"...I used to be on floors just like you. But see...now I'm washing lettuce! Pretty soon I'll be on fries. Then the grill. A couple of years from now, I'll make Assistant Manager. And that's when the big bucks start rolling in!" - Louie Anderson in "Coming to America"

I decided to stop by my friendly neighborhood Burger King the other day for a chicken sandwich. I knew it was probably a bad idea, cuz that Burger King location is notorious for slow service. But I thought, well, it's the evening time, and I'll walk inside instead of doing the drive-thru.

I get in there, and already I'm behind two other customers. Mere seconds after entering, I could already sense that the same taking-too-long shinaningans were occurring tonite as well. The young teenage girl behind the cash register had that familiar "I hate this job" look on her face.

As she paced back and forth, checking order #s and waiting on food from the oh-so-sanitary cooks in the back room, I caught her mentioning to one of the customers in front of me that she had been working there only 2 weeks, but already she was sick of it. She was finally given a real opportunity to vent when a co-worker whispers to her, "I'm ready to get out of here."

"Me, too!", she replied. "My shift is almost over. I can't WAIT to get out of here. I'm sick of this place! As a matter of fact..." She looked up at the clock hanging on the wall. "....my shift is gonna be over in....1....2....3...4..." (counting and pointing at the clock) "....5.... in fifteen minutes!...."

...................................now what is we gon' do?

This poor child doesn't realize that she needs to be counting her blessings that she's got a job at Burger King, for there are only so many retail outlets in America that will accept an applicant who has to count the ticks on a wall clock in order to determine she has 15 minutes left in her shift. Instead of going home and turning on the TV to relax after a grueling day of fast food frenzy, she should sit down with her parents and have a heart-felt discussion about how they've failed her in the area of education and proper Burger King etiquette...

I left shortly thereafter, fearing I would be there too long. How long? (looking at my watch) ...1..2..3..4.........