After spending the entire afternoon crafting a crude wooden iPhone tripod mount, I decided to reward myself by going to Popeyes Restaurant for:
1. my favorite 2-piece special – spicy chicken breast and wing,
2. a side of red beans and rice,
3. a cinnamon apple pie, and
4. a small cup for a free-seniors drink.

“Romeo”, I told the clerk when she asked for a name for the order. 

I then proceeded to fill my small cup with Pepsi.

I sat down at a nearby table and started “saving” Candy Crush bears on my iPhone and sipping my Pepsi to kill waiting time.

In a short while, I heard a loud “Romeo” emanating from the counter.

I stood up, noticing several seated-patrons with the “Who-the-heck-is-Romeo?” look.

With a somewhat silly smile, I walked like a “personality” to the counter to pick up my tray and asked for 2 each of butter and honey for my complementary biscuit.

I reached for the wing as soon as I resettled at my table. 

“Mmm…crispy and delicious”, I muttered as I was chewing it, supplementing each bite with a plastic spoon/fork-full of red beans and rice.

After washing down the entire wing with Pepsi, I took a big bite of the breast.

“Mmm…crispy and delicious”, I also muttered.

It wasn’t until the third chunk when I noticed that something was off.

“This breast is kinda dry”, I muttered, but continued to keep on eating it.

“This breast is kinda dry”, I kept repeating to myself, never thinking about returning it while busying myself in “saving” Candy Crush bears with my clean pinkie.

Providing an additional distracting entertainment was a dad chastising his two kids who were dressed in soccer outfits about “behaving for just a short while for Chrissakes!” at a nearby table.

Barely finishing the breast, I reached for my still-warm cinnamon apple pie.

“Mmm…delicious”, I muttered while continuing to “saving” bears with my clean pinkie and ring finger this time.

Feeling already full, I decided to neatly wrap the biscuit and the 2 pieces each of butter and honey to take home with a Popeyes napkin. 

Took that, along with 2 unused napkins, to the car.

While on the way home, something started to nag me as I tucked the 2 unused napkins in the car door pocket with the others.

“Why didn’t I complain about the chicken being dry?”  Could it be that I didn’t want to disturb the status quo?  Was I in my I-deserve-mediocrity mode? Did I not want to create a scene?  Did I think of the billions of starving-people who would be so happy to be in my place at that moment? Was I paralyzed by a moment of indecision?

I struggled to add other nagging reasons while reeking of a newly-fried chicken.

I immediately took a shower as soon as I got inside the house. 

Occupying my mind as I soaped off the lingering newly-fried chicken scent were:
1. getting a ready-made in China iPhone tripod mount anyway,
2. hoping that a hungry seagull would be at a parking lot to swoop for a gobble or two of free
Popeyes biscuit, and
3. possibly complaining about my dry chicken breast at next visit.

Got out of the shower sniffing to check whether I missed washing off minute portions of the chicken smell. 

Instead, I smelled like an Irish Spring and Dove coconut milk with jasmine petals. 

Awesome!