Ah … “scanners and ribs” … just kinda rolls off your tongue, doesn’t it? Kinda like macaroni and cheese, burgers and fries, ketchup and mustard, coffee and donuts, bacon and eggs, cheese and sausage, “peas and car-rots ….” (says Forest Gum P!)
OK, now that I have you totally confused, and hungry, please get comfy – keep reading and I’ll explain!
As I embarked on submitting my second blog with photos, it became clear that there was another piece of technology required for me to succeed at this. Yep … you guessed it! A scanner. So, change of plans for the morning, and away to Office Max we go!
Now, for those of you dear readers who know me at all, you’ll first be shocked you’re even reading ANYTHING from me by computer screen – and second, that I’ve figured out how to get it there! (With the help of our MOST generous, sweet editor and IT dept!) Back to the story ….
My husband, Pastor Russ, and I set out for our journey with prayers for favor in Office Max. Favor for the best sales associate, the best product price, and even the best parking spot! CHECK on the parking spot, going in for No. 2! Best sales associate … CHECK! “Bret” helps us find the best scanner, for our needs and budget, and even throws in a little story …. By this time, I’m surely overwhelmed with all the techy stuff and he sensed it. He shared a story about a woman who called and asked him what the Internet was. BINGO! I’ve just moved up a notch in the “say whah?” category! CHECK! Upon finishing the sale, and sharing our lives in “reader’s digest” form … we now have a new friend and possibly another Sunday participant. (He needs Sundays off … CHECK!)
There is such a thing as a FREE LUNCH!
By now it’s lunch time, and we’re right down the road from “Famous Dave’s,” a rib joint with the best sticky, tender, sweet St. Louis-style, bone-suckin’ ribs you ever got messy eatin’! (Hungry again?!) And … the place is PACKED. We get seated in a far-off corner table alcove area with walls adorned by apple crates, kitchen utensils, fishing gear, signs and lights. There are checkered tablecloths and servers with “try some of what we’re smokin'” on their T-shirts … MY kinda place!
A sweet smiling round-faced, giggly young gal greets us warmly – “Brittany.” After we’ve ordered, we reflect on the blessed Office Max scanner episode, all the while smelling those RIBS! When out of nowhere (or so it seemed), a man approaches our table and hands us a card … with the promise of “buy 6 and the 7th is free.” And six are stamped already ….. He says he’s not from around here and wouldn’t use it. o yep, you guessed it again … A FREE LUNCH! Remember, this place was packed! He was on the other side of the restaurant and walked through the crowd to our “hidden” table. Favor again! Then he turns and leaves … disappears into the crowd, kinda like a Bacall/Bogart movie, and fades into gray ….
The kicker is this …. For those of you who have worked in restaurants, you know about “stations.” Being that this guy’s table was on the opposite side of the place, it wouldn’t appear to be Brittany’s station, but as we hand her the card with payment, she quips, “Oh yah, I just waited on that guy and stamped this card, that’s weird!”
Moral of this long, but GW story (and I don’t mean George Bush) is “Godwinks” happen daily. God knew our needs yesterday, right down to the free lunch. Glory stories and testimonies abound where you would never think of .. .kinda like clicking on a story called “scanners and ribs” … who’da thunk?!