McDisgust

Mmmmm.....

Raindrops slid down the window, twisting the image of the cars as they splashed through the puddles. The whining of a disgruntled child took me out of my daydream and back to the moment. I watched as the overworked mother tried to deal with the little cretin while tending to two other kids, one smaller and one larger than the one who was pissed off.

I turned back to the food in front of me. French fries, having lost the catalyst that makes them edible, heat, lay limp in their greasy container. No ketchup or vinegar could save these little delights at this point.
The main course, which was like a hamburger only smaller, mocked me as I stared at it in disgust. A soggy bun and wilted lettuce held the medallion of 'quality beef' above the place mat. Which proudly and in bright convincing colors proclaimed healthy and happy food products for the whole family.  I contemplated the top bun and decided it was still food. The tomato tried to trick me by looking delicious. But I knew it was redder than a tomato.I looked from it's presence and contemplated the colorful clown who stood guard at the gate to .....Playland. He was smiling as if to say,
"Enjoy, consume."
I resisted an urge to rip him from his big a*s shoes and use him to beat the stuffing out of the seemingly uncontrollable brat. Who was clearly convinced his tirade would at some point bring satisfaction.
Steam rose from the cup as I pulled the lid off and sipped the surprisingly hot, and more surprisingly, good tasting coffee.
Feeling annoyed and quite hungry I picked up the burger. Even though it was cold I could still detect a smell I didn't like. I dropped it right away and went back to sipping coffee and staring out the window. I daydreamed of steak fries and T-bones. Good brown gravy and home made bread and butter chips.
I began to feel a little better and even had to chuckle to myself as I remembered how I used to get tired of beefsteaks, roast and venison back when I was a kid. Even the liver and onions that we ate every Monday night sounded fairly good on this dreary evening.
I put my jacket back on and refilled my coffee. Returning to my booth I scooped up the crap that lay on the tray and stuffed it in it's place as I walked out.

I pulled a Delicado con Filtro out of my pocket and lit it, noticing that the rain was subsiding. As I walked along home I enjoyed the clean smell of the rain. But in my inner nose all I could smell was back strap frying on Grandma's old wood cook stove.

Author's Note

How bout some pizza?

Reviews

[Céce]

I like McDonald's. And I'll have some pizza too, thank you. You did a good job on this piece, and at times I have felt this way, but I don't think it could kill a love for fast food, especially for someone who can eat whatever she wants and still stay slender.

:D Otherwise, I enjoyed, knowing that nobody could rewire my brain.

[Liza]

you have an engaging way of telling a story; your kids must enjoy that - McNasty definitely has a way of marketing to our eyes and nose but not our bellies...when you're starving and low on funds - they swoop you and your kids up! it feels so good going in by not so much when it is working its way through and yes - the food also is like a drug....quick fix with potential long term complications

[Angel Bird]

Oh yeah so right - back then meals cooked with love and time with good meat, tasty and fresh veggies right out of the garden mmm delicious... Nowadays food will never be comparable.
Have also made similar experiences.
Interesting and also thought provoking write.

[H-Jonesy]

Ah, this made me laugh. Mostly due to the fact that I have done somthing of the sort. Sit in McDonald's and wonder just what the hell im eating, and why does it smell so terrible.

The writing in its self was great, as most of your pieces are, and I must say I love how you take a everyday activity and make it seem..well more interesting. And your detail is somthing else i do enjoy.

"I daydreamed of steak fries and T-bones. Good brown gravy and home made bread and butter chips.
I began to feel a little better and even had to chuckle to myself as I remembered how I used to get tired of beefsteaks, roast and venison back when I was a kid. Even the liver and onions that we ate every Monday night sounded fairly good on this dreary evening."

Seems we get tired of all the home cooking; untill that is we live off of McDonald's for a week. Then usualy, were knocking on Mums door, begging for a good home cooked meal.

Wonderfull write, I find my self loving your work more and more.-

Harmony.

[luciddreamer]

Really good story, needs some editing but otherwise good.

I understand about the smell, I realized that fast food, especially Mickey D's does have an awful odor. What I don't understand is, the flavor is bland, the smell is horrible, and yet we still go there to eat...why please tell me why

[Mark Wallace]

I've been there, too. Every time I visit McD's I ask myself after about one bite, why am I eating this horrible s**t? Yet I still occasionally find myself back there. What are they putting in those burgers that keeps us coming back? Do I want to know? This is a good piece, it had me nodding in recognition of the feelings described.

[NoneOfYourBusiness akaK..]

ahhh~ after I stopped laughing at the vision of someone liberating the creepy clown out of his big shoes I was actually deeply touched by that sweet longing for those days when grandmare's fresh baked biscuits and pate(from the geese in her garden she forcefed daily lol) to spread on home made bread with fresh veggies from the garden were the conclusion to anothr day well lived~ =)~

[Desert Dreamer]

I am tired of all this fast "food" and am not sure if McDonalds sells anything I would dare call food. The tomatoes and lettuce have almost no flavor and I suspect very little nutrition. I have returned to a more healthy diet, not because I am fat (I am not fat), but because real food makes me feel good. I liked your story and the way you didn't tell the reader what to do or what to think, instead you told the story and the reader decides for themselves. A great example of the dontinuing downfall of our culture in my opinion.

[Crowley]

one, I would love some pizza, two, I too am nostalgic for home cooking quite often. Your writing was very good, the descriptions accurate and real and the feeling of deperation about the state of fast food and the fact that we too often have to succomb to the "busy life". I liked this, alot.

[Ph.D in Victory]

This is really good :)

[Raef C. Boylan]

Some great little phrases within this piece that made me smirk, e.g.
- "The main course, which was like a hamburger only smaller..."
- "the colorful clown who stood guard at the gate to .....Playland" [maybe it's just my head but this struck me as sounding very dark]

Great criticism of this evil...'restaurant'. Lol. I'm sure it didn't start out evil, only as a good idea to feed people and make some money but let's face it - in contemporay society, McDonalds is the symbol of gross consumerism and the tricky perils of globalism.
I worked in one for a year when I was 16 [because times were desperate] and, due to political principles and inside knowledge of their poor hygiene standards, don't eat there if I can avoid it. Although I will ocassionally have a 'thickshake', because I'm weak haha.

Nice piece; it's an entertaining read.

p.s. typo spotted:
"I scooped up the crap that lay on the tray and stuffed it in it's place as I walked out" [its place]