Chick-Fil-A, A Tent and An Interview with This American Life
It’s nearly two in the morning, and I’m sitting on a half deflated air mattress in the middle of a tent. My body is folded into a ‘v’ shape, which makes it difficult to sleep. Especially since the middle part of my body is not cushioned by a soft forrest for but, rather, the asphalt of a Chick-Fil-A parking lot.
I arrived twenty hours ago to be one of the ‘First 100,’ which awards the winners a year’s worth of Chick-Fil-A. Here’s how it works. Everyone who arrives at 6 AM on the Wednesday before the Thursday opening is entered into a drawing. From that group, 100 people are chosen to spend the next 24 hours in the parking lot to be awarded the prize the next day. I’m number 59.
But even as I stood, waiting for my number to be called yesterday morning, something inside me hoped it wouldn’t be. Sure, I want 52 free Chick-Fil-A meals, but there seemed to be something frivolous about the entire pursuit. Even putting a monetary value on the prize, it just seemed like some sort of admission of my time not having much worth.
Ultimately, I suppose, there’s an element of pride built on my insecurities in all of this. But, at the same time, there’s an element of proper reflection to the whole thing. I began getting more clarity as I spent the afternoon watching the people around me – people who had almost made a career chasing the immediate reward at the sacrifice any investment into the long term vision of their lives.
There are a couple college students who have done six of seven of these things, and there seems to be something okay about that to me. Then there’s the man who is currently attending his fifteenth opening. He’s in his early forties and has spent most of the day walking around with either two bubble blowing guns or a puppet on each hand. Somehow, he has begun to find his identity in this life of hopping from Chick-Fil-A to Chick-Fil-A collecting coupons and other various paraphernalia. His tent is adorned with battery powered Christmas lights and a table displaying his cow collection.
Then there’s the older couple at their 44th opening. They’ve devoted their lives to going from state to state doing… this… collecting coupons and being known as the couple who has attended the most openings . I remember hearing John Piper speak back in 2001. He read excerpts from a Reader’s Digest article about an older couple who had retired and moved to the beach. They spoke of how fantastic they found their days collecting shells on the beach. Piper painted a picture in which the couple had died and was standing before God saying, “Here ya go God. Here it is. Our shell collection.” I can still hear every bit of frustration and sarcasm in his voice as he says it.
It’s only one day and one night. But something about all of this makes me introspective – perhaps a bit too introspective. I want my life to be about investment in the future and investment into things that matter. And perhaps this entire experience is just one more example of me doing something purely for the short term material gain of it all.
But then I think of Brian. I had never met him before, but he seemed so integrally attached to the things I actually do love and give my life to. We spent about half an hour earlier this evening talking about life and God and things that were important until he was called away to play some game involving a sponge and a bucket of water. Does that short conversation justify all of this? I’m not sure.
I went to bed at about 11, but I woke up about an hour ago and figured I’d use the opportunity to go pee. Earlier in the night, I noticed a man and a woman, in their early to mid thirties, conducting an interview with the operator of the Chick-Fil-A. They were armed with a shotgun microphone, a hard disk audio recorder and a pair of headphones. On my way back from the bathroom, they were conducting an interview with one of the other ‘First 100’ in the parking lot.
I knew who they were the moment I saw them through the glass windows of the restaurant. No one else would send people that looked like them to Florida to record interviews in the middle of the night at a fast food restaurant. They had to be from This American Life. I sat in a chair outside the tent and and waited for them to walk by. I asked them what show they were recording for. No surprise.
For some reason, I talked to them about all of this – with a microphone in front of my face. I really just wanted to be their friend, and with my pride and insecurity in full force, I wondered what they thought of me. And now, I wonder even more about why I’m here in this parking lot. I wonder why my name was called. And I wonder if all of this really does have some sort of meaning or am I just wasting my time?
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I know what I want to say but am not so sure how to say it…
Time well spent for the sake of spending time well is not really the point.
[...] opening. One person had been to 44! That’s so ridiculous! I’d have to agree with Cole Nesmith’s post about the event, “people who had almost made a career chasing the immediate reward at the [...]
I saw all the tents. Wow.
I'm glad you got to take part.
If you feel guilty. I will take your coups.
Good stuff, Cole. It's a difficult tension to live in, wanting to make your life count for something but resisting the urge to take yourself too seriously- especially when you rest in the former. There's something to be said about the person who is doing great things with their life, but who can also enjoy what isn't blatantly altering eternity.
That being said, it would have been okay for you to spend one night for the cause of free chicken, even if you never had a conversation with Brian or interview with This American Life. I hope that you can believe that. I recently read this and your thoughts reminded me of it, "It's interesting that in the Bible, in the book of Ecclesiastes, the only practical advice given about living a meaningful life is to find a job you like, enjoy your marriage, and obey God. It's as though God is saying, write a good story, take somebody with you, and let me help." -Donald Miller
I love this post. Well put. I miss your introspection in audible form. Perhaps we should talk soon.
Are you kidding me?! There's nothing more than I want than to talk to you face to face… but I'll settle for voice to voice. Call me.
I don't know… I feel like the DM quote is a good one, but I would hope to alter eternity even in those things he mentions.
Ha. After enduring all of this, I do have questions, but I don't feel the need to be a martyr. I'm not that desperate.
Come on, that should go without saying.
Was gonna do this in Ft Myers with my uncle but I had a shoot. Wish I knew you were doing this. Shoot.
cole… let's hang out. over in florida you're obsessing over chick-fil-a and jesus and this american life? ummm i've been doing the same thing in san diego except with sushi. hmmm… meet you in a coffee shop in austin and we chat this over? it seems like a logical halfway point. I'll bring the chick-fil-a if I must.
[...] weeks ago, I was asleep in the Chick-Fil-A parking lot (that story is explained here). I hadn’t slept much the night before. My air mattress was about 80% deflated, and my [...]
I just heard you on the preview for the next TAL. It was strange that I found myself automatically listening for you when he said "chik-fil-a," because I remembered you posting something about it. And there you were.
Yeah… It was actually supposed to air last week, and when I started listening to last week's, I realized it was a rerun of last year's Tgiving show. So, I stopped. Then, this morning, I got a text saying, "I just heard you on the end of TAL." So, I went back and listened.
See, I was sitting at my table drawing with my ipod in my ears listening to TAL and this guy named Cole NeSmith was on there… and they were in Orlando… and I remembered seeing the Cole NeSmith Band play at some Disciple Now in Deland somewhere and I was wondering if they were the same Cole NeSmiths. How many could there be in Florida? Now you confirm it, or at least now I've looked it up to give peace to my mind. Amazing how the small things stick with you. lol. Anyway, congrats on making it on the show.
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