1.18.2006

We made it.

After a long day's drive, we're finally here. Glad to be in the land of Pal's Sudden Service.

If you've never been to Pal's, I recommend the 32 ounce sweet tea and a large order of Frenchie Fries...and avoiding the sauceburger like you would the bird flu.

On an unrelated note, I had a Blink Moment last night. If you haven't been tracking with this, Jackson and I are big Malcolm Gladwell fans. In his recent book, Blink, he talks about the instantaneous decisions we make based on perceptions that we may or may not be consciously aware of...decisions made in the blink of an eye, and more often than not, correct.

We stopped at McD's and I ran in to grab a coffee...when the Junior Exective Assistant Manager brought me the coffee, I knew it was bad - even before I touched the cup. I grabbed the cup, removed the lid, took a sip and blurted out "This is horrid." It was lukewarm and bitter. He offered to make fresh coffee, so while I waited, I got to wondering...what made me know the coffee was bad even before I tasted it?

It drove me batty for a while. I had no reason to suspect the coffee was bad - or any worse than normal McD's coffee - before tasting it, butI made a point of tasting it before he walked away because I knew it would be awful.

Finally it dawned on me...I noticed that he carried it casually; like you would carry a lukewarm glass of water, not like you'd carry a hot cup of coffee. My eyes saw that and my brain processed it all without even consciously thinking about it. Blink. Bad coffee warning.

Weird.

3 comments:

Brent Steeno said...

Dont bash McD's coffee. Its some of the best I have ever had in my life. Where did you get coffee on the road before coffee shops? McDonalds!!

Anonymous said...

This post makes me wonder what people tacitly perceive when they visit my home, or fellowship meeting or the prayer room... based upon how they observe activity (or lack thereof) going on in those spaces.

Randy Bohlender said...

It depends. Is the coffee any good?