I Knew A Man Bojangle's...

You know, sometimes, you just need to go to Bojangle’s

For those of you that aren’t familiar, I’ll explain. Bojangle’s is a Southern restaurant chain. I first came to know Bojangle’s when I was working for Lifeway’s Centrifuge camps in Greenville, South Carolina. Bojangle’s is probably best known for their Cajun chicken biscuits. They are simply delicious. You’re doctor may not approve, but those chicken biscuits are definitely worth the cholesterol that it adds to your body.

We occasionally swing by the Bojangle’s drive thru on the way to work to pick up a chicken biscuit or some Bo-Berry biscuits (assorted berry sweet roll biscuits) and a large sweet tea. Did I mention they have sweet tea? Some of the best in the South. In the words of Jeff Foxworthy, “If you put that on top of your head, your tongue will beat your brains out trying to get to it!” Yeah, it’s that kind of place.

Well, today, Kristin and I had some errands to run and decided to eat out. We’re driving around and decided to try out Bojangle’s for lunch, a bit of change from our regular routine. You might think this is a no big deal or you’re thinking, “So what?” Well, let me explain a bit more.

This particular Bojangle’s restaurant isn’t exactly in what we call “the best part of town.” In fact, it’s in a bit of a run down part of town. The old part, you might say. It’s the part of town that you quickly reach over on the car door and make sure your doors are locked. It’s the part of town where it’s not uncommon to see several police cars investigating a single car or a building. It’s the part of town where squatters and junkies are known to hangout.

In fact, the restaurant itself has a sign up front that reads, “Please keep your meal to 30 minutes or less.” I suppose this is to help with making sure people are in and out and not setting up house over in the corner.

Inside this particular Bojangle’s you’re not likely to see what we call “trendy” people. You more than likely won’t find any hipsters with skinny jeans and scarves around their necks and a fedora on their heads typing away on their new Apple MacBook or iPad while they casually sip on their skinny chai latte. You might see someone with a tattoo, but it won’t be of their favorite word in Hebrew or Chinese.

Instead, you’re probably going to see people who may look a little different. People who may look a little bit out shape. People who may not wear matching clothes. People who wouldn’t exactly be invited into certain “trendy” areas of our world. In fact, you might call some of these people misfits or socially awkward. Socially awkward not because they do anything peculiar, but socially awkward because we don’t know, or are not comfortable with having to converse or do life with them.

Not to be deterred from our chicken and tea (did I mention the tea?), we parked our car and braved the pouring down rain and entered Bojangle’s. As we entered, we were greeted by the guy at the front counter saying, “It’s pouring down rain outside and you’re wearing flip-flops?” I just grinned and said, “Sure. And what better day when it’s pouring down rain? And the best part is, no wet socks and shoes.” He smiled and replied chuckling, “I’ve never thought of it like that before. I’ll have to try it sometime. What can I get ya?”

We ordered, laughed with the folks behind the counter a bit, got our food and sat down. As we ate (trying to keep our meal to 30 minutes), there was a lady walking around who kept checking up on our food. “Would you care for a free Bo-Berry Biscuit?” Absolutely! “Can I get you some more tea?” Yes ma’am! Kristin and I chatted a bit about life as we ate. And some where in the course of our meal Kristin looked at me and said, “You know, this has been a very pleasant and enjoyable experience.” As I chewed my biscuit, I thought, “You know it really has been a pleasant and enjoyable experience. And all we had to do was break out of our normal routine for a minute to experience something that was unexpectantly extra-ordinary.”

Sometimes, breaking out of routine brings about some pleasant experiences. Now, don’t get me wrong, there were still some moments that caught me off guard. Kind of like the couple making out in front of the restaurant while I’m trying to eat. Or the man who came in wearing a dress shirt, sweat pants and yellow work boots. But in the end of the day, I realized that sometimes the most pleasant and enjoyable things happen when and where we least expect them. Especially, when we break out of our normal routine.

You know, sometimes, you just need to go to Bojangle’s.