Free Taco Thursday

There are many economic signals that indicate a recession.  Let me point a few of them out to you.

• High Unemployment
• Slowed Consumer Spending
• Drop in New Housing Starts
• A Texan in the White House
• People Begin to Look Forward To Jury Duty
• Financial Advisors Traveling 12 Miles for a Free Taco Bell Taco

So last week, amidst all the crazy market volatility, we found solace in a crunchy shell.  A few weeks ago we had the chance to go to a Jazz game.  They won, and when they win, everyone wins a taco.  It only makes sense, right?  So I had my son Matt with me, and when we came out of the game they handed us 8 coupons for a free taco.  My business partner was with us, and he got a couple as well.  We figured we could use these in the coming days for our "recession food".  

I left a couple of the coupon at home, part of our 72 hour kit, and headed to work.  I figured we could find time to go and get our fill sometime in between appointments.  As I read the fine print, I read the words that deflates any balloon: "Limit 1 Coupon per person per visit".  

As we prepared for lunch, we tallied our count, all total we had 6 coupons between Matt and I.  3 tacos each, if we played our cards right.  I logged into TacoBell.com and figured there was a few downtown we could visit in short order.  Sure enough, we found 3 within a 12 mile radius.  Just enough time to give us 3 tacos each.  We mapped out our route:

North Temple to Redwood Road = Taco 1

Redwood Road to 2900 South = Taco 2

2100 South to State Street = Taco 3

We could do it in an hour, couldn't we?  In the words of Bob the Builder and Pres. Obama: "Yes We Can!"

We figured we could get a cheap drink at 7-11 on the way, so we stopped by the one on North Temple, right by the Utah State Fair Grounds.  For those of you not familiar with this place, I said to Matt as we pulled in, "I am a little hesitant to leave the car unattended."  Matt responded, "I think we are okay, there is a police officer right there."  Sure enough, just as we were pulling in, a police officer was entering to grab a quick snack.  So we ventured in.  As we entered we found that in fact the police officer was not just stopping by for a snack, but was in fact in the process of busting a sweet little hispanic gentleman who was trying to pass about $1,000 in fake money.  Here is my best attempt at a "Spy Camera" picture.  I am sure all of you have done this: pretended you were on the phone when in fact you were just positioning your camera on your phone to take the picture of the incredibly unbelievable circumstance you found yourself in because if you told someone they would not believe you:

Here are the cast of characters:  The man in the bright pink turban I believe is the shift manager.  The woman behind the register is the woman working the register.  This man in the foreground in the blue coat is the man trying to pass the money, which, upon closer examination, looks pretty good for fake money.  Until one of the officers says, "They all have the same serial number."  

Not good.  It goes without mentioning though that the other important part of the story is that the woman behind the counter is also translating for the man in the blue coat.  Shortly after this picture was taken, no less than 4 more policemen showed up.  Now, if you ask me, from a lay person's point of view - this is something that can be taken care of by one, MAYBE two, policemen.  I now understand that the word, "Assist", or "Back-up" in police lingo actually means, "Guys you gotta come check this out!".  

So as we left, the 8 police officers were apprehending this gentleman for trying to spend what he called, "a gift".  And headed out.  As we sat in the drive-thru line at our first location, we double-checked our coupons.  Just wanted to verify that they weren't printed counterfeits.  We got our three tacos, and it was absolutely worth the drive.  And as most adventures turn out, we found adventure where we weren't even looking for it.