Turntable Talk – “Shock Rock”

Welcome to another edition of Turntable Talk hosted by Dave over at A Sound Day. Check out his site here: https://soundday.wordpress.com/

His topics have ranged from very easy to thought provoking. This time around, I find it truly thought provoking.

Here are the instructions that Dave sent to each of the participants describing what this edition was to be about:

This time around I’m calling it ‘Shock rock’… but wait, it’s not about Marilyn Manson and Megadeath…unless you want it to be.  The subject basically will be pick a record that you love that would surprise people… something that runs afar from your regular favorite listening.  Maybe you like hard rock but love something by the Carpenters. Or are a huge ’60s fan who can’t get enough Bruno Mars. Or maybe it’s a little Tchaikovsky to wind down after a night full of Stones or Springsteen.  Let us know what it is that makes that ‘oddball’ selection so appealing to you.

What Could Possibly “Surprise” You?

I have almost 5000 songs on my iPod. I have a CD collection that fills at least three storage totes, and 4 carrying cases. My external hard drive is loaded up with almost half a terabyte of songs. What ONE song would surprise you? This was my dilemma.

I had three songs immediately jump out at me when I first read Dave’s e-mail. The more I thought on them, I just wasn’t sure which one to pick. As I am writing this, I still question the one that I chose. I will stick with it because it isn’t something I would normally post, and it is more of a personal song. So how in the world did I narrow it down?

Grab my iPod and there is just about every genre of music on there. There is pop music from every decade from the 1930’s to the 2010’s. There is country music – classic and modern. There is a fair amount of R&B, Soul and Motown. I’m not ashamed to admit there are some disco favorites, too. You will also find Big Band and Swing music, Jazz, standards, and plenty of Classical music. There is Christian music and plenty of oldies. There are some favorite Christmas songs on the play list and songs that I played when I was in high school band that I downloaded from YouTube and other sources.

Going through the iPod, there were songs that I thought were “oddball” that I could write about. For example, I have almost every Weird Al Polka Medley on there. I also have music from the Shrek soundtrack, music from The Muppets, and music from the cartoon Phineas and Ferb. There are also plenty of songs that are on there that my kids used to listen to when we would be in the car from some of their favorite kid shows. Oddball, indeed.

All that being said, anyone who knows me or has read my blog before knows that I have a wide range of musical tastes. It would be easy to feature any one of the “oddball” songs mentioned in the above paragraph. Instead, there was one song that stood out for me. It is a song that I never skip when it comes on the iPod (there are only a few of those). It is also a song that I have debated posting on my blog as part of a “music Monday” or some music feature. I kept holding back, probably because it is such a personal song for me. Will you find it “shocking?” I doubt it.

Untitled Hymn – Chris Rice

Readers of my blog know that I am a Christian. While I don’t care for much of the “modern” Christian music, I do like many songs. I cannot recall when I first heard Chris Rice’s “Untitled Hymn,” but it hit me immediately. It was a song that I shared with one of the guys at church, who worked it up and sang it on more than one occasion.

To those who are not of the Christian faith, there will be no connection whatsoever to the song. To me, however, it hits me deep every time I hear it. I am reminded of who I was before and who I am now. It also reminds me that when my life is over – it isn’t over. I am aware that not everyone believes what I do, and that is ok. I’m ok if you just scroll on by this blog.

The song begins with a lone piano and then the vocal. The lyrics of this song speak of the journey of a Christian. From sinner to saved. Singing praise. New life in Christ and life’s struggles and looking to Him in those struggles. Feeling the love and joy that comes in this new life. Finally, the “end” of life on earth for the Christian and the beginning of the afterlife.

The vocal and the piano blend so perfectly. The inflection of the vocal through the dynamics of the song conveys the lyrics exactly how they need to be conveyed. Rice rerecorded the song for “A Collection of Hymns” with a more up-tempo piano and more instrumentation (strings, guitar, etc…) and vocal harmony. Personally, I prefer the original recording over the newer version. I feel it is more powerful.

Here is the original and the lyrics:

Weak and wounded sinner
Lost and left to die
Oh, raise your head for Love is passing by

Come to Jesus
Come to Jesus
Come to Jesus and live

Now your burden’s lifted
And carried far away
And precious blood has washed away the stain

So, sing to Jesus
Sing to Jesus
Sing to Jesus and live

And like a newborn baby
Don’t be afraid to crawl
And remember when you walk sometimes we fall

So, fall on Jesus
Fall on Jesus
Fall on Jesus and live

Sometimes the way is lonely
And steep and filled with pain
So if your sky is dark and pours the rain

Then cry to Jesus
Cry to Jesus
Cry to Jesus and live

Oh and when the love splills over
And music fills the night
And when you can’t contain your joy inside

Then dance for Jesus
Dance for Jesus
Dance for Jesus and live

With your final heartbeat
Kiss the world goodbye
Then go in peace, and laugh on Glory’s side

And fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus and live

Fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus and live

In Closing

Does it shock you that I picked this song? I guess it is a bit different than the songs I have posted in the past. Isn’t that what I was supposed to do? At any rate, Dave asked us to explain what makes this song so “appealing.” All I can say is that it appeals to me because I relate to it. Outside of the last verse, I have lived it. It is a song that strikes a chord (pun intended) every time I hear it. Depending on what is going on in my life, I either smile and sing along or cry and sing along. To me, that makes it one powerful song.

Thanks for allowing me to participate, Dave. I look forward to the next edition.

Friday Photo Flashback

I’m just under the wire for another Friday Photo Flashback. For this edition, we go back to Y2K!

The above photo was taken outside the Country Music Hall of Fame on either December 31, 1999 OR January 1, 2000. I was working at B95 in Flint, MI at the time. We had a huge promotion where we took a couple buses of listeners to Nashville to ring in the year 2000 with Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. I believe Kenny Chesney and some other singer all were with them that night.

Kristine Turner, our morning show co-host, and I were the station chaperones. I don’t recall if the listeners bought tickets to go or if they won them, but the trip was quite a whirlwind and awesome time. I remember we left Flint at the crack of dawn and drove all the way to Nashville nonstop. I believe when we arrived at the hotel, we had time to check in, change and we left for the show.

The atmosphere in the arena was electric! For weeks, all the news could talk about was Y2K and all the potential issues and uncertainty that may or may not happen at midnight on New Year’s Eve. Y2K was the furthest thing from everyone’s mind at the show! It was a big party.

The year 2000 rang in to loud cheers, Auld Lang Syne, and couples kissing. Afterwards, the concert continued. We knew the buses were heading back to the hotel until much later, so we ventured out into downtown Nashville. All along Broadway, EVERY bar was hopping with activity. We stopped at almost all of them. Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge, where singers like Terri Clark were discovered, was packed and we enjoyed some great music.

As we walked the streets of Nashville, people were coming up to us. I had worn my Detroit Tigers jersey to the show and people from Michigan kept stopping us asking us where we were from and then telling us what Michigan town they were from. There were many hugs and handshakes throughout that walk. I don’t think things closed down until like 4am that night. It was unreal how busy the town was that night.

The following morning, New Year’s Day, we had a few hours to walk around and take in some sights before the buses left to go home. We opted to go to the Opryland Hotel and walk through there. I won’t lie, I had no idea how big it was and just how much was in there. I remember thinking, “Wait. You are leaving our hotel … to go see another one?”

I was floored when I walked in. I remember seeing the boat that floated through the hotel. I couldn’t believe it. The hotel was obviously more than a hotel. I enjoyed walking through it and checking out the attractions. I may have gotten a caricature done while I was there. Years later, after we were married, Sam and I took a trip down to see her aunt in Kentucky. On the way home, we made a stop in Nashville and took that boat ride together.

On that trip, time was very limited, but it still was a lot of fun. We did have one “incident” on that trip. We stopped at one point, I can’t remember if it was to eat or maybe at a rest stop to just get out and walk for five minutes. One of the bus drivers actually locked the keys in the bus! This is the same bus driver who had taken us on a “tour” of Nashville at some point during the trip and got lost! I had to laugh, because I could see us stuck there for a while. Luckily, someone was able to reach in and get ahold of the arm that opened the door. It was no easy task, but we finally were able to get back on the bus and head home. That was a story I enjoyed telling on the air!!!

I have yet to actually walk through the Country Music Hall of Fame, so I think another trip to Nashville is in order.

Throwback Thursday – Favorite Things

Today, Maggie from “From Cave Walls” is hosting Throwback Thursday. You can read her blog here:

https://fromcavewalls.wordpress.com/2022/09/01/throwback-thursday-54-raindrops-on-roses/

She wants to know about our favorite things while adolescents.  She says: Pick any period of your adolescence and think back to all your favorite things. Feel free to elaborate as much as you want.

This week’s prompt is: Favorite Things

Pick any period of your adolescence and think back to all your favorite things. Feel free to elaborate as much as you want.

I am going to go with a time when I was in elementary school.

Who was your favorite relative? Not to play favorites, but who was the person you connected with more than others? Aunt, uncle, cousin, grandparent, or parent? Why were you closest to them?

I hate the thought of picking a favorite relative. I would say that I probably connected most with my dad’s dad. When my mom’s dad passed away, it was the first time I had ever lost someone to death. I realized that he wouldn’t be around forever, so I began recording his voice so I’d remember what he sounded like. The loss of one grandparent caused me to be closer with all my other grandparents.

What was your favorite TV show? Share a clip if you can find one.

I remember being in front of the TV to watch the Dukes of Hazzard.

What was your favorite book or favorite family story?

In fourth grade, I remember liking Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume. The little brother, Fudges reminded me of my brother.

What was your favorite, song, record, or album. Feel free to share a YouTube video of it.

I never listened to what my friends listened to. Very rarely was I listening to new music. I was always listening to oldies or stuff my dad was playing for me. I listened to a lot of Beatles music.

Who was your favorite teacher at that age? What grade were you in and what subject did they teach?

Mrs. Gallop was my fourth grade teacher. She taught all the subjects that year. She was a lot of fun.

What was your favorite subject (not teacher) in school?

In elementary school? It was probably reading. I loved to read.

Who was your favorite (aka best) friend? What things did you do together?

Jeff. He still is my best friend. We spent a lot of time causing trouble. We made a lot of silly recordings on cassette, played video games, played with Star Wars figures, walked around the neighborhood, ate at Wendy’s, etc. It seemed like we were always together.

What was your favorite way to pass the time?

Reading or listening to music

What was your favorite holiday? How did you celebrate?

Christmas. We’d spend Christmas Eve at my dad’s folks and Christmas Day with my mom’s family.

What was your favorite toy or possession? Doll, camera, radio, bicycle?

I had a silver metal cap gun. It looked like a real cowboy gun. I used it when we played cops and robbers.

Bonus: What was your favorite adventure? Family trip, amusement park, field trip, or vacation perhaps.

I loved going to Caseville with our family, but our trips to Mackinaw and Kings Island stand out too.

September Songs

Welcome September! As the new month rings in, the realization that we have entered the final days of summer and the beginning of autumn approaches. As I wrote the date yesterday, I began to sing September Song. It is a song that has been recorded by many people, but I was first introduced to it by Willie Nelson. It was on his Stardust album, which we played many times while we were up north. My grandpa said that it was his favorite song on that album.

So that made me think that a good way to welcome the month is with songs about September. Here are some of my favorites:

September Song – Willie Nelson

September Morn – Neil Diamond

This was one I remember well from when my dad was playing guitar in a wedding band called Foxfire. Whenever he had band practice, he’d bring my brother and me along. There were plenty of nights we loathed going to those practices, but every now and then, they played a song I really liked. This song was one that my mother often sang along with as she was driving.

See You In September – The Happenings

This is one that reminds me of my days at WHND, Honey Radio. The music director was very good about making sure summer songs played during the summer and songs like this played at the end of the school year and at the beginning of September. I won’t say it is a “favorite” but it does bring back some of my favorite radio memories.

September When I First Met You – Barry White

My buddy Jeff Goodrich used to say “There’s nothing like 6 minutes and 42 seconds of Barry saying cool things!” It’s a smooth groove ….

Maybe September – Tony Bennett

The legendary Tony Bennett croons through this Song from The Oscar. The parenthetical title is actually Maybe September. Sinatra called Tony one of the greatest singers of all time. His smooth delivery blends so well with this very pretty arrangement …

September Skies – The Brian Setzer Orchestra

This is one of my favorite cuts from the BSO’s first album. It is not one that many have heard before, but I can hear the likes of Michael Buble’ doing this one, too. Tell me what you think …

September – Earth, Wind and Fire

Come on! You can’t have a list of September songs without this one! This came out in 1978 and it is STILL requested at weddings and parties! People love to dance to this one. Crank it up!

September in the Rain – Annie Lennox

Sinatra did this. So did Dinah Washington. I picked up Annie Lennox’s Nostalgia album and was blown away by her version. She’s got such a great voice and the arrangement is beautiful.

Wake Me Up When September Ends – Green Day

Every October someone will post on Facebook, “Time to wake up the guy from Green Day.” This is one of a few songs I like from them. I love the simple guitar at the beginning and how the song builds into the “Green Day” sound.

September of My Years – Frank Sinatra

A Sinatra classic, and the perfect song to wrap with. I guess at 52 years old, I am probably entering or in the September of my own years. Time flies. We see that each and every year. It seems like we just started summer, but alas, fall fast approaches.

Sing it, Mr. Sinatra ….

I’m sure I may have forgotten a few – which September song is your favorite??

Monkeying Around

I got the text early this afternoon that the power had been restored at work. I had anticipated that it would be back on and that I would be back at work tonight. But that didn’t stop us from taking advantage of the fact that I was home last night.

Sam had some clothes that she wanted to take up to the resale place today. We decided to make an outing of it. I loaded up the bins of clothes in the car, packed the stroller and drove up to the shop. A few miles away is the Saginaw Children’s Zoo, which the kids LOVE, so we had a great morning family outing there.

Ella could not wait to get into the zoo!

I’m not sure why, but the animals were extra active today. The penguins were waddling and swimming, the otter was really putting on a swimming show, the wolves were active, and the monkey’s were monkeying around.

The only problem with visiting the zoo on a weekday is that the same person runs the train and the carousel. So the train rolled in and the engineer told Ella that she needed to go run the carousel, but the train would run again in 30 minutes. Ella took this fairly well and she played in the sand and made a new friend.

Side note: I’ve said it before, but it is worth repeating. The world would be such a better place if we used kids as an example. Ella and another girl named Faith became instant friends at the playground. “I’m Ella!” “I’m Faith” and then they walked hand in hand for a while. Skin color, religion, gender, and political position didn’t matter at all. “Let’s be friends!” We adults could learn something from them!

We eventually made it back to the train and we got to ride it twice before going home. The girls (Mom and Ella) sat together and the boys (Dad and Andrew) sat together.

As you can see, she was just a tad excited.

Before we left, we stopped at the gift shop and got a new book to read at bedtime. It was SO nice to have that extra family time!

No Work … No Power

Tonight I am supposed to be at work. Instead, I am at home writing from the comfort of my bed. Sam is asleep next to me, well, sort of. Andrew is actually in between us because he woke up crying a bit ago. Ella is asleep in her room and I am listening to the sounds of their sound machine.

Sam worked last night and her mom came over this morning and took the kids to her house for a bit so that we could sleep. I woke up and went to pick them up around 1 and let Sam sleep a bit longer.

When I got home it was about 2 and I helped Sam with a few things before trying to lay back down to nap before work. I think I slept in short naps. At one point, I even dreamt.

Sam came in and woke me about 4:15 saying she was going to pick up pizza. When she left, I looked at my phone and saw a text thread from my boss. I guess the sleep lab had no power last night and was without power again tonight, so they had to cancel patients and call us off.

I could focus on the negative about losing hours and money on my paycheck, but instead, I will focus on the fact that I got extra family time – a rare thing with our schedules. It was so nice to all be together.

We all ate pizza together. We had conversations together. We played outside and worked outside together. It really was nice. Sam gave Andrew his bath, and I gave Ella hers. The kids didn’t really get good naps today, so we had early bedtimes.

Sam put Andrew to sleep first. While she did that, Ella grabbed books off the shelf and I sat on the couch with her and read them with her. We then went and brushed our teeth together and got ready for bed. After prayers were said, she snuggled with her Nana blanket and was soon off to sleep.

Because I did some yard work, I hopped in the shower before bed. As I was drying off, I heard Andrew crying, so I knew he’d be in our bed. I also knew just how tired Sam was and knew she’d be asleep pretty quick.

So here I am. A simple blog about some simple things often taken for granted: Bath time, book time, family time and more. It is my hope that one day I can get off the midnight roller coaster and have a job that allows for more of this. I miss it so much.

Perhaps one day soon….

Giving Props and Kudos

When I get excellent service, it is important to make sure I acknowledge it. That is exactly what I am doing in this blog today. I need to tip my hat to the folks at Asurion.

If you read my blog from yesterday, you are aware that I had an issue with my phone. I dropped it and damaged it and eventually remembered that I had insurance on it. So last night, I filed a claim and ordered a replacement. The process was fairly easy and done all online.

All I had to do was enter my phone number and it told me what my deductible was. Once I paid it online, they said that they would ship out my replacement phone with instructions. They said to expect it in 24-48 hours. That was more than acceptable, especially since I filed the claim late last night.

It had been about 3 months since I had connected my phone to a computer to back up all my photos and documents, so I figured 1 to 2 days would give me a chance to do just that. I packed my external drive in my work bag when I got home yesterday morning so that I could do the back up while I was at work.

When I woke up this afternoon I was surprised to see that the new phone had already arrived. I was impressed.

I had yet to back up everything on the old phone, so when I got up I started to do that. I wanted to be sure that once I fired up the new phone, I was going to be able to use it. The back up wasn’t quite done when I left, so I finished it once I connected to the work Wi-Fi. Once that was done, I fired up the laptop, downloaded all the photos and documents to it and then transferred those to the hard drive.

Once the patients were in bed, I pulled the SIM card from one phone, put the new one in the new phone and began the process of getting it up and running. I was surprised that once I turned it on, it began to install everything from the back up. It took some time, but that was ok.

When everything was reinstalled, I called the phone to make sure it was working. Ta da! It rang. I asked my co-worker to text me to make sure that was working and she sent me a funny text with profanity in it. I’d expect nothing less from her.

On my lunch break, I began opening apps and logging back in to them. I was surprised that I remembered most of the passwords and only needed to reset a few. There are a few things on this phone that are a bit different than my old one, even though they are basically the same. It will take some getting used to.

I already have it in the Otterbox and when my screen protectors arrive today from Amazon, I will put one right on. Hopefully I will get a year or two out of this phone!

My thanks to the folks at Asurion! I am impressed with just how fast and easy it was to get it back up and running.

Five stars customer product rating review flat icon for apps and websites

Friday Photo Flashback

It is time for another installment of my Friday Photo Flashback. I had originally planned to post a photo of my parents at my aunt’s wedding. When I saw the date, however, I knew I had to go back and grab one from another wedding – theirs.

53 years ago this week, my parents were married. The above picture is one of many from their wedding photo album. There are other photos of the two of them together, but this one is my favorite. As I looked through their album, I saw a few people I didn’t recognize. This is where I wish my mom were still alive so I could ask who they were. I doubt that my dad knows them.

I love how they are off center in the picture to allow for the train of mom’s dress to be included in it. She is absolutely beautiful. I love that my dad is wearing a white coat with his tux. I always thought that looked sharp, and he looks dapper here. I am a bit surprised that he is not wearing spats. He did wear them to my first wedding.

I want to say that this photo was in a frame that sat in my grandparent’s front room for the entire time that they lived in their house. It may have made the move to their condo, but I don’t recall it being out on display.

9 months later, the lives of these two young lovebirds would change forever. I arrived in May of 1970 bringing them much joy and happiness.

SMASH! CRACK!

I watched it fall like it was in slow motion. My phone slid off the counter and as it fell I could hear myself yelling in slow motion, “Nooooooo!” I could feel myself reaching out, hoping to get my hands on it before it hit the floor, but I never had the chance. It came down and the upper left corner of the phone slammed into the floor.

It seemed to bounce before it fell facedown on the floor. My heart sank, knowing that despite the protection of a screen protector and an Otterbox, the screen had shattered.

I reached down, picked it up and slowly turned the front to face me. Sure enough, the upper corner of my phone was covered in cracks and shards of glass. One crack went from the upper left corner all the way down to the lower right corner. It was not pretty.

This isn’t the first time it has dropped on the ground. Perhaps this time it was just high enough to do damage. The Otterbox and screen protector have done their jobs! It took a few drops before the screen protector cracked and was replaced. The last one held up for well over a year. This drop, however, was a bit different and when I heard it hit the ground, I knew it was going to be bad.

The last few phones I have had were Motorola phones. I have had very good luck with them. For a while there it seemed like I was only getting a year or less out of a phone before I had to send them back to the factory or call about issues. When I switched to Moto phones, those issues stopped. I always got 2-3 years out of them with little or no issues.

Three years ago, when it was time for Sam and I to upgrade, she tried to get me to switch to an iPhone, and despite some very good arguments, I stayed with my Android phone. It continues to work well, and if it wasn’t terribly damaged, I’m sure I wouldn’t even be thinking about an upgrade yet. After the incident today, I opened up my Verizon App and began to explore the option to upgrade.

With both of our phones paid in full, our current bill has come down. I hated the thought of upgrading because that would mean an extra $20 or more on the bill each month. I called Verizon and discussed options on my way to work.

The rep who I spoke with shared some of the upgrade options with me. I had seen something on the app that said if you upgraded one phone, you could get another free. I thought this could be nice for both Sam and I, however, I was told in order to do that, you have to get an entirely new line and new number. We’ve both had our numbers for years, so that was not an option.

They had a deal on a new Samsung phone. The phone would cost $980, but they would give me $800 for my phone. I would only have to pay $180 for the phone over 36 months – $5 a month. This would be something I could work with. I didn’t want to do anything without first discussing with Sam, so I mentioned it to her and I decided that I would go ahead with the upgrade, despite it not being a Motorola phone.

I chatted with another representative when I called back. I told her exactly what I had discussed with the other rep. She proceeded to get things in order and before we finalized things, she told me my new monthly bill would be almost $50 more. I asked how that could be and she started to explain this that and the other. I reminded her that the other rep had given me a quote that was only $5 more a month. She said she was going to try something else.

When she returned to the line the price had come down, but only slightly. I told her that I had been with Verizon for over 20 years and I didn’t want to pay the higher price. She tweaked here and there and it never really came down much more. I reminded myself that the only reason I was gung ho about the new phone was that it was basically an even trade. It was only going to cost $5 a month, so why wouldn’t I take advantage of this?! I told the woman on the phone that I would need to discuss this with my wife before committing to the changes, knowing that I was not going to do it.

So now what? I opened up my app and started to really examine the bill. One of the things I had forgotten about was the fact that I have been paying for insurance on my phone since I got it! Insurance! It had been so long since I have had to file any kind of claim, I had completely forgotten about it.

In the past it seemed like I was forever using the Asurion insurance to replace broken phones, phones that wouldn’t keep a charge, and phone with other issues. I went to their website, typed in my number and filed a claim. I paid my deductible and my new phone (which is the same phone I have now) will arrive tomorrow. Done.

In the end, I saved us a boatload of money. I also will keep the phone I am comfortable with and won’t have to buy new accessories for it. To me, that’s a huge win.

The only thing I am freaked out about is making sure that everything is backed up so that when my phone arrives, everything will transfer to it. Of course, I will have to remember every last dang password for apps, but I suppose I should be back up and running at full power in a matter of days.

Fingers crossed!

Hardly Prepared For The Real World

I have made it no secret that Math (Algebra in particular) is NOT my best subject. I did poorly in my high school algebra classes. Yes, I did pass the college Algebra classes I had to take, but it was harder than I could have imagined. It didn’t help that I hadn’t looked at an algebra problem in almost 30 years.

Luckily, my oldest son only needed my help a few times with his math stuff when he was in school. My middle son, on the other hand, brought home some really tough stuff from his summer school class last month. I really struggled to help him. I had my college books, my college notes, store bought aids, and even a friend who is good at math all at my disposal, but nothing really helped. He squeaked by … just barely.

I want to go on record stating that I never really had a problem with basic math. Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division and other basics like finding percentages, figuring out mileage, counting money and making change and balancing checkbooks were all things I did well with. Those basic things are still taught in school today, yet it doesn’t seem to be something people are retaining.

Case in Point:

Normally, before work I would make a pot of coffee and bring a cup with me in the car on my way in. Today, I forgot to make some, so I drove through the local Tim Horton’s to get one. Most of the time, I would just hand the person at the window my debit card and the transaction would be complete. Today that was not the case.

They are usually pretty quick at Timmy’s, but something seemed to be slowing the line today. There were two cars ahead of me. I saw them pass an iced coffee to the first car and they drove off. The car in front of me tendered their money and the wait began. Almost five minutes later, a hand reached out with their change and then passed out a small coffee cup.

I wondered if the customer was waiting because they had to brew a new pot of coffee. Or maybe they were changing cashiers and they were switching out the till. It just seemed weird that it took that long to get a cup of coffee (or tea or hot chocolate for that matter.) When I got the the window, things became clear.

It was obvious that the gal at the window was a new employee and in training. She was having a discussion with the manager before she even opened the window. Directly to her right was my coffee. It was ready to be handed to me as soon as the money changed hands. I was paying cash, so it shouldn’t be too difficult, right?? Wrong.

When she finally opened the window, she told me that I owed $2.85. I order the same thing every time, so I had $3.00 ready and handed it to her. She typed into the register what I handed her and she placed the three $1 bills in the tray with the others and stopped. She stood staring at the till.

My change was 15 cents. For some reason this seemed to stump that gal at the window. She looked at the till, then at her manager. The window was open, so I could hear their conversation. The manager said, “He gave you three dollars. You owe him 15 cents.” She stood there looking stumped. The manager pointed to each one of the compartments at the bottom of the drawer saying, “There you have 25, 10, 5 and 1.”

Is real money such a new thing to this gal? Has she never seen a dime before? The whole thing was like something out of the Twilight Zone! The manager literally told her “give him a dime and a nickel.” She could have given me a dime and five pennies, two nickels and five pennies, three nickels, or 15 pennies – I didn’t even care if I got my change! Honestly, I would have drove off without the change if they had handed me the coffee!

Finally, this gal delicately grabbed a dime and a nickel and handed it to me with my receipt. She told me to have a good day and stared at me. She obviously wondered why I hadn’t left yet. Her manager said, “I’m sure he would like the coffee he just ordered.” I’m not sure how much longer she stared at me, but eventually, the manager grabbed my coffee and handed it to her and she finally passed it out the window to me.

As I drove off, I looked at the 4 cars that were behind me wondering how much longer each of them would have to wait. I also wondered what kind of grades this 30 something year old gal got in high school math class ….