No, I'm not talking about the Bush regime's gutting of government services and proto-fascist policies. I'm talking about a trip to the fast food counter.
I'm not a big fan of McDonald's, and I haven't been since I was about 25. Something they put in the food simply makes it indigestible to most adults, but their marketing makes them irresistable to children. So I found myself after days of bugging, taking my son to the Adams Morgan McDonald's (?!) for dinner.
When we got there, the line was two orders deep: a Latino couple were ordering and a kid who couldn't have been more than 6 or 7 was behind them, standing so close that at first I thought he was with them. Something was going on with the order, because it was taking a long time for the clerk to get the food together (it turned out to be a really large order). So this kid just starts yelling at them. He's probably in 1st or 2nd grade. And he just goes off, screaming "Hurry Up!" right into their backs.
They ignore him. Don't even turn to look. He stomps his feet. "Will you hurry up?" he half-yells. Then he repeats "Hurry up!" over and over, giving a little pause between hollers. I'm looking around to see who he's with, and see, standing by the door, a girl probably middle school age. She says something to him that had no effect, but she doesn't come over to calm him down or even reprimand him verbally.
And I find myself wondering what this kid's home life must be like and what sort of rat-ass parenting it must take to get your very young child to scream rudely at strangers in fast food chains.
The couple finished ordering, and the counter-man turned to the little kid, who ordered an ice cream. That's all. It was a $1.10 and his older sister (assumed) had to come over and help him give the guy the right money, reinforcing just how young he was. I'm willing to bet he's going to be a dream in about ten years.
Of course, the real highlight of the visit was when my son decided he needed to use the toilet there. If anyone's been in the Adams Morgan McDonald's, you know what I mean.
4 comments:
McD's is my secret pleasure, that I allow myself only when I'm so hungover I feel near death. As such, I was there today, thinking that the guy who cleans the AdMo McD's bathroom has THE WORST job on earth.
What a bratty kid. I experienced one of his compatriots in the grocery store today. Ugh.
The sister might be the closest thing the boy has to a parent. Sad.
Fast food toilets are alwaysthe worst, especially when in the throws of potty training little ones. Ugh!
Blue dog, that's exactly what I was thinking (about the parenting).
MA: they're everywhere.
RCR: yeah, the grease does something to quell the hangover.
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