I Could Have Had A Crown

One of the young women who works at the Burger King in this photo approached me when I was standing near the beverage counter. She picked up some empty food wrappers and a cardboard crown that had been carelessly left on the counter. 

Then she said, “I know who left this stuff here.”

I didn’t even know for sure whether she was talking to me, or not.  She was not looking in my direction.  But I went ahead and responded to her, “You do?”

I was concerned she was going to accuse me of making a mess for her to clean up.

She said, “Yeah, it was that group of teenagers who just left.”

Somewhat relieved, I said, “Oh.”

She said, “And they don’t even need crowns.”

I said, “Yeah, I guess that’s true.”

She said, “Do you want a crown?”

It’s been such a long time since I’ve been asked whether or not I want a crown that I was flattered. But I said, “No. I’m alright. I’ll pass.”

She shrugged her shoulders, said “okay,” and tossed it in the trash.

Now, I’m regretting that decision. I sort of wish I had a snappy looking crown to wear.

The Wrong Place, The Wrong Time, The Wrong Line

I was standing in line at Taco Bell and a man with some physical handicaps was standing in front of me.  As I noticed the man’s physical challenges, I felt compassion.  I didn’t just look at him and basically ignore his condition while I examined the menu on the wall, something really did stir in my heart.  I thought, “What is it like to live with these kinds of challenges?”

While I was caught up in my personal moment of compassion on behalf of another one of God’s beloved creatures, the man turned his head and burped right in my face.  Really.  He did.  And it was one of those big, robust burps that shakes a person’s entire body.  Right in my face!  I could actually feel a slight breeze from his breath.

And then!  He looked at me as if I had done something wrong!!!  He gave me one of those, “Hey-pal-what-are-you-looking-at?” kind of looks.

“WHAT AM I LOOKING AT?!?” I thought, as I wiped the steam from my glasses.

What do you do in a situation like that?!?

Do you say, “Hey buddy, what’s wrong with you?”  And shake your fist, menacingly, at him?  I don’t know, that just doesn’t seem right.

Do you look him square in the eye and say an exaggerated and sarcastic, “Excuse me, oh Gassy One!!!”  Hmm, maybe it’s just me, but that doesn’t seem right, either.

Well, I merely frowned and shook my head and looked in another direction. 

I know.  That’s not much of a response.  I thought about this for the remainder of the day.  I wish I had a different story to report. One that involved witty dialogue, a few moments of swordplay, and then heartfelt expressions of forgiveness and grace, culminating in tearful hugs and pats on the back.

But that was another time, when a similar incident happened at Burger King.

There are two lessons to be learned:  First, sad but true, I guess people won’t always recognize, acknowledge and appreciate our feelings of compassion toward them.  Second, when standing in line…?  It’s not a bad idea to wear a helmet that has one of those plastic face shields.

P.S.  I was going to post a picture of the guy here—you know, for informational purposes—but I realized that would not be a very compassionate thing to do.  (The kid in line, in the posted picture, is not the guy who burped.  He’s just an innocent bystander.)