If All Else Fails...

I spend a lot of time at the drive-thru at Taco Bell. I'm not sure if this is more a reflection of the frequency of my visits or more a reflection of the service. This particular evening I found myself at a Taco Bell that was clearly having issues inside. I feel I can safely assume this because it took the woman in front of me ten minutes to order one taco. It was one of those visits when you wait for so long you just put the car in park. I finally get up to the window and this poor frazzled man asks me if I want any taco sauce. No. I can tell that he is more than a little stressed as he hands me my drink. Then doesn't remember which drink he gave me and asks me to "test" it to see if it is, in fact, Pepsi. After I confirm the drink he asks me what kind of taco sauce I said that I wanted. Nothing. He hands me the three items I ordered all bagged separately in there very own sacks. "I'm sorry, did you want any taco sauce, " he sighs. No. No Taco Sauce. He then seems to move on to the next thing and is puzzled as to why I'm still there. As he slid the window open I handed him my money and he says, "oh yeah, right." Then of course, as he hands me my change he says, "Did you want any sauce?"

As I drove away I had to wonder about that man. He was clearly 55 or older, and it didn't seem like he had been doing that job very long. I had to wonder what life choices bring you to Taco Bell at the age of 55. Has he never really moved past that in his life? Has he been flipping burgers for 40 years? Or did he have a job that got replaced by a machine? Should he have gone to Computer Based Learning Center to adapt to the job market? Was he just laid off early so the company could screw him out of retirement? Did he loose his job because of Alzheimer's?

On the one hand, I want to admire him for having the humility to get what ever job he could to make ends meet for his family... On the other hand I pity him for working fast food his whole life and not planning ahead...

My reaction... I eat my taco. With no sauce.

I guess I always struggle with my idea of success. I bump into people I went to high school with and they are working at a gas station, or delivering pizzas and I don't want to think I'm better than they are, but at the same time I can't help but feel sorry for them that they aren't doing something... more.