Manager of the Year

We ended up at KFC Saturday. Don't ask. It was actually pretty good. The last time I was there, years ago, it was so disgusting I swore I would never go back. But we ended up there after getting soaked at a reunion and driving through a monsoon. As we walked in, what to my wondering eyes should appear? A HUGE leak in the ceiling, as if I wasn't wet enough already. I snapped a picture with my cell phone. If you look closely, you can see the stream of water pouring from the ceiling and the puddle on the table which overflowed all over the floor. Oh wait, it gets better.


The ceiling tile, where this giant leak had sprung, was bulging down like a bloated dog tick. We were sitting two tables away from the giant leak. Yes, I picked our seats. Why not sit a few feet from a giant leak? It could be interesting. Oh, it was interesting alright. All of a sudden my husband said, "Check this out. They're gonna poke a hole in it."

I wasn't paying much attention at first, but the manager and another poor employee were plotting their next move. They came out with a pen, stood at the table and stared up at the ceiling. You could just see the hamster wheels spinning inside their brains. The manager tried to stand on the table and actually said to the employee, "I need you to spot me." I was just thinking, 'are you kidding me and I had better not get wet from this.'

The manager tried to climb onto the wobbly table, but didn't have the guts to go through with it. She said, "I'm not a big girl, but I'm not sure about this." True, she wasn't a big girl, but she was no Nicole Richie either. The manager and employee walked back to the kitchen as my husband mumbled, "Why don't you get a ladder, Ding Dong?" So just in case you're wondering, neither of us has learned to watch our mouths because Big Brother then said at the top of his lungs, "Why don't you get a ladder, Ding Dong?!" Apparently, they didn't have one.

They both came back out to the table with their trusty pen. The manager handed it to the poor employee and said, "You see that hole? Poke it in there fast."

Oh my gosh! I was afraid. Very afraid. (I wish I would have taken a picture of the ceiling tile too. If you would have seen it, you would have been very afraid too.) I was just imagining a waterfall coming down on all of us. The employee jumped up on the table, poked the pen right into the hole and water started pouring out of the ceiling even faster. I couldn't believe it myself at first, but it was actually going into the bucket. The manager and employee were so proud of themselves and went back to cooking up some secret recipe.

I just sat there amazed that I had been able to witness such an act of pure genius. I was a little leery of your bright idea at first, but I thank you for not making me become even more soaked. I commend you KFC manager and nominate you for Manager of the Year. And the entertainment value of it all was priceless.