our opinions: CURMUDGEON MUSINGS
The Last
BY MARK BROWN
Word
Who’s Chickening Out?
F
rom time to time, as I travel around, I see
some out-of-the-ordinary things.
Recently, I noticed something interesting, at
least it was to me. See what you think.
Chick-fil-A has always had long lines, at least
it has at the Weatherford location, and now the
new Hudson Oaks store has followed suit. I
don’t know much about the organization except
what I’ve read. I have to admit it makes me curi-
ous. Why do they have such long lines?
Let me start by telling you right at the start, I
don’t love chicken as a meal. There is absolutely
nothing wrong with the bird. In fact, I would like
to have a couple, because I like their eggs.
So, just curious, what would make people
line up, sometimes twice around the store, for
whatever Chick-fil-A serves?
I’ll have to admit to you, I wouldn’t line up
like that. I don’t care what they’re serving or
how good it is. Even if it was the best barbecue
brisket in the world, smoked in Yellowstone
National Park by Charlie Goodnight himself, I
would not line up in something like that.
What brings this up for me was I recently
had to fly out of DFW Airport from C-26. As I
walked to the gate right out of security, I saw a
long line on the left side of the corridor, and I
immediately thought, “Something must be very
112
wrong. You just don’t see lines like that on the
left side.”
The farther I got, the more line I saw. I could
see no end to the line. It must have been a city
block long. That’s when I discovered the reason
for the long, long line. There was a Chick-fil-A
up ahead of me.
I understand how it is when people get
hungry, and I also understand that there is not a
lot of great food at the airport, any airport.
Also, passengers get no food on the airplane
to speak of. In fact, in coach on American
Airlines, sometimes they will serve you a little
box, with some type of cold-cut wrap thing.
They come with some kind of chips and a
small piece of chocolate cookie, for which they
then charge you from 10 to 12 bucks. So believe
me when I say I understand wanting to get food,
but what a line to stand in!
That makes me really wonder, what in the
world is in that chicken? Can it really be that
good? I’m afraid to try it, lest I somehow start
lining up in city-block-long lines. I’m terrified.
So, if, at some point you find me standing in a
line somewhere, a line that’s longer than a Tiger
Woods drive, you’ll know I caved in and had
me some Chick-fil-A.