I'm going to try really hard to make this not sound like Andy Rooney's "ever wonder why?"
So, you pull into the shopping center. Your list has you picking up some prescriptions, grabbing your shirts at the dry cleaner, and looking for a new Pinot at the liquor store. You choose a parking spot that allows you to make a nice walking loop and places you outside the local pizza joint. As you exit your car, you look over and see a person sitting in the next car...eating pizza.
Now, I'm already mentally excusing this behavior, but Mrs. Mynd is not able to simply let it go. And now, neither am I.
What is their deal? With the advent of WiFi in nearly every eatery and coffee joint, why wouldn't you eat in the eatery? Isn't that why they call it an "eatery?" So we have some theories that we need your help to determine which option is the most likely.
1. They are working. In today's fast paced world, you don't have time to sit around, right? Food on the go is the norm. Well, since there was no drive-thru at the pizza place, umm they went in. So why not eat IN the pizza place. They have seating. And bathrooms.
2. How about... they are working? Gotta eat something on the way from client number one to client number two. We certainly understand the fast paced world where nothing stops in the (insert here whatever it is that you do) world... yeah. Did I mention you're sitting in a parking lot? You're not on your way to the next client. The only thing you're making you're way to is your next slice of za.
3. Clearly, they are on a stakeout. I imagine that they are watching dangerous criminal types who are up to nefarious plans... Plans which involve picking up dry cleaning? Blending in to the background by eating pizza in their car, they are obviously able to escape the notice of all but Mrs. Mynd. They are so good at this that you don't see the binoculars, the camera with high powered lens, the listening gear, and of course the tranquilizer dart gun. Except for the obviously smudgy out of shape body sitting like an iceberg with most of its mass below the surface of the car window, this is a plausible explanation.
4. Their car is worth more than their house and they are entertaining guests. With most of their liquidity of asset tied up in the 5 wheeled abode, pizza may be all they can afford...but their "entertainment system" is totally slammin. I know this seems implausible to many who consider it sacrilege to eat in the car and risk any kind of sauce on the upholstery.
5. Obviously they are on a diet. They are sneaking the pizza to avoid the tofuti that their spouse is force feeding them at home. They can arrive home well fed and proclaim how great the diet is going and that they can simply skip dinner in order to shed a few more pounds, and when I say a few more I mean none. By eating in the car, they can avoid interacting with anyone they may know, it's the fat guy's adult book store.
6. Lastly, Mrs. Mynd feels they are doing what she does...keeping it all to herself. Why bring home something yummy that the kids are just going to bug her about to no end, then leave the wrappers and napkins and crumbs on some inappropriate table or couch, which in turn begs the dogs to move in to thoroughly bathe the couch in doggy tongue love. This is unless there is mint of any kind involved whereby the cats move in for a good roll around to bathe themselves in the minty goodness. (sometimes followed by the doggy tongue bath, which nobody wants)... Hey! Wait a minute!
I don't know, Mrs. Mynd has an eye for the odd, which does explain a lot.
So has this phenomenon caught your eye?
Have you participated?
(it's ok, we'll blame peer pressure!)
I eat in my car, for two reasons that never intersect;
ReplyDelete1) Peace and quiet. Screaming kids inside a restaurant, no thanks.
2) Wanting to listen to something not being played else where. The Cafe has shit music or there is a good interview on the radio, catching up on a podcast, etc
I second the peace & quiet. When I leave my office for a break I want some downtime. So I hit the drivethru then eat in the car, no radio, no talking, just a moment of quiet. Ahhhhhhh
ReplyDeleteI work on the road, and usually have to drive between stops. I have been guilty of this, when I'm having a 'productive' day. When you make more when you sell more, you don't want to stop. Not to smell the roses, not to eat a taco.
ReplyDeleteBut, speaking of tacos, make sure your meal IS road-worthy. Pizza, tacos, messy burgers... they can all lead to an eventual 'party foul' and get your clothes stained. It's best to stick to portable, non-messy foods if you're going to chow and run.
Absolutely do it often for the quiet, alone, ME time.
ReplyDeleteI've done this a couple times when I have traveled a great distance to a job interview or something similar and have arrived too early. I'm hungry, so I stop and get some fast food, then eat it in the car and then sit and wait to arrive at wherever I am going until a nomal-person earliness.
ReplyDeleteHa ha ha. I'm guilty. Most of the time it is because I have somewhere to be/a kid to pick up from school/errands to run, dinner is hours away, but if I don't eat on the way I don't eat. I always wonder how people's cars don't stink. I can remember leaving a bag in the car once and the car was never the same again. That nasty, greasy smell of old food.
ReplyDeleteI do this ALL the time. Usually it's because I've been to the gym earlier, still haven't showered, look and smell like hell, and don't want to scare any young, innocent children who may be inside the restaurant. Either that, or I finally have a moment to myself and I don't want to be bothered by other people, and the music in my car is preferrable to any conversation I would overhear inside some fast food joint.
ReplyDeleteI eat in my car almost everyday on my way to work. But, the car is always in motion when I do it. Yeah, I'm that person with food perilously balanced on my knee, drink darting back and forth between the cupholder and my lips, judging my need to break based on my ability to keep my food from falling into my lap. If you see me in your rearview between 7:45 and 8am, let me pass or just get out of my way (for your own safety, of course).
ReplyDeleteI come from a long line of car eaters. Shoot, that's why they have a drive through. By the time you get home, it's cold, so eat it while it's hot.
ReplyDeleteI always have a cup of coffee in the car on the way to work. Most of my in car eating a burger (or other sandwich) and fries, or a few donuts in the morning.
I also work part time as a pizza delivery driver, so yes, I have eaten pizza while driving.
My new computer does not have a button to turn off WIFI so I do not want to take it everywhere. My phone is not cool enough for WiFi. When I eat in my car it is usually because I want to listen to talk radio while I sit there. It is not like anyone is going to talk to me if I sit inside anyway so I feel no obligation to put myself out there. I would rather strike up a conversation with someone interesting but it has become harder and harder to do it seems.
ReplyDeleteI can't enjoy my food when I eat in the car, but I bet my coworkers would appreciate it if I did. I sometimes finish up lunch and realize that I sounded like a pack of wolves on a kill.
ReplyDeleteI eat in my car so much, my mini-van smells like french fries.
ReplyDeleteI have participated. Eating in the car allows one to enjoy a meal privately wihtut having to make eye contact or small talk. There, occasionally, is a time and a place for it...but there also is a great chance of drippage due to lack of a good eating surface. It's gloriously anti-social.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I feel like the radio or the silence was going to be heavily voted.
ReplyDeleteI feel a groundswell for silence...
ReplyDeleteGood call on the messy meals!
ReplyDeleteQuiet in a landslide
ReplyDeleteOne of the few times we are normal, yes?
ReplyDeleteYuck, I'm thinking sour milk now.
ReplyDeleteSilence is golden (duct tape is silver)
ReplyDeleteWe aren't discussing the people who eat on their way from one point to another, heck a food road trip requires eating while driving. For sport, try to think of a craving that would lead to safe driving. Like perhaps a steak and potato lunch? Uncracked Hard boiled eggs? Anything that requires dipping (French dip?)
ReplyDeleteI get eating while driving, it's the sitting in the parking lot and chowing down.
ReplyDeleteThis is very true in the days following our parents telling us not to talk to strangers. My oldest as a child could talk to anyone, not by our choice mind you. He once spoke to a very gruff man on the metro, who instantly smiled and became a different person. Thanks for your comment and reminder, T.
ReplyDeleteLol! Tanya, it is refreshing for a girl to admit to eating a bit ravenously.
ReplyDeleteThat is not surprising. I blame it on the kids!
ReplyDeleteI also admit to this guilty pleasure. I agree with Susan too. If you are eating in the semi-privacy of your own vehicle (ppl can see but not speak to you) then you aren't forced to smile or make small talk with the more social types around you.
ReplyDeleteAnother reason for eating in my car would be to avoid my co-workers lol. Sometimes you just want a thorough break from the workplace. You've brought a lunch but don't want to eat it in the lunch room and there just isn't an outside location to eat. Or you don't want to be around the ppl that congregate there either.
I may sound anti-social but I'm really not. I'm just extremely sensitive to ppl's emotions and moods. I'm a human sponge for energy and that means that negative energy drains me! Lunch break is typically a good time for co-workers to start whining/complaining about their day. While I prefer to see the positives in life and avoid emotional vampires like the plague!
Ironically, now I'm homebound and protected against my will haha. But that's another story :)
Another humorous and fantastic post! I love you(r) Mynds :D
Emotional Vampires... I like it. (the words, not the concept)
ReplyDeleteBang! Good answer
ReplyDeleteNot my coined word :) though I do have a few :D (Napture, Confuseless, Underconstumble). I'm a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) and here's a link to explain
ReplyDeletehttp://www.livingwithfibromyalgia.ca/highly-sensitive-person
I so need some definitions... I'm ready to use Napture right now!
ReplyDeleteNapture is what happens after too many darn hours of Painsomnia (insomnia due to pain). Otherwise known as a VERY good nap (or hopes for one).
ReplyDeleteI know when I see people eating in their cars outside someplace with tables and chairs I think what the hell how are hard is it to go inside and eat......I don't get it now I will not say I have never eaten in my car because I have but I am not one to eat in the car in Macdonalds parking lot..............that I will leave to those strange lot who think eating in their car is normal......
ReplyDeleteWe appear to be in the minority and of course that makes us the weird ones!
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't do it with pizza, but have ordered a burger and gone to the car to eat it. It's usually a fast meal and then I can just drive off.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I can see if a meal is a little messier than I want to take on while actually driving...
ReplyDelete