"I'll take that pizza right there..."

Do you ever find yourself lost in thought and just end up on autopilot, doing whatever without really realizing what you are doing? Apparently, my autopilot isn't always so smart (maybe it's why I didn't become a pilot).

Over the holidays Nancy and I were heading to a friend's house in Virginia who just had knee surgery. When I called on the cell phone in the car to tell him we were coming over that night we asked if we could bring dinner. He said that he would call in an order and we discussed whether we should have Chinese food or pizza. I hung up the phone and continued on our way.

In the shopping mall near his house, both the pizza store and the Chinese take-out were close to each other, but I was intent on getting into the pizza store. I rushed in and asked the guy behind the counter if a pizza order was ready. He asked me what the name was and I responded, "I'm not sure if he used my name or his." He asked me what the order was, and again I responded, "I'm not sure what he called in." The guy behind the counter said that someone called in an order fifteen minutes ago and it was ready. I said, "I'll take it." And I did - paid for it and ran out the door.

Maybe you have figured it out, but I didn't till I got to my friend's house - he had called in a Chinese food order. I ran back to the Chinese food joint to pick up the order and on the way back in I saw someone going into the pizza place. I took the long and less conspicuous way back to the car.

We had plenty to eat that night and yes, the pizza was very good.