Hypocrisy: Wendy's Trip

I got caught up with something today. Instead of our usual Saturday feature, here is the post I was planning on publishing Monday. Know Your Candidate should resume next week.

D&C 88:32 - "And they who remain shall also be quickened; nevertheless, they shall return again to their own place, to enjoy that which they are willing to receive, because they were not willing to enjoy that which they might have received."

Just in case you didn't see the title, I went on a trip to Wendy's a couple of weeks ago.

It was a madhouse.

The line stretched out the door. People were yelling and screaming and laughing. The sound of the cash register mingled with the soda machine, the orders being yelled to the back, and people talking with their mouth full.

As I observed the chaos, I started to recognize a pattern among my fellow human beings there at the circus of an establishment.

The woman at the drink machine was creating a line behind her as she slowly and methodically looked at every drink option. The people giving their orders hadn't actually taken the time to consider what they wanted, instead slowly reviewing the menu only after they had the cashier's attention. The cashier himself was a joke, taking one order at a time before wandering into the kitchen to do ... something.

Things were moving slowly.

I was annoyed.

I was tired and wanted to go home. I didn't want to deal with this nonsense. I wondered how intelligent these individuals could possibly be.

And then, right there in the line, I laughed. I laughed out loud. I was by myself, which meant I couldn't even pretend like I'd just been laughing at something a friend of mine had said. Everyone shot me askew glances, but I didn't care.

You see, I'd recognized that I was being hypocritical. I was using my impatience to justify my feelings of frustration. I wasn't looking at people for who they were, but rather, as obstacles in my way. I wasn't living in the moment and enjoying the Wendy's experience. Instead, I just wanted it to end. To drive the point home, I have criticized those negative mentalities in this very blog.

So, I changed my attitude. I waited to order with a smile. When I went up to Marcos the cashier, I asked how he was doing.

"Terrible." He looked meaningfully at the long line.

I nodded. "I'm sorry, man. I hope you have a better rest of the night."

After I ordered my food, I wished Marcos good luck. As I turned away, I saw him raise an eyebrow.

Though there were several people who'd ordered before me, Marcos called out my order less than a minute later.