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January 27, 1991.
I was working the drive-thru that night and we had a little TV set up on the front counter with the Super Bowl on.
If you've never heard Whitney Houston singing the National Anthem, listen and come back to this.
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I was working the drive-thru that night and we had a little TV set up on the front counter with the Super Bowl on.
If you've never heard Whitney Houston singing the National Anthem, listen and come back to this.
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We didn't think we'd be busy that night because a burger and fries isn't exactly what you'd think about eating on Super Bowl Sunday and nobody left the house during the game.
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We were at war then. You may argue the merits in your own time and on your own timeline. Like today, we were divided into opposing camps.
As a nation, we needed this moment.
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As a nation, we needed this moment.
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Sure as heck though, as we were standing around that little TV while they were introducing her, my headphones came to life.
I keyed my mic and said "Thanks for choosing Hardee's, please give us a moment and we'll be right with you."
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I keyed my mic and said "Thanks for choosing Hardee's, please give us a moment and we'll be right with you."
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I left the mic keyed (so they'd understand the delay) as Ms. Houston gave tribute to this great nation. Everything stood still in that moment. I know there were timers beeping and whatnot, but all we heard was her moving rendition.
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I looked out the window while she sang and saw a LPD cruiser; the officer standing beside his car with a crisp salute as her voice came through the drive-thru speaker.
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I can close my eyes now 30 years later and still see him standing there at attention.
And I still feel the enormous pride we all felt in that moment.
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And I still feel the enormous pride we all felt in that moment.
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We're not perfect. How we treat those with opposing views isn't perfect. How we treat the less fortunate isn't perfect. How we treat the environment isn't perfect. How we view our place in a world of 7 billion people isn't perfect.
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The officer - who's name and former branch of service is lost to memory at this point - is surely retired by now.
But, every time I hear the anthem, I see him standing by his car saluting as her voice came through that tinny speaker.
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But, every time I hear the anthem, I see him standing by his car saluting as her voice came through that tinny speaker.
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In that moment, we achieved perfection. And I pray that we'll find a moment like that one again.
May G-d bless us all as we build a better future together.
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May G-d bless us all as we build a better future together.
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