Merc and I met our friend Todd today for lunch. We chatted and sipped our beverages while we waited for our food to be delivered. I had ordered a blackened chicken mini pizza, which sounded great as I usually get the blackened chicken sandwich and have always enjoyed it. Once my pizza arrived I took a bite…then another. Somehow the chicken was not as tastey as I had hoped. The same flavor that I loved in the sandwich was sadly NOT GOOD on pizza. So I just picked off the chicken and ate the pizza carcass.

Merc noted the bits of meat all over my plate and I explained that the yumminess of the blackened chicken was apparently non-transferable. Todd suggested I complain to the waiter and order something else. But I told him that since there was nothing really wrong with the dish, I didn’t feel right sending it back. “Besides,” I said, “I’m almost full anyway.”

When the waiter came to clear our plates, he too noted the remains I left on the plate. “Didn’t like the chicken?” he asked.

“Yeah, I really didn’t enjoy it like I thought I would, sorry.” I said with a shrug.

But then a marvelous thing happened…the waiter returned with a scrumptous FREE dessert. He set it down with a flourish and offered it as compensation for my dislike of the pizza. How nice! Free stuff is great. Good service is great! And I am so glad to see evidence of good old fashioned kindness still around in the world.