Fast Food

We stopped at a rest stop while driving from N.Carolina to the northeast. We went into a fast food place to grab a quick bite.  We don't usually eat fast food, but we wanted to gas up the car and quickly get back on Interstate 95. No time for a sit-down restaurant meal.
Only this turned out not to be fast food.

We ordered and joined about 8 others waiting for their food. The young lady at the register kept taking orders. People paid and got their numbered receipts, but the food took so long. We looked at the 6 people in the food prep area. They were moving in a trance-like state doing things: scraping the grill, wrapping sandwiches, walking past each other silently, making the wrong orders, occasionally bagging orders and giving them to the counter ladies who gave them to the customers. The takeout window customers seemed to fare better than those inside the place. Some customers started to walk away, even though they had paid for their food!  Then, a staff member began to distribute this food to those waiting for their orders. A cherry pie was thrust into my hands although I didn't order it. Amazingly enough, the remaining waiting customers didn't flip out while we were there. Wonder what happened after we left with our not-so-fast food...
Sylvia
www.sylviabrownroberts.com