A Close Call At Chuck E. Cheese

Rachel and I were at Chuck E. Cheese again today—which is further evidence I am being punished for something I’ve done. I’m not sure what it is but when I find out, I will be sure to post my discovery here as a public service and cautionary reminder to others.

I heard Rachel calling my name and she was walking away from the game she was playing proudly holding up a string of tickets she had won.

While Rachel was walking away from the game, however, a very young little girl stepped up to the game and grabbed Rachel’s cup of game tokens. Rachel turned around, saw the little girl taking her cup of tokens and she moved extremely quickly to take the cup of tokens away from the little girl. I think, perhaps, the little girl did not realize that at Chuck E. Cheese a person’s cup of tokens is a sacred treasure which is never to be touched by a third party and—for sure—it is never to be swiped. This would be like stealing someone’s horse in the old West.

This interaction was sort of interesting to watch because Rachel is not very quick and she does not have a high level of physical coordination. But when she needed to get her cup of tokens back she moved with the speed and agility of Batman.

It probably will not surprise you to read that the little girl screamed her disapproval when Rachel snatched the cup of tokens from her hand. At this precise moment the little girl’s father came around one of the large video game consoles and into view.

He was a big guy. And, for the record, he appeared to be very strong.

He looked at the two girls—his daughter and my daughter—then he looked at me. I smiled and shrugged my shoulders attempting to communicate, in a friendly way, this thought, “This is what happens, sometimes, with kids, right?”

It seemed like it took a full minute for him to respond. Actually, it was probably less than a second. But as Tom Petty says, “The waiting is the hardest part.”

The large dad smiled at me and nodded.

I thought, “Whew!”

(By the way, it’s not very often that you encounter a Tom Petty reference in a Chuck E. Cheese story, these days.)

He told his daughter, “No, that cup belongs to this girl.” nodding toward Rachel.

His daughter was not happy with this outcome but she immediately took off in another direction, her curiosity piqued by something else in the shiny, bright, flashy environment that is Chuck E. Cheese.

I sat back in our booth, looked at our tray of Chuck E. hot wings and thought: Who knew that being a dad at Chuck E. Cheese would involve potential grappling, fisticuffs and ninja maneuvers? Then I took another sip of Diet Mountain Dew.

My Thrilling Point Is Not Being Well Received

Today I had an idea for a brilliant point regarding the talk I'll be giving this Sunday. So I shared this thrilling idea with my daughter Rachel while we were having lunch.

You can see her response in the photo.

Yep... you're getting excited for Sunday already, huh?

(I hope the ushers don't have to start handing out cans of Mountain Dew on the way into the sanctuary again... it just encourages heckling.)

I Fell Asleep During A Client Meeting... Oops

One afternoon, following lunch, I was sitting with a client in a warm conference room going through telephone bills for their hundreds of corporate locations.  It was tedious work and the client talked non-stop in a low monotone.

In the midst of all this, somehow, unintentionally, I fell asleep!

For those who are not familiar with the business world, you should know that most business experts recommend that you stay awake while talking with an important client.  (That’s a business tip for the young people who may be reading this.  No charge!  Hey, I’m glad to help.)

I was only asleep for 10 seconds, or so, and fortunately the client was so busy with his eternal monologue that he didn’t notice.  He even missed my very small amount of drool on his sleeve. 

But I learned a valuable lesson that day and thus began my deep and abiding love for Mountain Dew.

What Did You Say About The Beverage Dispenser?

Rachel and I were sitting at a fast food restaurant today.  (Hey, it’s the first time we were at a fast food place since yesterday.)  Here is a brief snippet of our adventure…

Rachel:  [Noting that a kid has put his mouth on the Pepsi beverage dispenser spout.]  That boy is drinking from the thing.

Me:  What thing?

Rachel:  Over there.  [Pointing to a teenaged kid who was goofing around with some friends at the beverage dispenser.]  He was drinking from it.

Me:  He put his mouth on it?

Rachel:  Yes.

Me:  [Looking at my Diet Mtn. Dew.]  He had his mouth on the spout that the drinks come out of?

Rachel:  Yes.  That’s gross, isn’t it?

Me:  [Getting up to throw my drink away.]  Yes it is.

Rachel:  [With total innocence.]  Want me to get you another drink?

Me:  No.

*NOTE:  Don’t worry, I won’t post too many of these kinds of incidents, otherwise no one will go out to eat at anymore and they’ll close all of my favorite places.

By the way, can I get anyone a beverage while I’m up?

E-Flash From Dan, The Kit Kat Guy

Dear E-Flash Friends;

I get into routines. Always have. It’s just, apparently, part of my nature. I get into routines when it comes to eating certain things. Some of you know about my predilections toward Taco Bell, and Mountain Dew, and Panera Bread iced tea. These are the objects of some of the routines that I get into. (By the way, I am imaging, even as I type, the comments—at my expense—that some of you are thinking, right now, and I don’t appreciate it.)

I’ve intentionally made some of these less-than-flattering routines known because I believe that if I mention these matters and tease myself first, that will diffuse all the teasing that others would be likely to give me. That theory still hasn’t worked too well. But I’m giving it more time.

Sometimes I am confronted with my routines in ways that are slightly uncomfortable or even, perhaps, downright embarrassing. For instance, a while ago, I walked into a local gas station where I fill up my car. As I approached the counter, the attendant said, “Hey, it’s the Kit Kat guy! How you doing Kit Kat guy?”

I wanted to protest and point out to the attendant that, “I do not get Kit Kats every time I come into this gas station!” But, admittedly, my protest would have been somewhat weakened by the fact that I was holding two handfuls of Kit Kats as I was walking to the counter.

(Drats! Why are the wise guys in my life always getting the last laugh?)

By the way, I WAS NOT really holding two HANDFULS of Kit Kats, that was a joke. I was only holding one Kit Kat . . . . alright, maybe two. Three at the most.

In some ways, our upcoming SHIFT weekend will be dealing with the concept of Shifting from negative routines to positive routines. Positive routines in our thinking, in our behaviors, and even in our understanding of our past. Positive routines in our relationship with God.

Just want to remind you that SHIFT is coming up beginning this Friday evening at 7p.m., continuing Saturday afternoon from 1-5p.m., and carrying on into Sunday’s services. Hope you’re planning to be a part of SHIFT.

Many blessings,

Dan Marler


P.S. Here’s the daily “Facebook” thought I provided today . . .
Here are 3 simple words we don’t hear often enough from leaders in religion, business, politics, academia, etc.: “I DON’T KNOW.” When a leader is asked a question in a public setting it can be very hard to say: “I don’t know”, even if the truth is that you “don’t know”. I’ve been there. There’s a strong urge to want to appear to “know”. That’s why humble, honest, people—people of integrity—are so refreshing.


P.P.S. If you have a Facebook account and want to be “Facebook Friends” I’d love to “connect”.