I don't have a lot of free time, but did yesterday evening so decided to watch TV for a bit. Surfing the channels, I came across a conveyor belt of round balls of dough making their way to an oven the size of the new Cowboys Stadium. I love these shows more than I'm probably willing to admit. I don't know exactly what attracts me to this type of show, but I could watch them all day. This one, Food Tech, the "Cheeseburger and Fries" episode was following the making of hamburger buns and processed cheese. Fascinating! My eyes were fixed on the tray of two dozen dough balls making its way through the maze. I watched the dough rise, sesame seeds get sprinkled onto the top, then baked in the oven, and then even get tested in a toasting machine to see if they have the "right" brown color when it's all said and done.
How do they do this? How do these machines get built? Who works for 10 hours watching the sesame seeds get shaken onto the buns? Who decides a two-story drying rack is the "way to go" for the best cooling process? When I'm watching these programs, I guess that's the heart of what I enjoy about them. I truly appreciate the process. Any process. In this case, the manufacturing process, but in reality, I do have an unspoken (and sometimes spoken) appreciation for the behind the scene goings-on. The gears that move, the people that work, the time involved. Someone actually went to bed one night and decided that the two-story rack was better than a three-story rack. Really in truly. This was a thought someone had. And, if they hadn't had that thought, I probably wouldn't enjoy my hamburger nearly as much as I do.
I have such an appreciation for the actual process and effort that goes into a project, a book being written, a school curriculum being planned, a theater production, an airport running smoothly (on most days) and the list is infinite. So today, I am honoring and showing my appreciation with a bigger smile or thank you to the hard workers, the creative thinkers and those who are behind the scenes. Including all the thousands of hamburger bun makers of the world. My hat is off to you and your contribution to this world. I appreciate you.
