A Pain That I'm Used To

I haven’t been in the best of moods for the past few days. I had a David Banner/Hulk moment the other day. It started innocently enough with a call from the wife as I merged onto the crowded highway. The extra traffic is from the displaced people from Katrina taking residence here. “Can you pick up something for dinner? Somewhere there is a mushroom-bacon burger?” I ponder a minute trying to think of a place along the 20 mile drive and I answer “Sure, I’ll stop at that new Wendy’s.” She then says, “Oh, get Frosties!” After traveling about 4 miles on the interstate doing about 20 mph instead of the posted 70 mph, I make it to the exit. I get to the Wendy’s and place my order. 1 Mushroom Bacon Melt combo with a Frosty, 4 Kids Cheeseburger meals with Frosties, and one #4 with a Dr. Pepper. I get to the first window and give the young lady my debit card to pay. I ask her if she has the receipt. She says, “The next window will give it to you with your order.” I drive to the next window and wait for my order. I get handed several bags and 5 Frosties and my Dr. Pepper. I get back on the interstate and drive the remaining 15 miles or so. So far everything is fine.

I pull into my driveway and 2 of my children are outside in the front yard. They greet me and open the gate for me. As I walk up the path to the front door, I notice that there are two very large craters now in my front yard. The same front yard the wife and I spent weeks cleaning storm debris and reseeding. The grass was just starting to sprout again. My dog decided to dig two 2ft holes in the yard. Saddened and upset I continue inside and give the kids their bags and hand my wife her food. I get the dog and point out that digging = bad and put him outside on his chain far away from the front yard. I return inside and I am informed that the cheeseburger is not in the bag. Not just one, but all 4 of them are missing. So I go to look for the receipt to call the Wendy’s. Hmm, no receipt –she said I would get one at that window. Anger rising. I call information and request the number for this NEW Wendy’s at this location. “I am sorry, I don’t have a listing for it.” the person says. “I can give you these other numbers…” I get 2 other numbers for Wendy’s in the same area hoping one might have the new store’s number. I call both and neither one answer after 20 rings each. Is it getting hot in here?

I decide to drive back the 15 miles or so and see about getting the cheeseburgers since I am unable to get in touch with the Wendy’s. Traffic in the other direction was not any better than before. I get back to the Wendy’s only to be told that they are closed. It is only about 5:37 pm, but because of the Katrina aftermath many businesses are running shortened hours. I get the manager’s attention because they happen to be receiving a delivery. I tell him that I am here to get 4 cheeseburgers I did not get. He looks at me puzzled and says, “We are closed and can’t do it. Where is your receipt? Why didn’t you call?” I explained to him that I was told I would get my receipt at the second window and didn’t realize it wasn’t in the bag and I couldn’t call because I had no receipt and I could not get the number thru information and trying other stores. I am not liking how this is making me feel. I explained to him from where I had come from and he says I could have gone to the wendy’s closest to me to remedy this. I asked how could I if you did not give me a receipt? In my mind the conversation played out at this other Wendy’s with no receipt. The way the conversation was going, I felt like the manager didn’t really care that I didn’t have my food that I paid for. I explained to him that it was also the let down of my children who had been anticipating the complete meal, not just an empty bag with a toy. Me having to drive all the way back here because they also did not provide with me with a receipt. Of course I am now starting to use colorful terms because of the lack of customer service. I am demanding his name and the store number. The manager decides to close his little window and walk off.

?!?!?!!!

The delivery driver is stuck standing outside with me. I am extremely irate now. I do something stupid. A few minutes more pass and I get the manager’s attention and demand my receipt at least. After 15 minutes of him trying he finally gets it to print. (I guess pulling the power meter off the building for about 15 second might have reset something.) They probably just thought it was a recently normal power outage because of Katrina aftermath. He grabs the receipt and walks back somewhere else, then comes back with $10.00 to cover the kids’ meals.

I am still angry after all this. I call my wife and tell her all of this. I tell her to let the kids eat my food and whatever else. Something said on the phone triggers a little more anger. My anger comes home with me.


The past length of peacefulness is destroyed in a few minutes of rage. Sometime words are more harmful than the physical. Physically I broke an inanimate object, inside I broke more.



I'm not sure
What I'm looking for anymore
I just know
That I'm harder to console
I don't see who I'm trying to be
Instead of me
But the key
Is a question of control