Who remembers the Cabbage Patch Kid shortage of 1983? Parents were beating each other over the heads to get the last doll so little Susie wouldn’t be disappointed come Christmas morning. There were adults…fighting over a toy…at Christmastime. Peace on Earth…fa-la-la-la-la!

Then, there was the McRib from McDonald’s. Shortages caused a feeding frenzy the likes of which would make any Great White proud. And now? Now people are getting killed. Over a sandwich.

Over the weekend, a man in Maryland cut in the “sandwich only” line at a Popeye’s and another customer took exception to this breach of fast food etiquette. They took it outside and it left one man dead and another on the run.

A woman in California drove her Mercedes around a line of cars at a Popeye’s drive-through so she could cut in at the front of the line, not giving a flip that she was literally ripping the side off her ‘cedes on the cement barrier that was put there to, you know…prevent this sort of madness from occurring. 

People jumping over counters and beating fast food workers because they ran out of the sandwiches. People threatening to kill everyone in the restaurant if they didn’t get that coveted piece of fried fowl on a bun…with two slices of pickle and a dab of mayo.

What in the name of all things holy is going on in this world? Are we as a society this depraved? What is spurring this? I don’t know…was this a brilliant sales strategy from the folks on Madison Avenue? Did someone say… “I know…we’ll make a sandwich and we will tell everyone it is the best d*** sandwich they have ever tasted in their entire lives. We’ll give them some. We’ll interview some of the lucky few who got to taste it and they’ll all say… “OMGosh! It’s truly the best d*** sandwich I have ever had in my entire life!!!” And then we’ll say, “See? We told you so!” And then….THEN…we run out, see? We tell people, “You all love this sandwich SO much…we just couldn’t keep up!!! We’re going to go regroup and down the road (closer to the holidays…on a Sunday, when Chick-fil-A is closed…on National Sandwich Day) we’ll bring it back! We promise!!!”

So, what happened? You guessed it…they’re “facing shortages” again. And the violence continues. I was in town yesterday. It was lunch time. I drove down the main drag and there was Popeye’s. And…no line! I thought…I’ll just see what all the hype is about. I pulled in, ordered my sandwich and a soda, and pulled off to the side to eat. 

Was it good? Yeah, I have to admit, it was tender and juicy and flavorful. Did I swoon? Ummmm…no. I don’t usually swoon over food unless it’s cooked by a 5-Star Chef. It’s fast food. It’s a sandwich. As I munched slowly, I perused the internet reading about the atrocities committed in the name of 660 calories of greasy bird breast on bread.

I think I have an inkling of what’s playing out here. Remember the movie with the line, “I’m mad as hell…and I’m not gonna take it any more”? Remember people went to their windows and shouted at the world? People are mad as hell these days. They’re mad about everything and they want to be a part of something bigger than them. They want to BE somebody. They want to be included. They want some sort of bragging rights. And, for under $5, they can be somebody SPECIAL. They can say… “I was there!” “I had one!” “It was the BEST d*** chicken sandwich I ever had!” 

It’s like a last ditch effort and if it doesn’t work out, they’re taking everyone down with them. It’s crazy. It’s chaos. It’s a SANDWICH! 

Momentum marketing. Social media exploding with pictures and over-the-top hyperbolic reviews ( because that’s what drives the clicks). A lot goes into rolling out a new menu item for a fast food chain. Research, limited releases in obscure little places to test the waters, intricate calculations of probable demand. This is the way it’s always been done. But we live in a different world now. We are a nation of sheep. And when someone yells “FIRE!”, we are far more likely to run INTO it than away. Not all of us…certainly. But way, WAY too many.

I had heartburn the rest of the day. Pass the Tums.

❤️

“But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.”

1 Corinthians 14:40 NIV