Variety is the spice of life.  Because I am the curious sort I continue in my search for the perfect hot chocolate getaway.  I continue to work on the next book each morning and thought my Starbucks and McDonalds forays might be helped with a journey to the other two A.M. eating establishments.

Cracker Barrel.  Pleasant surprise when I discovered the hot chocolate is 50 cents less than Mickey D’s.   The table top space for my weapons of writing was huge but the wait staff was surly, I guess because of the demands on them to distribute the salt and pepper shakers, napkins and the like.  Add to that the blue grass and country western music at a decibel level that would make a Green Bay Packer fan proud and you get the feeling that they want your money, but you are kind of an inconvenience that early in the morning.  They would like you a whole lot better two hours later.

Then this morning I struck gold.  Bob Evans.  Bright, clean, music at the right level, big table tops and the hot chocolate was cheaper than elsewhere and . . . get this . . . NON STOP.  The waitress offered to leave me the menu so “when you finally decide you are hungry” it would be available.  There on the front cover was a quote from Mr. Evans (he passed away in 2007) to the effect, “we serve great food at very reasonable prices.”  Now isn’t that nice.

As I was about to leave the waitress asked, would you like a cup of hot chocolate to go?  Imagine that.  Lowest price, best service, cleanest facility, great tables, back ground music not over bearing, a staff that is friendly, helpful, kind (I feel like the Boy Scouts must be feeling uncomfortable as I almost break into a rendition of America the Beautiful) and most of all serving.

Is this too good to be true?  Well the last few pages of the draft will find out as I travel back again and again.

Now I don’t think the world revolves around a cup of hot chocolate.  But I do think that it is the little things that reflect on whether we are paying attention to the stuff that sets the Gold Medal winner from the mediocre.  This is the stuff of thousandths of a second.  If you can’t take out all the brown M&Ms for the visiting rock group and pay attention to the little detail, then the tens of thousands of volts for rock concert equipment may have some massive issues with it.

Get the little things right and the big stuff will be easier than finding fresh air in Switzerland.    That is, of course, where hot chocolate comes from.

And while I am at it, I think I will have another refill of hot chocolate (smile)