When I first started sharing my stories on All About Kingfisher, I wrote about my sonic friend Justin Waggner. Justin has shown up to his Sonic job for 40 years as of June 30th. He takes off every Wednesday to do chores at home, goes bowling, and finishes his day with choir practice at the Methodist Church in Kingfisher. Then he takes off every Sunday to attend church and sing with the choir.
Justin has told me more than once that God loves hearing a happy voice and is thankful many of his fellow church members are deaf. He loves playing his harmonica for church, and I see Justin light up when I’ve asked him about his time playing it at church! We have shared many conversations about our faith. I have no doubt Justin knows when his days are finished on earth he will be in a bigger choir.
While Justin is still at the Sonic, he has me in a routine, or maybe a better word would be trained. I often order my Sonic drink with an extra cup of ice through my Sonic app. I drive up to the drive-thru, and I hear Justin’s voice through the intercom. All I have to say is it’s ME. Then I hear, “Well hello ME,” and I get the go-ahead to drive forward.
Now, since I got two cups, I have had to train Justin to give me only one straw! My way of conserving, I guess, or I just don’t like having extra straws lying in my car. Like so many of us, Justin is a creature of habit, and in the chapter on retirement, those habits will shift. He will trade chores at work for more time to tend to chores at home. I asked him what he planned to do with the extra time. He smiled and said he would tend to Alvin, Simon, and Theodore, who are his cats.
Justin has overcome many obstacles throughout his life. He is a walking testimony of a journey through autism and speech impediments. Justin graduated from Dover High School and attended Southwestern University, receiving a degree in accounting before starting his journey with Kingfisher Sonic.
Between now and June 30th, when you drive through the Sonic for your fries, make sure you give Justin a thumbs up and congratulate him on 40 years of service. As for ME, I plan on giving him a hard time as long as I can. He wouldn’t know what to do if I didn’t give him trouble. I hope he knows how much he is appreciated for the last 40 years of service to this community.
Justin, if you read this story, it’s just ME signing off!
