Bartering with Burglars

Ever since we discussed "The Second Bakery Attack" by Haruki Murakami, I find myself thinking about the McDonald's workers in the story.  You might remember them as the three people who do nothing.  I, however, remember them as three people who diligently seek to follow rules---especially the store manager, who at first explains the corporate policy of not closing a store before the official closing time.  He then pleads for the narrator and his cat burglar wife to take some money and go elsewhere with their hungry selves (7-8).  Maybe some readers would want more than a groveling manager and two dutiful underlings.  Maybe, perhaps, a stealthy manager who calls the police by pressing a secret button under the counter, or maybe an aggressive gun-toting manager who initiates the ultimate shoot down seems more appealing.  However, after reading "14 Ways to Get Fired from McDonald's" on Business Insider's website, the prospect of these choices from a rule-abiding McDonald's manager seem less likely than ever to yield positive results for him.  Take, for instance, Clifton Brown, a McDonald's employee from Indiana.  After an armed woman stole from the cash register, he shot at her as she ran away.  McDonald's fired him due to their no-gun policy.  In this case, he should have just given over the money, let the woman run away, and called the police.  No matter your views on gun control laws, the law of McDonald's trumps all.  That partially explains why the manager in Murakami's story shows so much fear in the face of disobeying McDonald's laws.  He would rather barter with burglars than endure unemployment.  At any rate, I notice that every time I drive by a McDonald's, I think about these people from Murakami's story.  I think about how hungry they feel, how the wife shows herself as a master thief, and how afraid the manager behaves; but mostly, I think about how disgusting the prospect of eating THIRTY Big Macs seems. 

Sidenote:  You should check out the aforementioned article.  I think you would find it interesting!