Subway and lines...

So look, working in a town called Roxboro North Carolina, you don't have much in the way of getting something for lunch, let alone getting something that might be healthy (OK, more or less healthy). With that in mind, I've become a regular at the old Subway down the street from the workplace. I highly recommend the grilled chicken and baby spinach salad. Sure, the chicken isn't really grilled, and the rest of the vegetables aren't super fresh, but once again, working in Roxboro, it's a safer bet than say eating at a place called Hog Heaven. There are one or two other places in town that I would consider eating at as well. There is the good old American Hero deli (run by a bunch of really super nice Egyptian guys), and there is another place called Clarkesville Station which has what I would consider quite possibly the best marinated chicken sandwich I've ever had. Not sure what they soak those chicken breasts in, but it is good eating. But I digress, this is about Subway, not my gastrointestinal adventures in the big C-I-T-Y of Roxboro.

I've run into this problem as of late going into Subway, and it seems to keep happening to me on a weekly basis. I'll get in line, and I'll be in the "on deck" circle so to speak (next up to get my order taken care of), but for some insane reason, whoever the person in front of me seems to be, they have taken orders for every Tom, Dick, and Harry at their workplace. Look people, this is a Subway. It's supposed to be fast food, not wait in line food as it's turned into as of late. I am not even close to kidding when I say that I got into line this afternoon, and the woman 1 person in front of me had a list of orders that was 15 sandwiches long. 15!! I am going to start a letter writing campaign to Subway headquarters, wherever that may be, and suggest that along with the rules that they post near the ordering station about how their "sandwich artists" are only allowed to put onto the sandwich you order the correct "formula" for whatever sandwich you order, that no person who comes into that place can order more than 2 sandwiches at the same time. I'd limit it to just 1 sandwich, but I'll allow for someone to come in and order for their SO (remember, this means significant other) or their kid, or something like that. But 15 sandwiches!! This just fries my brain that I have to wait almost 30 minutes to get a salad.

The other thing, aside from people who order too many sandwiches at Subway, that bothers me are the people who roll in there, order their 1 sandwich, and then can't seem to decide what to get on it. Hello? Folks? The ingredients are right there in front of you blocked off with a handy dandy sneeze guard. Just look down, pick the veggies and or fake cheese that you want on your sandwich, and be done with it already. I'm assuming that since you're at Subway, it's probably not the first time that you've ever had a sandwich in your life. You are probably already aware of the things that you like on a sandwich, and I'm certain that Subway has those same things that you do like (in most cases). Just go in there with even half a clue of what you want, and I won't have to take up my valuable time waiting for you to decide whether or not you want mustard or mayo on that sandwich. Those are basic condiments. This is something that everyone should know. The only thing worse than NOT knowing what you want on your sandwich are the people that get something put on their sandwich, and then decide that they don't want said item on there, and they make the poor underpaid minimum wage hearing Subway workers make them a new sandwich. All the while, there are rumblings of dissent coming from the back of the line. Just to make it perfectly clear, I don't blame the Subway workers at all. I blame the people going in there. If I ever do something of this nature, I give you permission to crack me in the head with a steel toed shoe for my inability to order a sandwich and have it made in a timely manner.

Continuing on a Subway trend here. I do remember the first time a Subway opened in my hometown back when I was in high school. Up until that point in time, the only fast food joint that we had in town, well, sort of in town, was a McDonald's that resided slightly out of town out on US Route #2 as you headed out of Rumford Maine. Right near the McDonald's was a business plaza that contained a store named Zayre's (I think I spelled that right), which was like a scaled down version of a K-Mart. Anyway, Subway opened and there were lines out of the store and down the sidewalk. You would think that people within the 2 combined small towns of Mexico and Rumford had never had a sandwich in their entire lives. It was a cultural phenomenon in the 2 small burgs. I, being ever the semi nonconformist, decided that I would avoid the crowds, and get a sandwich from them a month or so after the hype had died down. The hype actually didn't die down, it just kept going. The place was packed morning, noon, and night. It must have been the highest grossing per capita Subway in the world at that point in time. Never wanting to deal with the crowds swarming the new local Subway, I never did get a sandwich there. Instead I returned (well, actually never left) to my roots of getting sandwiches from the local corner store just a hop, skip, and a jump down the street from the family home at the place formerly known as Romey's Market, and now known as Phil's Place. I think now (in 2005) it is known as The Mexico One Stop. Hey, support local businesses, and local business people. I still believe in that today. Well, that, and it was walking distance from the house, so there was no car required to get there, and to order food from there one only had to walk down the street, say hello to Phil, get your order, and walk home. They had good stuff there. Probably still do. So yeah, Subway didn't start getting my business until much later on down the road. Now, I'm a frequenter. Once again, limited options, Roxboro North Carolina (look it up on a map you'll see what I mean).

Now to start that letter writing campaign. I'm sure it would start something like, "Dear Jared..."