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poop beetle: mcdonalds
6.2002
I took my children to the McDonalds connected to the Children's Museum here in Boston. As we stood in line a group of Arabic people came in, about six adults and one little boy. They seemed like tourists. The adults entered slowly, almost cautiously but with their eyes already on the big menu behind the cash register. The little boy must have been American born because he spoke perfect English. He walked backwards in front of his family. He waved his arms like he was trying to shepard them away. He was saying, "This is REALLY BAD FOOD! You don't want to eat here! BELIEVE me! The adults kept moving, like moths to the - you know.
I love McDonalds and Burger King. I love it cause I didn't get it as a kid. I love the immediacy of it- the salt/fat, the drive-through, the toys. Since my husband and I are now in the pseudo marking business it also interests me as a highly successful company.
God bless them.
I pull away from the window and dig in the bag for the toy, rip it open and give it to my son, immediately. Occasionally this is done without my older son asking- because, I'm kind of curious about what he got, too. I've been known to park and go inside to trade the toy in for something he doesn't already have.
Those fast food toys have had amazing staying power. One that has been actively played with for at least three years is a plastic globe that winds up and I swear I think it's Rosie O'Donnell that pops out.
We've got a couple of Barbies on pink bikes that stay in rotation, bride and groom Madam Alexander dolls. There are these three little monkeys fused together- when you bend the tail of the one on the back it says, "let's get out of here!"- Also a purple bat that has to be thrown on the ground really hard to get a high, eerie warbling sound.
I have noticed that many families make their kids wait till the end of a meal before giving them the toy. At first this makes sense in that "children must learn to withhold from instant gratification"- or the idea that they shouldn't be distracted from finishing their meal. But this is fast food- and everyone knows it is so bad for you what kind of parent would feed their kids this shit. As parents, adults- we're cheating- OH yes we are. So why get so holier-than-though about the damn toy? - Especially when it is YOU- the adult, whose blood sugar level is wailing for the fries.
