Free-dom Fries

If you haven't caught on yet, Mrs. Jay and I had an unconventional youth, which may or may not have something to do with the fact that we are just unconventional people. (Though her family really takes the cake - let's just say dressing in costume is commonplace at Glamma Fabulous' house.)

One of our favorite things to do in our youth was get things for free. And I don't mean calling into radio stations in hopes of winning concert tickets. I mean, conning people into giving us things for free that typically cost some coin.

For example, we would often go to the McDonald's drive-thru late at night - as employee fatigue is helpful in these situations - and ask for "The free quarter-pounder meal deal." Usually the employee would say, "What free quarter-pounder meal deal?" We would respond, "The free one. The one that doesn't cost anything."

On and on the back-and-forth banter would go, usually because the employee thought there must be some promotional offer we were confusing our "free meal deal" with. Most of the time, they would eventually give us the food for free, probably to shut us up.

Looking back I suppose this was dishonest, but at the time it seemed resourceful. I mean, we were practically Eagle Scouts with those skills.

If we happened to be hungry during daylight hours, we would just go up to the McDonald's cashier and ask, "What's a French fry?" The cashier would be incredulous, possibly debating whether to call CPS as I was clearly a neglected child, and say, "You've never had a French fry?" I'd say, "No, but they sound good. Can I try one to see if I like it?" Inevitably, the staff would pour a heaping helping of fries onto a tray for me to sample. They'd gather around curious as I shouted, "By golly, these are good!"

All for free.

Granted, I'm pretty much going to hell for this, but I like my fries crispy anyway. And, to be honest, I don't really like McDonald's fries (or anything on their menu for that matter). My favorite fries are In-N-Out fries, animal style. And if you ever come across a sweet potato fry, hook a sister up! I love me some sweet potaters.

What's your favorite fry?