Tag: chicken

Story Time

Family Storytime: Naked Cheeseburger Boy and Root Beer Snot

KC J. Hutchins

Back in the years of elementary school, my family used to go to fast food more often. You know, back when it was cheaper. To age myself, when there were actually items costing only a dollar. While hanging with my cousin, best friend, maybe my brother, and other childhood friends, my dad offered to take us there. We drive up to the menu and my dad turns back to ask what we want. Completely serious, my best friend asked for a cheeseburger without cheese. We started cracking up.
I say between laughs, “You mean a hamburger?”
My friend looked at me, then my dad, and simply said, “Yes.”
He realized what he’d said and was just trying to smooth it over.

Fast forward to sitting down and eating our stuff. My best friend starts making fun of some of our friend’s meals. I suspect to make his little incident less silly.
My dad shot back, Sure, Naked Cheeseburger Boy.”
We all lost ourselves in laughter… my cousin so much so his root beer came shooting out of his nose.
My dad turned on him and declared, “And Root Beer Snot is here to join you.”
We were all on the ground from the laughter. He gave names to the others, but I don’t remember them. (No, I didn’t get one. I was boring as a kid and only ordered chicken nuggets and French fries.) However, the legend of Naked Cheeseburger Boy and Root Beer Snot live on… the story surfacing every so often to give us a laugh.

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Family Storytime: Cousin’s Crunchy Chicken Tenders

KC J. Hutchins

Hanging around my family during the past holiday gave me another story. This was given to me by my cousin. As I’ve mentioned before, the town I grew up in hosted a midway during the 4th of July. This would include food trucks. So, as we were walking around my cousin became hungry. We joined him in line for the truck. I think we were the second or third in line at the time. He placed his order, and they said it be like a ten-minute wait. Shrugging, we stood by him to receive the food. The time comes and goes… no tenders. We wait another ten minutes… Still nothing. My cousin goes to check in… They say another ten minutes. Almost everyone else in the line received their food, including someone who ordered chicken tenders behind us. We complained about this to the staff who stated it must’ve been a mistake. We shook our heads and tried to reason with my cousin. At this point, we urged him to demand a refund. However, he pointed out we waited this long already. We shrugged and continued talking.

Now, one of my friends possessed a habit of talking with his hands. In the middle of his story the truck finally announces the food is done while saying it was the last order of the night. My cousin picked up the food, turned around, and his food was immediately struck out of his hands. My friend whacked the tenders by accident. He looked at his hands, down at the ground, back at my cousin, and booked it. My cousin just looked at the ground and let out a long sigh. He picked the food up to dispose of in the trash. Before throwing them out, two old men said they’d eat them. My cousin came to the conclusion if they’d eat them… He should eat them. To this day, he calls them the crunchiest chicken tenders he’s ever eaten.

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The difference between arguments, debates, and discussions

KC J. Hutchins

Some might find these words the same; all described as talking to another about an important topic. However, this train of though would be incorrect. Let’s begin with argument. In this analogy, I want you to think of a game of chicken between two cars. Neither decides to turn away and a huge crash occurs. Most of the time one cursing the other and some sort of injury is occurred to one or both parties. Both sides are so passionate about their point of view they cannot hear what the other has to say. The other result is the two cars come screaming towards each other and it seems they are hopeless to collide; one veers away at the last second. Some injury may occur to the other but most of the time it will result in subsequent rematches where it will end in ruins. This could be interpreted as a debate. Both sides are passionate about their subject, but decide there had to be a winner in the end. So one either caves to the other’s belief (sometimes forced or reasoned into it) or lets them have this victory to debate with increased vigor and, sometimes, hate. Then there is the final example. Each gets into their car, slowly parks next to each other, rolls down their windows, and talks to one another. This is a discussion. Both parties realize realize that they don’t need to get so heated in order to discuss something… that maybe each side has an idea that would improve what ever the problem is. In these situations we find true solutions and great feats to be accomplished. However, this last form is rarely seen. For it is seen in media and most leaders who believe they must fight like mad dogs to have their own way. This is folly. No one point of view can be perfect for there are many variables to one problem. This can be thought of it when giving a variety of chefs an egg. A saucier will make Hollandaise sauce, a poissonier a white fish omelet, rotiseur saucy beef with baked eggs, just to name a few. And that was just for food. Imagine when it comes to those more diverse topics we don’t like to talk about. For in our minds we think it will only end in an argument. Yet if we took the time to discuss such matters maybe a true solution would present itself… or on a more personal note, you understand the people around you. Communication is one of the most important acts we take for granted. But with a few words we let those around us know we love them. So I encourage you, have many discussions while avoiding the temptations of arguments and debates.