April 8, 2014

Eat Mor Chikin'

April 8, 2014

If you eat at Chick-fil-A, you understand that title.  If not, you are probably one of my readers from the other side of the world.  Chick-fil-A is a fast food chain that specializes in outstanding chicken sandwiches and salads.  Their mascot is a cow who encourages people to eat more chicken and not beef (so the cow can live a long and happy life).  It is my favorite fast food place.  All my friends and family know that it is my favorite.  Recently Ron did the lock work for the new Chick-fil-A in town and told them how much I love their food (in fact I think we ate there for our anniversary year before last).  Anyhow, the manager said they would put us on the list for their Premier Night where they invite guests to sample their food and give the staff a workout taking care of guests.

It is not just the food that I love about Chick-fil-A, but it is the way they run their business and their values.  They are closed on Sundays.  They have a very strong scholarship program and they hire lots of students from the universities and high schools.  In fact the owner mentioned that they hired 85 employees for this new place and had 1,400 applicants!  People want to work at Chick-fil-A.  They normally greet customers at the door with a smile and are very "service" oriented.  They seem to be very glad you came!

We arrived early and were ushered to one table and soon moved to another more in the center of the activities.  We saw several familiar faces: some of our customers, our State Senator Eddie Lucio, Jr. and State Representative Rene Oliveira.  Senator Lucio made a presentation to the owners of the new business, presenting them with a Texas flag and a Proclamation.  He had excellent remarks which were brief, but well chosen.  The owner introduced his wife and talked about how the business was an answer to a prayer that they had been praying for a long time. 

At this point I would like to say, Senator Lucio doesn't always vote as I would, but he took a very strong stand last year, upsetting many in his party, as he stood for the lives of unborn children.  Late in the evening, I went to him and thanked him for his stand for the unborn.  He looked surprised, hesitated a split second, and hugged me, telling me how much that meant to him.  He asked for my email and said he would send me a copy of the speech he made on the floor of the Senate.  I think that is where I had read of his stand - someone had posted it.  He gained a lot of respect from me at that time.  He and Ron's brother grew up as good friends.  He attended Ron's parents' 50th wedding anniversary party and his dad's funeral.  We don't always agree politically, but he is a very nice man and stands up for what he believes even when it isn't popular.

Back to the party this evening.  They had a full house for a sit-down dinner.  If you are counting courses served, you might run out of fingers.  We started with the mini chicken biscuits.  Then we had a strawberry parfait, followed by a salad with chopped chicken, followed by a fruit salad.  These servings were small, but tasty and were meant to give you an overview of their menu.  Next we had 1/4 of a regular Chick-fil-A sandwich, followed by 1/4 of a spicy Chick-fil-A sandwich, followed by 1/4 of a grilled version on (I think) a wheat bun.  Fries came with this part of the menu.  Jalapenos were passed out (Ron got mine) and all the time our drink cups were kept full.  Next came a box of chicken nuggets and I think about that time they wrapped up with a peach ice cream type dessert (not sure what it is called).  On the way out we were given a bag of their chocolate chip cookies and insulated mugs.  Oh, at the beginning, tables were set with plates with one of their stuffed toy cows in the middle of each plate. 

Prizes were given for answering questions correctly and there were drawings.  Most were won by young people, and that was fine.  There were helpers from other stores in far away cities who were here for a few days to train the staff and get things rolling.  I talked to a lady from Baltimore who was enjoying our wonderful weather this week.  There was a man from Little Rock and several others who were here just temporarily.  We talked to a few of the servers and I think they will do well.

We were all "sworn in" as ambassadors for Chick-fil-A and were given gift cards for free food items to pass out to our friends.  How cool is that?  They do know how to market their product and how to win friends.  It was a fun evening.    Thanks, Chick-fil-A for inviting us.

Now, could I hear?  Mostly, NO.  There were a couple of speakers I could hear: the owner and Senator Lucio.  Most of the others, I could not.  Sitting across from Ron is a filled restaurant, I struggled to hear.  Did I have fun anyway?  YES.

The rest of my day was busy.  I had to go to the office early.  Ron had an appointment.  I spent the morning on the reports for the accountant.  There were a couple of strange things that happened accounting related this month and it took me a long time to figure out how to report them.  One customer sent us a check they didn't owe us and so I sent them a check to repay them.  That balances fine.  But how to enter it on the report was a challenge.  Then there was another similar one.  So it was lunchtime before I had all that straightened out.  The books balanced fine, it was just a matter of explaining it to the accountant who now is semi-retired and lives out of town.  I mail all the paperwork to him, so this time he got a letter from me to go along with the reports.

During the afternoon, after Ron went on  a job, I went to his mother's house and took photos of her amaryllises that are blooming up a storm and visited with her for a while.  I also went to the post office and then went back to the office.  After work I ran my regular errand and stopped to take photos of the Roseate Spoonbills.  I didn't get any great ones of them but did get a photogenic White Ibis.

At our house I didn't have time to photograph any birds, but sure heard a bunch while I went out to get the newspaper this morning and the mail this afternoon. 

I had a long discussion with a customer today.  This was a lady who has been in before but we never really visited.  I am not sure how the conversation started, but I began to suspect that she was a Christian and the more we talked, the more sure I was.  We were talking about times in the past and how they compare to now and amazingly she and I had many of the same opinions although I grew up here and she grew up deep in Mexico.  We talked about how at times we knew something was dangerous without being told and I said I thought it was the Holy Spirit in me that warned me.  She looked surprised and then said, "Yes.  That would explain it."  We talked about my bird photos.  She probably stayed and talked for well over 30 minutes and we shared things that show God's power and greatness.  I think we were both uplifted by the conversation.  I know I was.  What a blessing it is to be able to enjoy a conversation with a customer.  I have missed that for the last few years.

As you can see, it has been a very long, busy day, but a good one.  Ron printed out a conversation from Rush Limbaugh's radio program where he discussed that he is going to get a Cochlear Implant in his second ear.  His first one was 13 years ago!  Wow!  It is hard to believe it was that long ago!  I will go into that tomorrow when I have the print out with me. 

A strange thing has happened the last few days.  I am hearing a little out of the ear that has been basically deaf for 15 to 20 years.  When Senator Lucio spoke to me as he hugged me this evening, he spoke into the non hearing-ear and I heard what he said.  I don't understand.  I told Ron I have heard a couple of other things out of that ear this past week.  I would have to look it up, but I think the last test showed about 10% in that ear.  Wouldn't it be wonderful for me to be able to hear in that ear?  Don't know if these things I have heard are just ones God wanted me to hear, or what.  Just now my amplified phone rang and I saw the flashing light but heard no sound at all. (I have taken my sound processor off for the evening.)  So that other ear isn't working right now.  As I said, STRANGE.