The Chicken Wars

My wife and I went to Costco to do some shopping a few days ago. We went mainly to buy groceries, but, it being Costco and all we did end up buying additional items that were not originally on our shopping list. One of those things we decided, on impulse, to buy was a rotisserie chicken, being that it would be easier to eat for dinner than going home and cooking something.

When we arrived at the hot food display we were in time to watch somebody grab the last rotisserie chicken. My wife said would wait for the next round of chickens to be ready while I picked up some items on our list. When I left my wife she was alone standing in front of the display.

I did my shopping and went back to after about ten minutes. The hot food display was by then crowded tightly by a large group of others who presumably wanted a Costco rotisserie chicken. The wait was long enough that we were able to switch places for a few minutes at a time a couple of times.

After a while an employee started setting up the plastic rotisserie chicken containers on a cart. The gathered crowd tensed a bit more at this sight. The process felt drawn out, but the employee was in no hurry. He paid the crowd no attention. He was, after all, at work with no place else to go for the time being. After several minutes of preparation the employee put on some thick gloves and proceeded to one of the ovens.

I noticed two rotisserie ovens each filled with chickens, aside from the one the employee was about to empty. It seemed that there was no way that anybody who wanted a chicken would be deprived of one, they would just have to exhibit some patience. You would not have been able to guess this if you were just observing the crowd.

When the chickens finally were in place there was an ordered frenzy. My wife, because she had been the first waiting, was at the window from which the chickens were thrown onto the display case. She got our chicken and quickly made her way out of the crowd. The employee masterfully slid fresh chickens onto the display and they were picked up as fast as he could place them.

Nothing severe happened, but the atmosphere was tense. There was a palpable anxiety emanating from the crowd. Will there be enough chickens for me to grab one? Will I have to wait until the next round? The crowd slowly dwindled as people took there chickens. Turns out there were enough to feed the crowd and fill the display back up.

I have seen some tense situations in my life. I have served in the military. I served near the DMZ in the Republic of Korea. I dealt with thugs and criminals while I navigated the rough gang infested neighborhood I grew up in. All of this pales in comparison to the tense situation I found myself in as I waited for a Costco rotisserie chicken. No one need have feared, but you never know.