Monday, April 16, 2012

The Funny Man at Del Taco

As a writer, I like to observe the people and situations around me, especially the ordinary ones, because that's when you seen people being their most basic selves. Yesterday, I was in line at Del Taco and I overheard the interaction between the man in front of me (a clean-cut guy in his early 30s) and the cashier. I pretended to be sending a text message, but what I was really doing was recording what the guy was saying on the "notepad" feature of my phone. He was not saying laugh-out-loud funny things, but just strange things, with no trace of irony in his voice.

"If I get TWO breakfast burritos, do they add up to a half pound?"

"I'd like a glass of milk. That sounds REALLY good right now."

"No. I don't want bacon if it's EXTRA."

He pays the cashier with a five dollar bill and sixteen pennies.

As I am ordering my combo meal, the man pokes his head from behind me and says, "Actually, scratch the milk. I don't want the milk...Can I get my dollar back?"