On the way home from our recent Oklahoma casino trip, we stopped at a rest area along the highway. Technically, it's called a visitor center, but people don't just pull off the highway to get pamphlets for tourist attractions. They stop to do their business. The facilities are maintained by the state. Inside are restrooms, snack and soda vending machines, and a little shop that I presume sells small souvenirs, and offers pamphlets. I've never gone into the shop area, nor seen others go inside.
This time, there was a worker doing something in the main entryway. He had a ladder set up, and was talking on a radio. Not sure what he was doing. I presumed he was repairing the vending machines, since everything else is granite and concrete. His ladder wasn't high enought to reach lights in the ceiling.
Anyhoo... Farmer H always gets done with his business before I do. I find him at the vending machines on my way out. Even though it was only 90 minutes after a hearty breakfast before leaving the casino, Farmer H needed his snack. He was under that ladder (!), fishing something out of the tray of the vending machine, while the worker stood back. He joined me for the walk back to A-Cad.
Once in the car, I saw that Farmer H had a Twix candy bar, and a small bag of Honey BBQ Fritos. It's not like he ever offers me anything! He set the Fritos on the console between us.
"Oh, I've had those before. They're pretty good."
"We'll have them after while. They was FREE."
"Are they past date? Did the worker guy give them to you? The vending machine guy who came to school used to set the past date items on the table in the teacher workroom."
"No. They was layin' in the bottom of the machine. So I took them."
"Maybe that guy was working on the machine, and put some money in to see if they came out. Nobody would just buy Fritos and leave them laying there."
"That guy stood and watched me. He didn't say nothin' to me."
I'm pretty sure Farmer H stole a bag of Honey BBQ Fritos from the rest area! Let the record show that we heard no sirens chasing us, once back on the highway. I opened the Fritos 84 miles later, as we were getting off the interstate, and onto the curvy 2-lane blacktop part of our journey. They were a tasty snack. All the sweeter to Farmer H, I'm sure, due to their FREEness.
I wouldn't have let them just sit there either. Free is good! but I might have asked that worker if they were his before I took them. I love Twix, haven't had any in years. I remember when they were first available here in Aus, hubby was still in the Army and the vending machine had been filled in the officer's mess with boxes of Twix left over, so he brought home a couple of boxes, I think they were 48 to a box.
ReplyDeleteRiver,
ReplyDeleteI also enjoy a good Twix. Even though they come in two sections, I was not offered one! I would have saved it for farther down the road, though, still being full of chicken and waffles. That choice surprised me, since Farmer H usually prefers Snickers or Milky Ways. Maybe the vending machine was out. The worker was not stocking anything, as far as I could tell.