Well, my family and I just got back from Disneyworld!
Yup..
Didn’t notice much difference.
People were just as Goofy in Florida as back home.
Ahem..
Anyway, we had a GREAT time! The stage shows were especially impressive.
and surprisingly emotional.
But hey, I still cry at the end of “Bride of Chucky.”
No, seriously. That ending always gets me.
Ok.. veering seriously off topic here.
F.O.C.U.S.
At the home of the Big Mouse (Disneyworld, not Chucky Cheese!)
(ok.. definitely have Chucky on my mind for some reason).
We went to lunch at Hollywood Studios theme park.
This eatery was SMALL!
How small was it?
Would you believe the mice were hunchback?
No, not Mickey! REAL mice.
ah, never mind.
Anyhoo, it was SO tight..
SO cramped.
Then when I put my tray on the counter to pay.
I couldn’t maneuver it well,..
and…
yup. it was FLYING out of my hand..
Food flinging UP in the air.
Tray CRASHING on the ground!!
Food SMOOSHING on the floor!
(yeeuch!)
What a mess!
The cashier just looked at me.
I looked at her.
We looked at each other.
She said “you got a turkey sandwich? It’s okay.. Just go and get another one.”
NICE LADY!!
One problem.
That was the LAST turkey sandwich they had!!
The place was packed and they just couldn’t make the sandwiches fast enough.
(True fact. I later found out the day that I was there it was record number of people at the park. at 100% capacity. And if you have ever been at Disneyworld, then you know how crowded that day was!).
I was starving..
Didn’t eat breakfast..
(note to self: “Self, never skip breakfast.”)
My daughter’s tray had her food..
and the cashier said “never mind.. go ahead.”
Go ahead?
“no charge. we should have food for you. you can go.”
I tried to pay for my daughter’s meal, but the cashier wouldn’t hear of it!
We went outside, and my daughter gave me some of her sandwich (ain’t she a sweetie?).
And 5 minutes later, the cashier came out, ran to my table, and handed me a turkey sandwich!
She just smiled and said “freshly made!” and walked away!
I don’t think any sandwich tasted as good as that turkey that day!
After eating, I felt a little awkward.
My daughter ate a nice lunch, and I had one too (and it really was just a few minutes later).
And I didn’t pay one cent!
I went back into the restaurant, and found the cashier.
I INSISTED on paying for both meals.
She just smiled and said.
“I appreciate the offer. We inconvenienced you so no charge for the food. I run this place so I can make the rules. Don’t think anything of it.”
Now, I have had some pretty outstanding service.
But at a resort like Disneyworld? This was pretty awesome.
When I got back I really thought about this.
She could have responded in so many different ways.
She could have insisted I pay for both meals (“tough luck, mister. It’s was on your tray, so pay up!”)
She could have insisted that I pay for at least my daughter’s meal (which certainly would have been fair in my opinion).
And she certainly didn’t have to hand deliver a fresh sandwich to me – again, at no charge!
But she did.
This wasn’t just outstanding service. To me, it was much much more.
There was moment of true kindness during all of this.
I wondered if kindness isn’t the powerful virtue of them all.
What if we treated everybody like this?
What if we treated ourselves like this?
Nowhere did we talk about God or Spirituality.
Yet, I know that the Divine is present at every act of kindness.
And She (the big lady upstairs) was definitely smiling, too.
Peace,
Steve