<story><title>McDonald&apos;s holds communities together (2016)</title><url>https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jun/08/mcdonalds-community-centers-us-physical-social-networks</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>cdiamand</author><text>Mcdonald&amp;#x27;s was my first employer, and while I&amp;#x27;ve got a ton of &amp;quot;somebody pooped in the ballpit&amp;quot; stories, I really think the restaurant is a net good.&lt;p&gt;As a 16 year old it was awesome to work alongside other folks of varying ages and nationalities and get to know that other &amp;quot;walks&amp;quot; of life existed. I made friends outside of my highschool, fell in love, got burnt by the fryolator like 8 times, and most importantly learned about hard work and the value of money.&lt;p&gt;But I also saw veterans from the VA having their Saturday breakfast meeting. I remember watching them sit for hours with smiles on their faces as they talked about their time in the service. I watched regulars come in and make smalltalk at the register. I saw the homeless get their daily meals. I saw people at their worst, screaming about McChickens, and at their best, telling jokes and making people smile. It really is a watering hole and I&amp;#x27;m thankful for the time I spent there.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>sevilo</author><text>I also had MCD as my first job at 15, and have a lot to appreciate.&lt;p&gt;My parents basically wanted me to experience a “crappy job” at least once (it really wasn’t that bad of a job, plus 50% employee discount which was a great deal for a teenager and McD lover), and told me that people who are versatile and are able to endure hardship will be able to make it through and pick oneself up even when life becomes difficult for whatever reason.&lt;p&gt;And another quote from my McD coworker, who was an aspiring music composer, changed my view on money, I had a problem with hoarding money (still kind of do) and he said to me “money is not the goal, it’s something to help achieve your goals”. Didn’t understand that until I was older but it eventually struck me.&lt;p&gt;Great place to be for teenagers looking for their first work experiences really.</text></comment>
<story><title>McDonald&apos;s holds communities together (2016)</title><url>https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jun/08/mcdonalds-community-centers-us-physical-social-networks</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>cdiamand</author><text>Mcdonald&amp;#x27;s was my first employer, and while I&amp;#x27;ve got a ton of &amp;quot;somebody pooped in the ballpit&amp;quot; stories, I really think the restaurant is a net good.&lt;p&gt;As a 16 year old it was awesome to work alongside other folks of varying ages and nationalities and get to know that other &amp;quot;walks&amp;quot; of life existed. I made friends outside of my highschool, fell in love, got burnt by the fryolator like 8 times, and most importantly learned about hard work and the value of money.&lt;p&gt;But I also saw veterans from the VA having their Saturday breakfast meeting. I remember watching them sit for hours with smiles on their faces as they talked about their time in the service. I watched regulars come in and make smalltalk at the register. I saw the homeless get their daily meals. I saw people at their worst, screaming about McChickens, and at their best, telling jokes and making people smile. It really is a watering hole and I&amp;#x27;m thankful for the time I spent there.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>hos234</author><text>Sounds like a &amp;#x27;Third Place&amp;#x27; - &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&amp;#x2F;wiki&amp;#x2F;Third_place&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&amp;#x2F;wiki&amp;#x2F;Third_place&lt;/a&gt;</text></comment>