Anyone who lives anywhere in New England knows where the nearest Dunkin Donuts stores are located. True New Englanders measure travel distance in Dunks, as well. There are two Dunkins directly across the street from each other in the town next to where I live so that customers don't even have to worry about crossing one nearly-empty lane of non-traffic to get a coffee.
One of the best advances in the Dunkins business is the app ordering. It means that you don't even have to interact with anyone. You just pop into Dunks (one of the twenty within a two-mile radius of wherever you are), look for your order, and grab it. No human contact necessary.
My daughter and I are on our way to the zoo with her daughter. Before we get there, though, we really, really, REALLY need Dunkins iced coffee. So, we pre-order, swing around the city streets where she lives, find a parking space in front, and I get ready to hop out and pick up the order.
Dunkins on the GO! Whoohoo!
Except that parallel parking in the city can sometimes be tricky. Now, lest you think we cannot parallel park, you would be wrong. I taught each of my children the proper way to parallel park before I even let them drive around on real streets. "It's the single most important driving maneuver you can master." Truth. Since I know that each child can, indeed, park properly on a city street, my daughter gets her SUV into a tight street spot like a damn boss.
The problem here is that she parks too well. When I try to open my door, not only is the car right at the curb as it should be, it is inches from a signboard and a telephone pole.
Dunkins on the STOP!
I glance over to my daughter, who clearly didn't want to be the one doing the touch-and-go for iced coffee. I shrug my shoulders like Max the dog when he finds himself riding, rather than pulling, the Grinch's sled. I guess I'm watching the baby while she gets our order.
Hey, at least we still didn't have any real human interaction, so there is that. And, we have coffee to keep us hydrated and caffeinated at the zoo. Win-win! Thanks, Dunkins! You truly are saving New Englanders one iced coffee at a time, and we appreciate you for it.
