Stubbing My Footprint's Toe

         

          I usually take my lunch to work. I only get a half hour for lunch, and I’m a slow eater, so it’s less stress. But there wasn’t anything in the house today to pack into my lunchbox, so I decided I’d grab some fast food.  Simple right?

           The closest fast food restaurant is Wendy’s. Even though I could’ve walked, I decided to take my car. The drive-through window usually gets priority, so it would give me more time to eat. I circled the building. Yay, no line!

            Most of the time, I just order a burger because my waistline doesn’t need the fries. If I want fries, I still don’t order the combo because that comes with large fries. I order the sandwich with a small fry. Inevitably, the order-taker asks if I meant that I want the combo meal, and I have to explain, “No, just the sandwich.”

          Today, I “splurged” and told the anonymous box, “I’d like a single combo with cheese, no pickle or onions, and a cup of water.” As I pulled away, I glanced back to see what the total was, and saw that the water was listed as “Dasani bottle.”

At the payment window, I asked if I could have a cup of water instead of a bottle of water. You’d think the “no pickle, no onions,” would’ve been the difficult part of this order, but it was the “cup of water,” that stirred up a frenzy.

“A bottle of Dasani comes with it.”

“I know, but can’t I just have a cup of water?”

The lady looked at me with barely restrained disbelief, as if she’d just offered me the elixir of the Gods, and I was insisting that I preferred mud, straight up. She abandoned her post and ran to get a manager.

The manager returned and pushed lots of buttons very officially on the register muttering, “It’s only five cents cheaper.”

I didn’t have the time or inclination to explain that I didn’t want the bottled water because I think we have more than enough plastic bottles littering the planet; because then I’d have to find a recycling bin to throw it out in; that tap water is good enough for me; that I like drinking out of a straw better than drinking out of a bottle. So, I let her think I’m a cheapskate, rather than an arrogant, greenie, straw-loving, pickle/onion-hating princess. I handed the money over, and pulled up to the next window to pick up the food and cup of water.

The friendly girl at the last window handed me the bag of food. Then she leaned back through the window, and gushed with an expression full of generosity, “Oh, just take the bottle anyway!”

I hesitated. I really didn’t want to be difficult. I just wanted a cup of water. Should I say something? She noticed the pause, and misinterpreted it. “Oh, was it that you wanted ice with it?”

            Before I could get any words to come out of my mouth, she proudly handed me a cup with ice and a straw along with the Dasani bottle.

How could I hurt her feelings? I gave up, took it all, and thanked her.

Sitting in the parking lot back at work, I juggled a cup, straw, a bottle, the cheeseburger (without pickles and onions), and the fries which I would’ve put in one of my cup holders, but they were both occupied. 

Instead of shrinking my lunch footprint, I managed to double it with my environmentally aware efforts. Guess who’s packing a lunch tomorrow.

Laura Keolanui Stark is making chicken salad for her sandwich tomorrow. She can be reached at stark.laura.k@gmail.com.