water and set them down in front of the kids. “Mommy, can I have some Coke?” one of them asked. The mom replied by telling the child that they hadn’t paid for Coke so they could only have water. I glanced around the restaurant and counted several hot sodas, so clearly the restaurant staff was not enforcing its anti-soda theft policy. Impressively, despite the peer pressure, this mom maintained her integrity.
Even though, for the most part, I felt like an outcast in my own community, the positive examples of a small segment of society salvaged the evening. It really is amazing the difference an act of integrity or a moment of civility can go in impacting the lives of others.
One more thing. Did I mention that my four kids stayed quietly beside us without complaining even once for an entire hour while we waited in line? They deserve a nod too. Way to go kids!
