Perpetual Ruminations

Why Can't I Dine In?

And so ends day one of the new year. I was up late last night, or would that be early this morning? Either way, I didn't hit the sack until about 3:30. The girls didn't get to bed until after 1:00, and the youngest was up reading until after 2:00. Then, finally, some quiet time for me, even if I was almost falling asleep in my chair.

I did sleep in late today, not getting up until a little after 10:00, and just kind of loafed around while I waited for the coffee to kick in. This afternoon we headed over to pick up the snowblower I had purchased online. It was a nice day and I nice drive, but when we arrived at the store, a Menards Home Improvement Center, it was packed.

I was glad I had purchased online and just had to drive to the back to pick it up, but after we did venture in to pick up a few items. I really don't understand why we have no inside dining, yet we can be in stores that are wall to wall people? Seriously, with that many people wondering the isles and handling anything and everything, is there any greater risk to sit in a food establishment?

It's really kind of a bummer, man! I mean, our entire family enjoys the occasional going out to eat as a change of pace. But on days like today, when it's just my wife and me, stopping by some nice restaurant and having a good meal and time to sit and talk to each other is the highlight of our shopping trip. It's a nice respite for us and something we seldom get to enjoy. I'm sorry but stopping anyplace and ordering through a speaker, waiting for someone to bring it out and hoping it's not messed up, then sitting in a parking lot and eating in the car is just not the same.

That's another of my pet peeves, I've got a small herd of them started now; ordering take-out food. First is the fact that the speaker never works right and you can barely understand what they say. Then, you're trying to tell them the order with a car full of people reading off the menu that is always placed so someone can't see it. I have yet to order drive-through and have an order come out correct. Sometimes it's pretty close, but there's always something missing. The closest we have come to getting our order was all the food was correct, the drinks were correct, but instead of a double order of chicken nuggets, they only sent out a single. Oh, and they didn't include any dipping sauce, ketchup, napkins, or straws. The worst was getting someone else's order and not a single item we had placed.

Then, once the food arrives, it's a matter of where to eat it. We're all hungry, that's why we stopped to get food, so we don't want to wait till we get home, besides, the food isn't' all that good to begin with, and it never improves with time or a drop in temperature. But for all four of us to eat in the car is a pain and a mess. It's extremely difficult to try and drive while you eat, and if texting is a distraction, what about trying to find the ketchup to dip your french fries? Of course, having sauce, bits of lettuce, and other sandwich fixings falling down the front of your clothes is always a nice experience, especially if you still have more shopping to do. And then there's the mess in the vehicle; we could probably support a large family of rodents for a month with the food that gets spilled inside the car.

Now, I'll probably have drive through nightmares!



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