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Friday, November 08, 2019

Sign of the Apocalypse


When I see people I know saying they like Popeye’s chicken sandwiches, I am reminded of the verse that in the end times people will be deceived.
 
Funny that these folk make it clear they like the Popeye’s SANDWICH. Everything else about the dining experience isn’t as good: the wait time, the cleanliness of the restaurant, the employees appearance and decorum, the speed of the drive thru – even the cost. Chickfila employees are nicer. Unlike at Popeyes, at Chickfila you don’t get stabbed to death with a knife, or hit with a broom.
 
Maybe the Popeyes sandwich tastes better. It’s also far unhealthier: extra batter and breading with buttermilk coating. And mayonnaise. CFA may be high in salt, but they at least make an effort to be healthier. This weekend one Popeyes taste tester waited in line 30 minutes before ordering. His report: sandwich good, sides not so much. Fries much worse than CFA waffle fries. In Dalton the Popeyes interior was closed (in the middle of the day). Drive thru line long and slow. Customers were parking at Popeyes and walking next door to Bojangles. Today at 11 am the line was wrapped around the Duluth Popeyes AND the two inside lines were long. I have yet to hear one positive story about Popeyes customer service.     
 
Sure, the Popeyes chicken sandwich is great now – but a year from now when the marketing campaign is long over, will those sandwiches be as good? Or will the size and quality decline (and the price increase)? That’s what happened with the McDonalds chicken sandwich, unveiled to bring down mighty CFA (nore: it didn’t). Only time will tell.
 
My cable provider added a new TV network: PBB. Popeyes News Network. Covers the daily barrage of fender-benders, long lines, employee attacks, stabbings, and murders that take place at Popeyes.

WEDNESDAY I WAS IN THE CAR FROM 430 TO 700 – 2-1/2 STRAIGHT HOURS!!! Drove me crazy. Left work at 430 for Ceil’s birthday. Was on Spaulding and called her. She was at Perimeter Mall. Anna was there at work until 530. Matthew was nearby at GSU Dunwoody. I suggested we meet there and eat somewhere close. Spaulding funnels straight to the mall. But Ceil said she wanted to go home first, so I turned right on Holcomb Bridge to go home.
 
Five minutes later C called back, saying we could meet there at the mall. Had to double back. Later C called again. Barney hadn’t been out all day. I said he’s be okay (he was). Ceil didn’t know where she wanted to eat. I named places in Sandy Springs, Roswell, and East Cobb. She decided on Taqueria. At 530 traffic around the mall was gridlocked so I cross the new bridge, thinking I’d cut over to Mt. Paran to I-75, but traffic leaving Northside Hospital was gridlocked. Followed the GPS south on Ashford Dunwoody toward Loridans, but it redirected me to Peachtree. Gridlock around Lenox and Phipps. West Wesley then Peachtree Battle to Northside. Southbound was gridlocked to Collier and later at 75. Made it to Taqueria by 7 pm. M had to make a similar commute, so we had to wait on him.
 
Got our food at 8 pm. I don’t go to Taqueria enough to really know what I like best. Was going to try something different (the special Sloppy Jose taco and fried chicken taco) then caved and got the brisket taco and brisket enchilada. Very good, but the red sauce was spicy. Next time white sauce and beans/rice combo if I remember.
Then we walked across the parking lot to Jeni’s Ice Cream. For your birthday you get 3 free half scoops, so that’s what Ceil got. I noticed 3 half scoops wasn’t much more than two, so I splurged: Brambleberry Crisp, Salted Peanut Butter with Chocolate Chips, and Butter Toffee Crunch. Very good. Then Ceil only ate half of hers so I finished hers off. As usual I had eaten too much.
 
C made M drive me to Perimeter to get my car so C could go home and get Barney. On the way home I stopped for gas. Was after 930 when I crashed on the couch. Watched New Amsterdam then went to bed. Didn’t wake up when C and Barney came to bed.
 
Thursday: SECOND STRAIGHT 2-1/2 HOUR COMMUTE!!!! – this time in the rain. I had suggested we leave at 5 pm but M talked me into a 6 pm departure. Left work at 440. Got home and had to load the car with more of Anna’s stuff. Then stop by Whole Foods. By then the rain was coming down hard. Traffic bad but at least it was moving. Decided to take 285 west to 20 east. GPS said it was the same ETA. Went slow so less dangerous, easier to see. Turned onto W&MC’s street and the rain stopped (later it started back).
 
Delicious dinner cooked by W&MC. Salmon, baked broccoli, wild rice, hot Italian bread, apple cider, wine, brownies, and Jeni’s ice cream. W cooked me a huger boneless chicken breast, wonderfully seasoned and with a cream sauce on a bed of different rice. First time I’d been back to their house since they’d moved in. Beautifully decorated. Lots of items from their visits to the Masters. Anna’s room is taking shape. She bought a large wood storage piece from IKEA.
 
Didn’t get home until 10:30. Stayed up an hour playing on my laptop. M was watching cooking documentaries. I’m trying to get M to realize he should become a chef. He should talk to George.
 
Anna drove to Athens this morning. This weekend she’s camping in north Georgia. A five mile hike to the campsite,

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