It Don’t Surprise Me None

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A little over a year ago, I walked into a Wendy’s. Three employees stood chatting while ignoring me—their only customer. I tried twice to get their attention. When they didn’t respond, I waved goodbye and left. I haven’t returned since.

I came across a news story yesterday about one of Wendy’s largest franchises filing for bankruptcy. That said, I’m not entirely surprised. Based on my own experience with their customer service, it appears they may have prioritized other customers.

I came across an article today attributing their difficulties to beef prices. While that’s likely a contributing factor, it hardly accounts for the full picture. Other establishments in the industry are thriving despite the same market conditions.

I do wonder how the other franchises are doing.

A fundamental business truth: no matter how exceptional the product, success remains impossible without adequately solid service. I also observed that seven locations operate in Mississippi, while twenty-four are situated in Tennessee. I suspect several of these fall within the Memphis/DeSoto County region—essentially, my local area. Whenever I drive past one nearby, they appear notably vacant these days. I passed the one just off I-55 recently and observed no activity whatsoever. It strikes me as peculiar, given its proximity to the interstate.

I’m not convinced Dave, the company’s founder, would endorse this direction. Under his leadership, the service was exceptional. This follows a familiar pattern, unfortunately. Numerous businesses have declined once ownership transferred to the next generation.

May I Please Revisit That Exercise Thing

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I drafted a reasonably solid post in response to the prompt. Frustratingly, my strongest ideas often surface only after I’ve published. This instance proved no exception—I overlooked one of the most powerful exercises I’ve encountered.

Let me start by explaining that I once weighed between 260 and 270 pounds—perhaps even hitting 280 on occasion. I genuinely attempted to maintain my weight, yet I hesitated to suggest to my wife that I disliked her cooking. Besides, she was an excellent cook.

Then one day, I broke my ankle. What’s the connection? Let me explain. By the time I ditched the crutches, I weighed 220 pounds. My arms had grown much stronger. Now I understand what it’s like for people who use crutches permanently.

A Salad in a Salad

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Daily writing prompt
What are your best healthy eating habits?
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It may not be the conventional answer, but it’s the one I prefer.

Begin with a basic tuna salad by combining tuna, sweet pickles, celery, and bell peppers. Feel free to adjust the ingredients based on your preferences and what you have on hand. Then fold in a modest amount of mayo or salad dressing, seasoning to your liking.

Toss together a crisp salad with lettuce, cabbage, tomato, and spinach, add some shredded carrots, and finish it off with a generous drizzle of thousand island dressing—my favorite for this part, though I will let you use others.

Mix well, then add a generous scoop of the tuna salad you made into your salad. Whether you fold it in completely or leave it layered is entirely up to you—I’ve enjoyed it both ways and can honestly say they’re both delicious.

I’m not sure this fully qualifies as healthy, but I’m voting for it.

Sorta Depends

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Daily writing prompt
If you could start a new business right now, what would it be?
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How much imaginary cash are you going to provide me for this imagined business? Money aside I would like to start a hot dog stand.

Hamburger joints are everywhere you look. Hot dog stands, though? They’re few and far between. Want a hot dog? Your best bet is either firing up the grill at home or catching a ball game. Now chicken—ever since the Colonel started frying it, everyone’s jumped on the bandwagon. Walk down any main street in a decent-sized town and you’ll spot competitors on practically every corner.

The biggest challenge in food service is razor-thin margins. You might think you’re profitable until an unexpected bill or tax hits. That’s why I chose hot dogs. Buns, hot dogs, mustard, ketchup, and onions—simple. I sell chips and soft drinks on the side to round things out.

Then all you need is a pot to heat the hot dogs, a cash register, and a location to set up shop.

It’s either that or all-day simmered spaghetti and meat sauce. Spoon it into a paper bowl and watch the profits roll in. No competitors offer it this way.

I Used to do Quadratic Equations

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That’s absolutely correct. Once upon a time, I tackled phase-related problems with considerable skill. Moreover, I handled complex Boolean algebra equations that would astound most people with relative ease.

That was years ago—forty or so, actually. Now thinking about it strains my mind.

I’ve moved past the need to handle such matters. There’s no point in doing so—I’m retired and living on Social Security.

Today I witnessed someone who once worked in medicine lying in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. It wasn’t so long ago. Now she does precious little—largely by choice. But after all this time doing so little, she’s become virtually dependent and helpless.

Don’t let this happen to you, your relatives or your friends. Keep your minds active and exercised. It is so easy to forget, especially when not even trying.

I Believe in God

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Daily writing prompt
Do you believe in karma?
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Karma is never mentioned in the Bible, not once. I suspect if karma actually existed in any form, God would have found a way to fit it in. Therefore, I will by choice believe that it is an invention of some human’s mind.

What truly exists is the punishment of a jealous holy God that will punish those who invent religions based on their own ideas. Or for that matter, people who modify the meaning of the Word he has provided.

The Definition of Absurdity

Posted in Abuse of Power, Awkward Situation, Being woke, Biden, CDC, Crazy Nuts, Deceit, Face Masks, Fauci, Immigration, News media by

Every other day, I encounter news reports about measles deaths. And rightly so—these tragedies are entirely preventable, as is the considerable suffering the disease inflicts on its victims.

How-some-ever, where were all the complaints when millions of illegal aliens came rushing over the border from the south with who knows how many deadly diseases without so much as a cursory examination to check for anything at any time for any reason.

Total absurdity. Where were the complaints then? Maybe they were simply politically inconvenient for Old Joe and his Democrat cronies. If it resulted in an outbreak of TB, just who would be responsible? Or any one of half a dozen other diseases that are virtually not curable.

Do the Democrats truly operate this way—by overlooking inconvenient or absurd matters?