DQ ed

Posted on May 5, 2015 under Storytelling with 2 comments

Sweet Cravings

We’ve all done it.

Sometimes we have an insatiable urge for a particular food and, if it’s not in the house, we will go to any lengths to procure it.  There was a time in my life when the craving for a feed of “the dirty bird” (KFC) was every bit as strong as nicotine.  (I used to be a smoker and I know what that feels like.)  Ditto for a slice of Wheel pizza, Chinese food or a large slab of chocolate cake with 7 Minute Icing.  And when the craving hits, we often leave the house within moments.

I was involved in Scouts for a brief period of time and remember the motto: Be Prepared.  According to the Scouts, that means that you are supposed to always be in a state of readiness in order to do your duty.  When your spouse says that going for an ice cream treat is imperative, that is one duty that cannot be ignored.  And I remember my mother telling me: Make sure you are always wearing clean underwear in case you’re involved in an accident.  You would hate to end up at the hospital in the X-ray department wearing two day old Stanfield’s.

It was a rather cool evening when the well-respected businessman left the comfort of his house in pursuit of two banana splits and a Blizzard from the local Dairy Queen.  He was wearing nothing but pajama bottoms, a t-shirt and slippers.  After all, it was Saturday night and he was only going through the drive thru.  The DQ doesn’t mandate business attire.

He was pleased to see that there was just a single vehicle in the lineup.  He expected to return home with the treats in short order.  But, just like a grocery store queue, sometimes looks can be deceiving.

He placed his order and waited his turn for the pick-up window.  After 5 minutes of idling, he began to tap his fingers on the steering wheel with impatience.  The car in front of him wasn’t moving, despite the fact that the occupants had received their order.  The driver of the car got out … no mean feat when you consider the space between the car and the delivery window … and approached the businessman.

“Can you give me a boost?  It seems like my battery has died.”

A few more cars had joined the lineup by this time but there was just enough room to put his car in reverse and edge around the stalled car. He made a U-turn and manoeuvered his vehicle so that his hood was abutting her engine.  He grabbed the cables from the trunk and emerged to assist the damsel in distress …. in his pajamas and slippers.  He hadn’t thought much about his garb.  He attached the cables and instantly heard the adjacent car spring back to life.

And then, a light snow began to fall.  Despite the fact that it was late April, Mother Nature had refused to loosen her grip on winter, prolonging a long stretch of miserable weather.  The brutish winter had led to an unusually cold spring.

He put his car in reverse and heard the blare of a horn.  It appeared that the car that he had just boosted had fallen silent again.  The snow was now starting to accumulate as he once again applied the cables. The lineup in the drive thru had lengthened considerably.  Was it his imagination or were people staring at him?  After a third futile attempt at resuscitating the vehicle, he told the woman that she needed more than a boost.  He backed out of the drive thru and watched as a few good Samaritans pushed her car out into the parking lot to await the tow truck.

He was just about to pull away when he remembered that he hadn’t picked up his order.  The restaurant was crowded inside.  The people in the drive thru had already seen him in his bedtime attire.  He exited his car and shuffled to the drive thru window with his eyes downcast. He sheepishly poked his head in and asked for his ice cream.  He noticed a teenage attendant with a cell phone pointed in his direction, and wondered if he would see a YouTube video on Facebook by the time he got home.

It had become a full-blown snow storm when he pulled into his heated garage.

His wife and daughter stared at him inquisitively.  He thought it best to “eat now and explain later”.  He opened the bag to discover that two thirds of the order had been filled … the banana splits.  “Where is the Blizzard?” he wondered.  He looked out the living room window and grinned as small drifts appeared in his driveway.

He grabbed a bag of chips from the cupboard to munch while the gals got their ice cream fix.

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