8 Responses to “I am not ok”

1. fillyjonk says:

   April 15, 2016 at 6:45 pm

   Three thoughts:

   1. I am a suspicious wench and I admit had I been the person in the car, I probably would have called the cops early in the interaction, assuming that the nutso guy in the window was actually a robber or worse. Because the first few sentences from the guy seem really hinky.

   2. Yay, $15 an hour minimum wage! (/sarc) (And that guy’s poor co-worker.)

   3. If I want a milkshake, I don’t want a damned chicken sandwich OR an apple pie. Or both. If the milkshake machine was broken or the dude was too stoned to operate it, I would have just driven off and, I don’t know, found another fast food place, I guess.

   Reply
   • trumwill says:

     April 15, 2016 at 9:27 pm

     My first thought as I was reading it was that there were drugs involved. Maybe an acid trip. My heart sank on the “Lost my wife” part, but then read on and … man. People.

     Reply
     • fillyjonk says:

       April 16, 2016 at 8:51 am

       Yeah, I had exactly the same reaction to “lost my wife” but when he was like “Found her! She was behind some boxes!” I was “Can’t tell if person is very childish or if drugs were involved.”

       Reply
   • Gabriel Conroy says:

     April 16, 2016 at 11:20 am

     I know you were just joking and I’m probably just tone trolling or being overly sensitive, but I hesitate to relate this situation to the minimum wage controversy. I say that as someone who has very mixed feelings about the “fight for 15” and about minimum wages in general.

     However, Your point #1 makes a lot of sense, and I hadn’t thought about that possibility. Your point #3 makes sense, too, although I can imagine myself *feeling* stuck even if I had every right and ability to leave.

     Reply
2. Gabriel Conroy says:

   April 16, 2016 at 11:35 am

   For this comment, I’m going to assume that the story is as true as any story can be. And I don’t know anything about Josh Raby, but I’ll just assume he relates this story because it’s something that happened to him and for no particular ulterior motive.

   I’m also going to assume that things like this happen. Maybe not on a regular basis and maybe not in such an extreme way, but often enough and in enough of the essential ways that most people can read it and nod in agreement that they’ve had similar–or similar in some ways–encounters.

   That said, I’m going to be that annoying guy who takes this Twitter story and analyzes the “meta work” it does. I believe the story reinforces the notion that fast food workers and other low-waged service workers. Sometimes they do annoying things, but in retrospect the encounter is amusing and fodder for a “here’s what happened to me the other night” anecdote, after the telling of which people can shake their heads and wonder about kids these days or what are these workers up to.

   All that said, if it happened, it happened. Any “meta work” is the fault of the meta workers and not necessarily the fault of the teller. I could see myself relating a similar story if something like that happened to me. Not on Twitter, because I don’t do Twitter, but I could see myself doing it.

   This comment is mostly me being knee-jerky and perhaps a bit of a moralizer. I understand others’ mileage may vary and that the others aren’t being bad people or acting in bad faith.

   Reply
   • Gabriel Conroy says:

     April 16, 2016 at 11:39 am

     I’m also going to assume that things like this happen.

     Actually, something similar did happen to me once (if you make a huge number of adjustments), where one of my coworkers was drunk and I was trying to help the customers. I might try writing about it someday.

     Reply
   • trumwill says:

     April 17, 2016 at 9:48 pm

     My experience (as an observer, I mean, not strictly a customer) is that it varies a fair bit from place to place. There are a number of places where, if you’re in your 30’s or 40’s and you’re at a fast food place and you’re not the manager and you’re not an immigrant, you… seem like the kind of person who has made mistakes along the way.

     On the other hand, for some other places, it doesn’t seem that way at all.

     Colosse, Estacado, and Cascadia are in the first category. Deseret, Arapaho, and here are in the second. Which, at first glance, makes it seem like it’s an big city vs small town distinction.

     Reply
     • Gabriel Conroy says:

       April 17, 2016 at 10:25 pm

       I’ve noticed the phenomnenon on a personal level but don’t have enough information to discern the big city – medium city – small town dynamic you refer. I did know people who were in their 30’s and 40’s who were where they were for a combination of poor choices and poor opportunities. It can be kind of chicken and egg. I do believe that some labor markets provide more opportunities for people even in those types of jobs. To my mind, Cherryplatte (my new name for Danvar) and the smaller (university) towns I’ve lived in do. Bit City does not.

       Reply