1/21/25 My Happy Meal
Speaking of burgers, by an amusing coincidence, this
vegetarian had another burger encounter the next day. A Canadian friend had
texted me a few days prior, asking for a favor: McDonald’s was about to begin a
promotion including Pokemon cards inside Happy Meals. Some of the rare,
collectible cards are known to be worth five and even six digits. The promotion
would be available only in the US.
A collector of the cards, the friend warned me that some past Pokemon promotions have caused competitive riots in Target and Walmart stores (in the US, of course). Now that I’ve stopped collecting vintage colored pencils, I’ve been missing the hunt for rare or unusual specimens on eBay. It would be fun, possibly even competitive! I was in!
I marked the promotion date on my calendar and geared myself up for the race. First, I had to Google for my nearest McDonald’s – a couple were nearly within walking distance. Perhaps there would be a line of crazed Pokemon card collectors out the door . . . how exciting! (Obviously, I don’t get out enough.)
Then I received another text from my friend: She had learned that the same promotion would be available in Canada after all, so I was off the hook. I was disappointed; I had been hoping to be able to share the one good thing going on in the US. Well, no matter: I decided I would go get a Happy Meal and send her the cards anyway!
First I arrived at 8 a.m. in case they ran out before lunch time, only to learn that Happy Meal service didn’t begin until 10:30 a.m. After an appointment, I couldn’t go back until 11:30 a.m. No line out the door? Plenty of parking? Had they run out already?! Inside, only two people were present; neither ordered a Happy Meal. Confirming that my Happy Meal included Pokemon cards, I beamed at the counter person. Score!
Although my triumph was somewhat anticlimactic (where was the rioting?!), I scarfed down the fries for lunch and even took a bite of the burger. Like Proust’s madeleine, that taste (my first beef in probably several decades) immediately brought me back to high school dates. Mediocre as ever but happily nostalgic.
Fun story of your adventure! At one time I had about 50+ Pokemon cards in my closet in school. If the kids played with them during work time they got a warning. The second time the cards went into my closet. Every once in a while I surprised them and returned a few at the end of the day. At the end of the school year they were all returned. It was like Christmas! lol
ReplyDeleteWow, that's a great story from your teaching days! If you had any rare ones in your closet, you might have been able to retire early! ;-)
DeleteI laughed throughout your telling - what a great story! But I related the most to your nostalgically mediocre assessment of the burger. How many times since my early adulthood have I suddenly had the urge to buy a quarter pounder (or an Arby's roast beef sandwich - someplace else I thought was a treat back in the day), only to be disappointed, not at all like I remembered, and definitely mediocre. But yeah - nostalgic! :-) I've generally chalked it up to my taste buds having acquired more sophistication or maybe just deteriorating with age (it's a thing), or the quality of the product having declined. Probably some of each. Or maybe they keep those Happy Meals mediocre because, after all, they're for kids who have no taste yet - lol
ReplyDeleteI heard that places like McDonald's cannot make changes to their standby products, even if they might be improvements, because so many customers expect them to be a certain way, and they would be in an uproar if they changed. I guess that kind of reliability keeps McD's in business! ;-)
DeleteDitto for why franchises all over the country, and now the world, are so popular. People can depend on the food being the same no matter where they find the franchise and they find that comforting. Me? If I can get it at home, why would I want to get it when traveling? I'd rather be checking out the local cuisine or something I couldn't get back home - but that's just me. :-)
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