The most exciting thing to ever happen to me in a drive-thru was extra fries. (And I didn't give them back.)
"A New Hampshire woman got a surprise Friday at a Burger King drive-thru in Rochester: not food, but a bag full of cash. Janelle Jones discovered on the way home that the bag did not contain the sweet tea and junior spicy chicken sandwich she had ordered. Jones called her husband and they decided to return the $2,631 -- a Burger King bank deposit." story link
Principle in the type: "A good reputation is more valuable than money." Publilus Syrus
. . . on Route 66. (You knew the rest of the line, right? No?? -- Come on, bro!)
My local paper (article link) wrote about that mother road, as it is sometimes called. "It is the means upon which so many came to Los Angeles before me and after me because people are still doing it now. So it's the means to bring everybody to their final destination. And, for me, Route 66 is still very much a living and breathing highway . . ." Richard Schave, a Route 66 business tour company owner was quoted as saying. Life's path is living and breathing too. A route is like that. Yup, many pass by before you and after you. Make the pathway bright. Leave directions to a happy destination. Help those who cross your path. Life is a highway. What better way to get your kicks?
Principle in the type: "We read in Proverbs the admonition, “Ponder the
path of thy feet.” (Proverbs 4:26) . . . With the account of the good Samaritan . . . teaches us to
love and to serve our neighbors. (Luke 10:30-37) . . . parable of the talents . . . teaches us to improve ourselves . . . (Matthew 25: 14-30) With the parable of the lost sheep . . .
instructs us to go to the rescue of those who have left the path and have lost
their way. (Luke 15: 4-7) . . .
let our lights shine . . ." Thomas S. Monson.
The gig is up for our USA, Miss. Universe contestant, Nia Sanchez. She finished runner-up in the competition. Some believe it was her answer in the Q&A portion that ultimately put her just below pageant winner Miss. Columbia. I've read tidbits about it everywhere. Her simple question? "If you were given 30 seconds to deliver a message to global terrorists, what would you say?" And that ladies and gentlemen, is not an easy thing to answer. Or at least not in 30 seconds with depth or insight or charisma or influence. She came up with, "I can always spread a message of hope and love and peace." No that was not a Saturday Night Live caricature of her, but how she indeed answered. Bless her heart. But what the heck else is she supposed to say, off the cuff? I probably would have pulled out a Rodney King, "Can't we all get along?"
Well if anyone does know the most cerebral, effective, and correct answer to that question, cough it up! The Universe calls!!
Meanwhile let's pounce on that love stuff she brings up.
Principle in the type: "I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear." Martin Luther King Jr.
So, yesterday's post reminded me of the most touching commercial I saw, mid a televised football game last month. Around the house now I am considered an utter sap because of a McDonald's commercial, but I don't care! I have feelings!! True the commercial is in video form not type, but there is type in it and those are the words that get me so emotional. Go ahead and watch, then we will reconvene:
Aah the humanity of it!! Publicly expressing Hope? Caring for others? Long marriages? Praying for a stranger? Celebrations? Patriotism? Just, somebody get me a tissue . . .
Principle in the type: "Earth's crammed with Heaven. . . . " Elizabeth Barrett Browning
McDonald's had a rough few quarters . . . and I'm not talking about the quarter pounder. I'm talking about those spaces of periods that a business measures finances by. It reports here (article link) : "The worlds largest hamburger chain reported falling earnings and sales for its fourth quarter on Friday and says it is going to take action to save money and bring customers back, including slowing down some restaurant openings." I'm not exactly going to shed crocodile tears for them, because you want to talk 'slowing down?!' McDonald's has done nothing but slow down my metabolism for years!! But yah, okay, hopefully they can work it all out and be in the money again. Poor babies. Being in the money can take a while, as many of us know (Lol Lol Lol) . Here's what I'm really trying to get to -- "The fast-food giant said its problems won't be fixed overnight."True that. You'all know problems are rarely fixed overnight?
Principle in the type: "I learned that patience was far more than simply
waiting for something to happen—patience required actively working toward
worthwhile goals and not getting discouraged when results didn’t appear
instantly or without effort." Dieter Uchtdorf
Bette Midler. (Remember this song? It OWNED the late 80's. She sang it at the Oscars last year, and I mostly remember her at the Oscars because she wore this dress which I thought was crazy sick! (that means good in hipster talk). Just beautiful. Anyways, I digress . . . )
In this article she spoke about "what I know now," and I enjoyed it immensely. In fact it may have to be a two-part'r post. Married, for over 30 years to Martin von Haselberg, and mother to one child, daughter Sophie von Haselbert, 27, she's gathered some wisdom (and flaws? Because I'm assuming she's like all of us?) through the years.
About marriage, she said this: "A good marriage isn't for divas. . . . It's best to pick your fights wisely and just meditate. Stay calm. Don't go from zero to 60 in two seconds. Don't diminish each other. Don't try to make each other wrong all the time. The blaming is the worst part. Honestly, you have to learn not to do that."
Principle (literally) in the type: "Time passes in a flash, and as they say, it's not a rehearsal." Bette Midler
(Okay, I had a picture of downtown L.A. ready for this post, and yes, I went with a picture of a giant donut instead. Listen Randy's Donuts is in L.A., and after all, come on! It's a big donut! How can a big donut ever be wrong?)
This piece in the Los Angeles Daily News, goes in one big circle from 'all is well,' to 'we need help!' to 'actually we're making headway.' See the article quotes below. That's politics for you, no? Sunny skies: “ 'I can’t think of anything where we have had a major problem,” Wesson [council president]
said. “The mayor [of Los Angeles] came from the council, and he knows how we operate
around here.' ” We should tweak things:" 'Los Angeles needs to think about being L.A. again, instead of trying to
be a sun-drenched Portland. L.A. just doesn’t have its swag back,' Kotkin [Chapman University fellow] added." We're racing down Progress Avenue: "Garcetti is an improvement over [former mayor] Villaraigosa . . ."
Later there was this: "proactive agenda."
That phrase caught my eye. It's right in the following commentary, where Dan Schnur from USC--director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute--shared, “With an improving economy, you can have more of a
proactive agenda." Proactive work is a great principle!article link
Principle in the type: "Let us realize that: The privilege to work is a gift, the power to work is a blessing, the love of work is success!" David O. McKay
Tickled pink exploring that place where news and principles converge. I believe everything teaches something, and every story has a story. Not enough about me? Read more on the About page.
