In Des Moines and the Wendy's scuffle

Its way late at night, and we just got back from Loyce's fathers home.  He lives here in Des Moines, and when we come here with the Motor home we stay at the Timberline campground.  The CG is about 10 miles West of the city on Interstate 80.

It seems that every time we have been here it has rained, and tonight is no exception.  We have a cold dreary rain coming down chilling us and the coach.  We were here last October for our niece's wedding, and it rained that entire time.  We left the coach on the hill in the storage area, and the grass was so wet that we could barely get it back to the main CG area.

The park is about 2 miles North of the interstate, and is completely out in the country.  And to boot, we are in the very back near the fence.  There are no lights anywhere. Well up by the main office where you come in, but that seems distant.  For us city dwellers it seems so quiet with no other sound except the rain on the roof.

We have a full hook up site, and do not need anything in the way of outside facilities, so the back of the park is fine with us.  We do have a few neighbors, but they have largely gone to bed.

It seems like yesterday, but this morning I went to the storage lot where the utility trailer is stored and took it to a car wash.  Spending $3, I used the foaming brush and the whole bit.  We hooked it up to the back of the motorhome and promptly left town.  Loyce followed in her Escape.  That's when the rain began to fall.

We did have quite an experience at noon when we stopped for a sandwich at Wendy's.  While we were eating our meal, one of the employees approached us and asked it we were going to pay for our meal.  I said What? And Loyce thought he must be mistaken and said it wasn't us.

But then I began to look at our tray for a receipt and didn't find one.  Oooops.  So thinking the counter experience thru, I began to determine that we hadn't paid.  The clerk had taken our order and turned around to determine that there were no french fries.  Rather than collect from me, he began to down baskets of fries in the fryer.  He became engrossed with the french fry duties and ignored me as a customer.

A second clerk read the register and picked our order from the table and place it on our tray.  Once the tray was ready, I picked it up and went and sat down.  At the time it escaped me that I hadn't paid.  Since that should have been already complete.

I finished my meal and returned to the counter and attempted to pay.  By now the manager became involved and inquired why I needed to pay after the meal had been eaten.  At that point the fellow that became involved with the fryer, accused the second employee of delivering his food items without closing the ticket.

At that point the second employee objected to the accusation, and about 20 folks standing in line waiting to order became involved in the confrontation.  I said that it was only $8 and to ring it up.  The manager asked if I really knew that I hadn't paid, and I said that I was not for sure.

So he said that the meal was on the house! Instructing the two employees to get back to work helping all these customers in line.

I went out to the MH feeling rather stupid.  But then I have never seen someone that didn't collect the money when he rang up the order.  And come to think of it, I have never had someone walk off and ignore me in order to go cook french fries.  I still don't think we paid, but then the manager was not about to make a scene out of two fighting employees.

We told the story tonight at the family gathering, and had a good chuckle about the confusion.  But I'm betting that I will not grab a tray without paying for some time to come.

Retired Rod