Just downloaded Jetpack and trying it out on my iphone… pulled this missive from yesterday notes. Forgive my errors.
My favorite McDonalds …
McDonald’s at Markham and University “was” my favorite Golden Arches … now, McD’s at sixth and broadway downtown LR is my favorite. It’s clean, the staff is always friendly, the people mix is perfect – young, old, black, white, business, family, traveler, homeless. The staff wear blue t shirts with the message “Community is everything” This was the downtown stop most mornings for Bill Clinton while he was Arkansas Governor and while running for president.
As I sit here today, enjoying my senior coffee, caramel sundae and single burger off the dollar menu, I smile to myself with astonishment … I’m certain the staff is paid little, maybe barely making it but they smile.
There’s a grandmother ordering meals for her grand daughters. She is confident, poised and gently reminds the older grand child to change her frown to a smile. Nice to witness this old school example of neighbors and grand parents participating in the societal accountability system.
There’s a delightful young Latino girl cleaning tables, mopping the floor, conscientiously doing the dirty jobs and smiling.
An African American teen behind the register looks a customer in the eye, enters the order and smiles. After watching him in action I walk back to the register and ask: where he goes to school? what he’s studying? I tell him I’ve been watching him … his manner, his patience, his smile, his eye contact and I tell him I’m convinced, without a doubt, he will be a success … in life, in business, in whatever he wants to do. And I tell him, someday, when he is enjoying one of his successes, he will remember this moment, the moment an old man said: “young man, you will be a success”. He Smiled!
Meanwhile, the young Latino woman moves with precision sweeping the floor for the second time since I’ve been here.
Think about it … this is McDonald’s?
Is this a microcosm of America, is it a window into reality or is it something unique? If unique, what makes it work? It’s a business in the urban core with all the distractions of work schedules, crime, traffic congestion, stop lights, stop signs, no parking zones, one way, no entry, parking meters and hungry people waiting for their orders … at the register and the drive thru.
It’s said if one stands on a corner in Times Square long enough, everyone will pass by. I think it’s more likely to happen at McDonald’s.
And…
If it’s my favorite McDonald’s, you’ll get a good meal, a great sundae, an awesome cup of coffee and the most beautiful tapestry of what makes America great … it’s people, workers and businesses.
If nothing else, I hope you share a smile!
Jim Dailey 