An Amazing Prediction
At 17 years old he was the youngest employee at the fast food restaurant. He’d been working there for over a year. Many of his siblings had worked there as well. Two of them still did, although neither was working at the time of his feat. The day of his amazing prediction, he arrived right on time for the start of his 3:00pm shift.
Less than 3% of the population of Utah is black. There are many minorities in Utah however. It has a large latino population. There are a lot of Pacific Islanders, Native Americans, and Asians.
The hero of our story is black. His siblings are also black, and some are Asian and still more white. When he walked into the restaurant that day, he made a bold prediction.
I predict that at 3:15 a customer will come through the drive-thru.
Yeah, that’s not all that suprising.
And the car that comes through at 3:15 is going to order a 4 for $4.
So what? That’s one of our most popular items.
For the sandwhich, they are going to choose the junior bacon cheeseburger.
Sure. What sauce are they going to get for their nuggets?
Honey mustard.
Ha ha. Right. Anything else?
Yes. They are going to pay with a five dollar bill.
Oh, that’s risky!
. . .that will be dated 2013.
Needless to say, his coworkers didn’t give his wild guess much credence. Still they carefully watched the clock. The minutes ticketed by. At 3:12 a car pulled up to the drive-thru and ordered. Immediately behind it another car pulled up to the speaker and gave their order. They pulled away before the clock showed 3:15. But, there, right on time, was another car to order.
Can I take your order?
Yeah, give me a minute.
Order when you’re ready.
What are my options for the small combo meal thing?
Well, the Biggy 5 includes a sandwhich, fries, nuggets and a drink.
What about that cheaper one?
The 4 for $4? Same options on the sandwiches.
I think I’ll have that.
What sandwhich?
Let’s go with the junior bacon cheeseburger.
And what sauce for your nuggets?
What have you got?
Sweet&sour, BBQ, honey mustard, or ranch.
Honey mustard.
Please pull around to the 2nd window.
A hush fell over the restaurant crew. Or it would have if it wasn’t a fast food restaurant in the middle of the day. The car pulled around to the window. Behind the wheel of the late model SUV was a middle aged white man.
That will be $4.31.
He pulled out his wallet and reached for his credit card.
Too bad. Well, it was still an amazing prediction. As he pulled out a Visa, hiding behind it was a bill. Surprised, the man unfolded it to reveal a five dollar bill. Cheerfully he handed it through the window.
The coworker tucked the bill into the drawer and counted out the change. Handing it with the receipt and the food through the window she wished him a nice day. But she didn’t shut the drawer. Not yet.
As the driver pulled away, she pulled out the bill. There below and to the right of President Lincoln’s picture was the date the bill was printed.
SERIES 2013
His coworkers stared at him.
How did you do that? How did you know?
But, our hero just went back to his assigned task. A slight smile on his face.
After all, he still had five hours to work until his dad, a middle aged white guy in a late model SUV would be back to pick him up.
Rodney M Bliss is an author, columnist and IT Consultant. His blog updates every weekday. He lives in Pleasant Grove, UT with his lovely wife, thirteen children and grandchildren.
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