Life Stories and Beyond

Lisa Batten Kunkleman

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June 25, 2016
lisakunk

3 comments

3 Day Quote Challenge: “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” Aristotle

By Lisa Batten Kunkleman

Today is the second day of my 3 day quote challenge. And I would like to thank Shahz at surescribbles.wordpress.com for nominating me for the challenge.

 

  1. “Always forgive your enemies. Nothing annoys them so much.” Oscar Wilde
  2. “If the lessons that history teach us anything, it is that nobody learns the lessons that history teaches us.” Anon
  3. “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” Aristotle

 

To continue the challenge I nominate three blogs I thoroughly enjoy and recommend:

A WINDOW INTO THE WOODSawindowintothewoods.com

Jill Weatherholtjillweatherholt.wordpress.com

roughwightingroughwighting.net

 

If you choose to accept this challenge, the rules are as follows:
1.Thank the person who nominated you,
2.Post 1-3 quotes for 3 consecutive days.
3.Nominate 3 blogs each day for 3 consecutive days.

Hope you’d enjoy the challenge as much as I did. Happy posting. If this is too much of a task, I understand. Consider it a compliment from me that I added your site since I enjoy your blog.

Lisa Kunkleman Life Stories and Beyondlifestoriesandbeyond.com

 

June 24, 2016
lisakunk

7 comments

3 Day Quote Challenge”The real voyage of discovery consists not of seeking new lands but seeing with new eyes.” Marcel Proust

With Lisa Batten Kunkleman

Today is the first day of my 3 day quote challenge. And I would like to thank Shahz at surescribbles.wordpress.com for nominating me for the challenge.

Here are three quotes I like.

  1. “Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them and pretty soon you have a dozen.” John Steinbeck
  2. “The real voyage of discovery consists not of seeking new lands but seeing with new eyes.” Marcel Proust
  3. “To the man who only has a hammer, everything he encounters begins to look like a nail.” Abraham Maslow

To continue the challenge I nominate,

Say It With A Cameramikehardisty.wordpress.com

Tacky Raccoonstackyraccoons.com

Praying for Eyebrowznananoyz5forme.com

The rules are as follows:

1.Thank the person who nominated you,
2.Post 1-3 quotes for 3 consecutive days.
3.Nominate 3 blogs each day for 3 consecutive days.

Hope you enjoy thinking about quotes you enjoy as much as I did. Happy posting. If this is too much to tackle at this time, I understand. Consider nomination as a compliment from me since I enjoy your blog.

Lisa Kunkleman Life Stories and Beyondlifestoriesandbeyond.com

 

June 24, 2016
lisakunk

4 comments

Computer Passes out Eating Too Many Cookies

By Lisa Batten Kunkleman

My computer keeps passing out from sheer OBD. Overloaded brain disorder. I have that too. Media files are likely at the root of the problem, since I take way too many photos and videos. I set out to move the dozens of band, chorus, track, dance, and church youth group videos onto an external hard drive. It sounds like I know what I’m doing and once in a while I actually do.

Going into my MAC’s “All My Files”, I am flabbergasted. No wonder my computer has no room. I have 25,000 pictures in this thing! I know I take lots of pictures, but glancing through, I know I didn’t take all these. Duplicate pictures are no surprise but what has me stumped is all the additional pictures and colorful icons I’ve never seen.

My computer is overflowing with political people that I neither like nor want invading my home. I’d never invite Sarah Palin into my house as I think shooting moose from a helicopter is pretty unfair hunting even if she can see Russia from her yard. There’s Rush Limbaugh and John Weiner. Neither one is welcome here. Eww gross. There are pictures of a shirtless Putin on a horse.

There are several folks pictured here that I’d like to meet: Aretha, the Pointer Sisters, and Elvis. But I don’t want them taking up valuable computer space. There are lots of news pictures from Afghanistan, England, and a blast from the past, Cash for Clunkers donations. There are animal stories that would make me cry so I know I never looked any of those up. There’s a Pena Dog Park. What’s a Pena dog?

The NC Lottery and every game logo imaginable are here, plus a man in a shower cap holding a walkie-talkie. Who the heck is he? Here’s someone caught on a ski lift just hanging out. There are pictures of oiled up birds and ducks that were caught in an oil slick.

I see that the North Pole melts while Boston has blizzards. There’s a Starbucks cup and a manatee. While swimming in the Gulf of Mexico years ago, a manatee snuck up and surprised my daughter and me, but the manatee on my desktop is not the same one we encountered. There’s a close-up of the queen. I’ve never met the queen. How could I have taken that close-up?

More pictures include Obama, guns, and gun control labels, Texas and West Virginia flooding, a snake in the water. Wild fires, tornadoes, and heat waves reeking havoc. The last living Von Trapp family member, and Hugh Hefner with his very young blonde bride. A picture of Paris Hilton’s dress. Who cares? Athletes galore, Pakistani violence, terror attacks, and flags of every country. All tucked away in my MAC.

Here are more recent additions: England wants to be alone. Sharks attack, King James skips the Olympics, and mosquitoes spread Zeka virus. Bad guy Chad from the Bachelorette grins like he has an evil plan. He’s right there beside Trump, Hillary, Bernie, and the Democratic sit-in.

I understand that sites leave cookies and pictures from all we do. Dang cookies! My poor computer needs fewer cookies. Those demons clog its little memory arteries as sure as real cookies clog mine.

Doing everything the hard way as usual, I ended up spending an entire day removing the darn crumbs the cookies left behind. Tossing them in the trash and getting immediate gratification hearing the crackle as it empties is fun except when paranoia speaks up saying, “You might regret deleting this. It’s vital to the computer’s functioning.”

After my day of deleting pictures and icons, my son nonchalantly says he can fix a setting to avoid all this hassle. Now he tells me.

(Disclaimer: if those things aren’t cookies and are called something else, I apologize to the cookies for slander.)

 

June 15, 2016
lisakunk

10 comments

Empty Nest Flutterings: The Multiplying Condiment Miracle

IMG_8329

By Lisa Batten Kunkleman

How is it possible to clean out my fridge, using my large sink as a holding spot for discards, filling said sink with outdated bottles and jars of condiments and beet remains while still ending up with a chockfull fridge? Dang! It hardly looks any different from when I started except it’s missing a few sticky spots.

It’s sort of like the Bible story you may remember: the miracle of the loaves and fishes multiplying to feed the masses. But I don’t want to feed the masses. We’re empty nesters with a couple of birds who flew back for the summer. That means I need more room for fresh vegetables to feed the coeds. They’ve eaten cafeteria buffet and junk food the entire school year and it’s my job to help boost their immune systems while the fresh crops are filling produce stands. I’m now known as a master salad maker and veggie smoothie queen mother. These lucky kids are living in a healthy food paradise. That is, with all the fruits and veggies that I can squeeze in the fridge. They only last so long on the kitchen counter.

So, I decided to eliminate lots of unnecessary, unhealthy condiments and make some room. I had to force myself to get physical with all that gunk in the containers, rinse them out, and properly dispose of them in the recycle bin. I’m ashamed to admit three were too much for me and won the struggle so they went in the trash. That may haunt me enough that I go digging through the outside trash bin to retrieve them and try harder.

Now that I’m rested, I may dive back into the fridge and search for more expiration dates from 2014 like the Worcestershire sauce I poured down the big sink drain. I figure it must have turned to Drano by now and might eat up some cloggy plaque. I’ll tackle the fridge clearing again because I must make more room for actual food. Man cannot live by condiments alone.

June 11, 2016
lisakunk

20 comments

Milk Leaks and Dog Leaks

 

By Lisa Batten Kunkleman

My day began with a soft pat on the arm and a nuzzle against my fingers. No, this was not my husband. It was our people-phobic beautiful FAT black cat, Daisy Mae. I had received a gift from the object of everyone’s desire. When I tried to return the caress, she allowed me five strokes of her soft back and neck. That was it. Off the bed she hopped, destination in mind.
“That’s all you get, Mere Human. I hope you enjoyed that. Now get up and feed me.” I could translate her meow.

 

I followed Her Majesty toward the kitchen as ordered. I walked carefully, playing dodge-a-dog on the way up the hall, through the den and into the laundry room where I refilled her bowl, along with one for another cat. One of our young adults who was back in the nest had already fed our three dog children or they would have been prancing around my legs on the trip to the land of food.

 

While preparing one of my masterpiece smoothies, I either started a hot flash or the thermostat needed to be adjusted. It’s a good thing I went for the thermostat in the next room or I wouldn’t have seen the enormous puddle on the floor. Dang it! Why, Sadie? Her hound dog puddles are like small lakes. I let her out late last night. Couldn’t she have put her big old foot on my shoulder like Daisy did to get me up?

 

Breakfast prep halted as I grabbed paper towels and Nature’s Miracle Hardwood Floor Cleaner and tended the wet mess. All the while, Daisy glided around the accident scene as if saying, “Aren’t you glad I got you up, Human? And you should note, I didn’t do this.”

 

After nearly scrubbing the skin off my hands, I resumed making my energy drink. What the heck is this? Who spilled milk all over the counter-top? Did one of the cats knock over a glass? Then I figured out the source.

 

Oh-my-gosh. Almond milk was seeping out the bottom of the blender leaving behind a bunch of damp kale, blueberries, and lime. I lifted the glass blender jug from the machine and watched the last drops of white liquid drip out. After a dazed moment, I remembered my sanitation-obsessed daughter was home from college and had likely separated the pieces for washing and left it loose to dry. Great idea but I must remember that things change when the birds fly back to the nest. So, I tightened the very loose bottom of the blender. If there was not enough almond milk left in the carton, this would be a roughie, not a smoothie.

 

I stood there contemplating what to blame for my unexpected issue. I blamed the mulberries I was sorting through to keep moldy ones out of my drink. That was about the time I got hot and left the kitchen. But no, the instant replay in my head reminded me it was actually the doggie accident that took my attention part way through the smoothie making. That was the real culprit. If that sounds gross, don’t even think about what goes on with the hands that handle our food in restaurants. Ewww. No. Don’t go there.

 

Oh yeah, to top off the morning, I also tried to cut slivers of ginger for the drink and dropped the sharp scissors nearly cutting slivers from my flip-flop clad foot. That would have meant another mess to tend to. A bloody mess. Did you get that, how I cursed in British? On with the day. Milk leaks and dog leaks had interrupted enough of my morning.

 

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May 31, 2016
lisakunk

13 comments

Empty Nest Flutterings

By Lisa Batten Kunkleman

The birds flew back into our empty nest. Quiet slipped out the back door, to be replaced by chatter, showers, cars and friends galore. The living room became a drop off spot for book bags, jackets, and laptops. Oh, and shoes, brass instruments and music stands. They’re ba-ack. And oh how we welcome the noise, the people and the mess.

After a few days, I admit, the welcome home warm fuzzies dwindled for the mess. I gently stated, “You know, I gotta say that since y’all have been gone, we’ve learned to enjoy waking up to a clean living room and kitchen. Maybe we can keep those parts of the nest empty, of mess, that is.”

I received an, “I’ll get it tomorrow,” but when I suggested before bed would be better, the items vanished. Wow! That was amazing. Their bedrooms filled with all the detritus from their dorm rooms took a little longer to sort out but that’s okay. They’re home. Young adults used to their own timetables and taking care of themselves.

It wasn’t long before I said to my daughter about her bedroom, “Oh my gosh, I see your floor. It’s no longer the largest shelf in the house.” She gave me a smile instead of an eye roll. I’m loving this young adult behavior.

Less than a week into our joyous nesting experience, we lost a few birdies. Our oldest daughter graduated from grad school and took off on a fabulous trip with her husband. Upon return, they’ll move away as she starts a new job in another city. Not that they live with us but temporarily they’re living nearby.

One of our triplets flew the coop to play baritone with Drum Corps International, (DCI) in the Cadets. He is spending his days combining music, marching, and athleticism to travel the states competing against other Drum Corp bands. So, he’s working ridiculously hard but in a different way from his siblings at home in the nest.

The two remaining nineteen-year-olds are truly back on the farm, helping us with chores and long overdue tasks. It’s as if they are working for their room and board. Without complaint or other more pressing plans. Crazy! Who are these people?

Here are a few major accomplishments: Cleaned and pressure washed gutters and siding. Trimmed shrubbery. De-grassed sidewalk cracks. Cleaned fireplace. Groomed dog. On-going projects like mowing, cleaning out closets and organizing stuff. Plus, they grocery shop, run errands, and cook. Praise be! Oh, and they’re pet sitting and lawn mowing for their older sister and brother-in-law.

I know this situation is temporary as they have other obligations coming up but it’s sure nice while it’s lasting. We’re eating good, playing games, watching movies and catching up with our newly grown up college kids. I love this nest.

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May 26, 2016
lisakunk

10 comments

The Liebster Award

Leibster Award. I’m a recipient thanks to Shaz. I’ve answered questions about myself. Now, I am nominating the blogs listed below and hope they accept or at least feel honored to be recognized. Thanks again Shaz. https://surescribbles.wordpress.com/2016/05/24/981/ for nominating me for the Liebster Award. It means a lot to me!

11 Things About Me :

I am from a small town; Whiteville, NC, USA near the Atlantic Ocean.

I now live almost three hours away on my husband’s family farm in suburbia, part of the biggest city in NC, Charlotte.

I have four young adult kids, the original model, aged 26 and 19-year-old triplets. It’s a wild ride for my husband, Dan and me.

I have a body that keeps doctors on their toes. Mystery ailments started in 2002 and in searching for one thing, we found some surprising others. But keep on going. Never know what will crop up in life.

I have great empathy for people with hidden pain or conditions. Looking fine doesn’t always mean a person is fine.

I have a huge family. Our family reunion invitations only touch the surface if we send out 200.

I love learning from older members of our family: jokes, tales, history, how they did all they did.

I love taking pictures and videos and drive my family a little nuts with this obsession. My mom has the same issues. I’m so glad she ignored us and took lots of pictures and kept records and some of our belongings. We are keepers of records.

I love keeping journals, datebooks, calendars, old check registers, receipts…anything that has history included.

I keep all my texts, just about, as history. It’s like a living diary of many people’s lives.

I’m obsessed with way too many things. I’m so sentimental I have a hard time eliminating things. Not junk, I mean photos, kids schoolwork that has meaning/essays/drawings and such. My phone shows this too. It’s always out of space.

 

Now, About the 11 Questions I had to Answer.

1) What is your overall life goal? To bring joy to other people’s lives. And for my loved ones to live a good, happy life.
2) If you have a really bad day, what’s the one thing that can brighten it up? A cup of coffee sitting outside in my swing or glider. Or walking around our farm taking in sights and sounds of nature. Oh and rubbing our animals.
3) When did you catch the travel bug, if you love travelling? Doing mission work as a youth leader at our church. My husband and I have both traveled inside and outside the US on these trips and have taken our teenaged/young adult kids with us. Life changing experiences. Also traveling with family and friends.
4) What’s the one thing you cannot travel without? Vaseline lip therapy.
5) What’s the worst thing that has ever happened to you on a trip? Traveling with my Mom and brother on a leaf-watching trip in New England, having no car or hotel because my AAA travel agent reserved our car in Manchester, England instead of the Manchester in New Hampshire, USA. Also booked a hotel in New Hampshire instead of Vermont in a town by same name. We were fine though. Found both a car and a room in the middle of nowhere by some miracle.
6) Do you have a memorable (cultural) experience? So many. One is eating cui in Peru. Guinea pigs are pets in the US. Of course, it tastes like chicken.
8) Have you been somewhere that turned out to be completely different to what you imagined? Hawaii. I expected many sandy beaches and didn’t expect chickens to be on the beaches and everywhere in Kauai. The water was really rough and it was hard to find areas to snorkel and swim. Also, we had no air conditioning and it was hot as blazes in July. Everyone said it was unusually steamy. Oh the humidity.

9) Is there something you do (routine etc.) when away from home that you wouldn’t do otherwise? Get up to see the sunrise.
10) Which comforts of home do you miss most when on the road? Fully stocked kitchen and laundry room.
11) If you could do anything to make this world a bit better, what would it be? Be kind and hope it spreads like wildfire. Share stories with people. We all have them. Some people simply need a listener, a kind face with interest and attention. Oh, and get rid of brash, bullying, angry world leaders in favor of level-headed people with compassion and strength and wisdom.

Now 11 questions I would ask my nominees.

I hope you’ll like my questions. I borrowed them from others and made some of my own.

1) What career ambition(s) did you have as a child?
2) If you could get a redo in life, what would you do? If anything.
3) What does wealth mean to you?
4) What are the top 5 books you have enjoyed or recommend?

5) What is your wildest experience thus far?

6) If traveling to a new place, are you nervous and if so, why?

7) What five things would be on a list of things you love?

8) What, do you think are some of the most beautiful things of all?

9) If you had the power to change things, what would they be?

10) What scares you the most?

11) What’s the hardest or best thing about being a blogger? What have you learned that’s helped so far?
Here are the rules for the Liebster Award, in case you don’t know what to do (I didn’t know them myself):
1) Thank the blog who nominated you and link back to them.
2) Make a blog post telling 11 facts about you,
3) Answer the 11 questions from the blog who nominated you, and
4) Prepare 11 questions for those you will nominate.
5) Nominate 11 new bloggers (those who have less than 200 followers) by commenting in one of their blog posts. (My nominees may not meet the follower criteria but I enjoy them and want to share their work.)

That’s about it. Or the tip of the iceberg.

http://lifestoriesandbeyond.com

Lisa K

Finally, I would like to nominate the following fine folks as bloggers for the Leibster Award. Hope you will accept : )

https://theweeklyweeder.wordpress.com/

The Nudge Wink Report

nudgewinkreport.wordpress.com

Muddling Through Leukemia

muddlingthroughleukemia.wordpress.com

Blog of Things:

thesocialblogger2.wordpress.com

Cynthia Reyes

cynthiasreyes.com

Little Writing Blog

littlewritingblog.wordpress.com

cyclingrandma

cyclingrandma.wordpress.com

https://somethinguphersleeve.wordpress.com/

https://theitinerantlife.wordpress.com/

May 25, 2016
lisakunk

42 comments

I Just Realized I’m Old

By Lisa Batten KunklemanIMG_2457IMG_4075

“Lisa I just realized I’m old. How did that happen?” Mom says.

 

I say, “Beats me. You may be up there chronologically but you sure don’t act it. You and Betty White are ‘Da Bomb Diggity’.”

 

Today is Mom’s birthday. Number eighty-something. Unbelievable. She can’t believe it either. If nobody let on about her age, people would continue thinking she is much younger than her octogenarian status, confirmed only by her birth certificate.

 

As it is, we use her age to shock folks who are chattering away, to her or in her presence, about So and So who is really elderly, and still driving.

 

They chat on not knowing they are talking to a contemporary of the “elderly” person they’re mentioning.

 

“Well, I’m almost eighty-eight,” Mom tosses out with a smile.

 

The conversation stops while the speaker stares at her in disbelief. “You’re not serious. Mrs. Lois, I never would have guessed it. You look so young.”

 

“Well, I am. I can’t believe it either,” Mom says.

 

Often times a person learns Mom’s age and says something like, “Are you still driving?” or “Do you still live in your house?”

 

Mom just grins, cocks her head sideways and says, “Of course I drive and still live in my house.”

 

She tells me that people sometimes switch to baby talk when addressing her. At that, she puts on her feisty-lady voice and changes the subject to what she considers a much more interesting topic. That person.

 

“So tell me what’s happening with you,” Mom says, always interested in others and preferring not to talk about herself. Maybe that’s what keeps her so young, caring about people and things outside herself.

 

I’ve got a few years to get myself more interested in others than in my own self, but I sure hope to be like her when I grow up. She always has been and still is one heck of a role model.

 

Happy birthday, Mom. You’re the best!

 

May 10, 2016
lisakunk

14 comments

They Caught One!

IMG_6784By Lisa Kunkleman

They caught one! They actually did it! I never thought I’d be burying a squirrel caught by my squirrel-chasing dogs. I’ll call him ‘Little Guy’. Probably one of the little acrobats I enjoy watching run around our trees like they’ve had a triple shot of espresso. I call them North Carolina’s monkeys. Such fun to watch if you’re not a “hater” who calls them “nothing but rodents.” This one might not have been the brightest squirrel in the bunch. Herd, crop? What do you call a group of squirrels?

 

I Googled it. Whether it’s a nest of squirrels, or simply the squirrel nest sans squirrels, or a mother squirrel and her young, all are called a dray. Never heard of it. A scurry is a group of squirrels but according to Google, they are pretty solitary animals so a scurry is uncommon. Maybe it’s uncommon in Google’s yard but it’s the norm in our yard. We have our own personal squirrel circus.

 

I spend too much of my writing time gazing out the window over my desk, watching groups of squirrels scurry, chasing each other all around the mulberry tree. No, I’m not trying to be cute. We have lots of mulberry trees, not bushes, which make great jungle gyms for our squirrel population. Plus providing sumptuous berries for them and their friends, the birds, bunnies, and deer. Since the woods beyond our farm are being replaced with “add water and a house pops up overnight” neighborhoods, Rocky, Thumper, and Bambi all happily frolic and forage in our back yard. (For younger readers, Rocky was a famous squirrel on a show called Bullwinkle; Thumper, a bunny who thumped his large foot was Bambi’s buddy; Surely you know Bambi, the Disney deer.)

 

Heading out the front door to feed horses, our three dogs rushed past, nearly knocking me down the brick steps as they headed toward a squirrel they’d spotted across the yard. The reason I think Little Guy might not be so bright is because he was safely behind a wire horse fence doing his squirrel business. He was gathering something or other when the dogs ran toward him. He could have stuck out his tongue and said, “Na Na, Na Boo Boo!” while staying put, but No! He ran under the fence gate, straight at the barking dogs coming his way. He ran to a big oak tree where the dogs did a sneaky partner maneuver, each coming around the tree from different directions where he was intercepted.

 

It happened so fast all I could do was yell from a distance. I yelled so loud I scared the horses and the dogs. Now my throat hurts. I don’t want to name names because all three dogs have reputations to protect. Any of the three could take blame for this involuntary ‘squirrelslaughter’ so I’ll keep it confidential. When I yelled, they looked up at me in surprise. One opened up, dropped the limp victim beneath the tree and looked sheepish, grinning guiltily. Probably planning to bring the critter to me as a gift as our cats do with lizards, they looked puzzled that I wasn’t thrilled. They all obeyed without question, which was a big shocker for me, too.

 

I watched my very gentle, kind-hearted dog tuck tail and take off for the front door. When the accused looked back at me for mercy, I fussed some more. I said it was a bad thing to do—to kill the squirrels that play keep away with them every day. Head down and tail tucked tighter, my message sank in. The other two doggies stayed away from me, their fussing, disappointed human. And here I have been worried about this season’s silly rabbits nesting under our back deck, wandering into the dogs’ wooden fence to eat beneath the squirrel resistant feeder. It isn’t. Resistant.

 

Little Guy didn’t have a chance. He could have chosen any of three sweet gum trees within the horse fence. But he made a different choice. He took the road more traveled, the tree, less handy. I’ve always wanted to touch a squirrel but not this way. Lying on his back in my hand, I carried his warm, little body to the compost area to bury him. I was surprised that he was soft like a bunny. I assumed squirrels were coarse. I was also surprised how tiny his teeth were. Dang! Those little teeth rip through walnut shells and shingles?

 

I indulged myself in some “What ifs.” What if his family is watching me and thinks I killed him? What if I’d been five minutes later going out to feed the horses? What if I hadn’t invited the dogs to go out front in my effort to protect the silly rabbits out back? Hopefully he’s already scurrying around on a road lined with nut trees and paved with acorns. Rest in Nut Heaven, Little Guy.

May 3, 2016
lisakunk

16 comments

Chic Fil A Has a Drive Thru Traffic Jam

By Lisa Batten Kunkleman

I counted thirteen cars wrapped around Chic Fil-A on a beautiful Monday at lunchtime. Those were just the ones I could see. Not even counting the lanes further around the building. No way was I wasting my morning sitting in a take-out traffic jam breathing fumes.

 

I parked in one of the many empty spaces so I could walk in and place my order. I planned to take a break from my smoothies and salads. In sheer rebellion, I was about to cheat on my healthy diet with a few teeny, tiny chicken nuggets while enjoying some me time in my car. Perhaps I’d listen to an audio book or just sit there with my windows down and enjoy the breeze.

 

Walking in, I saw not even a single soul in line at the three open registers. One man waited for a tea refill. Other than him, I was the lone customer in the large empty ordering area and I had my choice of perky, clean-looking employees smiling, ready to help me obtain my forbidden food.

 

“May I help you?” asked the nearest young woman whose name tag read Joy.

 

“Yes. I need a six-pack of nuggets and a half and half tea, please. Oh and some Chic Fil-A sauce.”

I was feeling super-defiant that day after eating nothing forbidden for the past forever and seeing no change on my blood work.

 

“And your name is?” she asked, showing me all her bright, white teeth.

 

“Lisa,” I said.

 

“Your order will be right up, Lisa, if you’d like to wait over here, we’ll call you when it’s ready.” Laughing, she waved her arm like Vanna White showing me my new car I’d won in the last round of Wheel of Fortune.

 

I moved two steps to my right as directed and heard from another smiling face behind Joy, “Lisa, your order is ready.” I saw another set of those shiny, white teeth.

 

Dang, that was fast. Smiling, speedy people. I took my little white bag; out of habit I grabbed two of the heavy-duty long straws, even though it was just me today and I only had one drink. Also, I stuffed a few napkins in the bag. Opening the heavy door, I took some pride and sick pleasure seeing that the car line had only moved ahead one car length.

 

Food in hand, walking beside the cars, I glanced at each driver in the take-out lane to see if anybody had a handicapped tag or had a car full of kids they didn’t want to wrangle in the playground. I remember that feeling and I used the drive-through lane back then, myself. I saw neither. I fought back the urge to tap on each driver’s window and say, “Seriously ya’ll. There is no line inside. You could be in and out as quick as a rabbit, plus adding a few steps to your Fitbit while saving gas and fighting air pollution.”

 

But I didn’t. People looked perfectly content to chill all alone in their air-conditioned vehicle and look at their smart phones. So what if it took half an hour to get their food. I wonder; are we lazy, anti-social, or in need of “me time” and the drive-through lane is an easy way to get some? Or are people more comfortable talking to an electronic speaker than experiencing smiling, fresh-faced, Joy?

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