An Employee Takes a Bath in the Burger King Sink

If we'd known he wanted a spa bath for his birthday we would have gotten him a gift certificate to the local health club.

A few days ago, my girlfriend informed me that a friend of ours and local rapper, Timmy Tackett (a.k.a. Mr. Unstable), was going to be on the news after taking a bath in a Burger King sink. I knew Timmy worked third shift, so I figured that he could have easily pulled this off. And I knew he was just crazy and bored enough to do it too. For those of you who don't understand this attitude, it's a Mid-Western thing.

I chuckled while I watched the video. Sure enough, there was Timmy, his deeply resonant voice unmistakable, bathing in the Burger King sink. He was covered in suds, making muscles and using the dish sprayer to mimic a shower spigot. To me it was just regular old Timmy yucking it up and having some fun just like I'd seen him do a hundred times before.

Little did we know the video would soon be one of the most popular on YouTube, exploding in popularity and making local and national headlines.

His accomplice, Miss Gacy, was filming. She had some of the funniest lines in the video. She approached a reluctant and very pre-occupied manager (who in all fairness was trying to count money from the safe) and asked her some questions in a very apathetic, Daria-like voice.

"He's in the sink, is that OK?"

"You can't see his penis or nothin'."

"You should come check it out. Tell him happy birthday."

"Tell everyone to come grab some breakfast. Their dishes are real clean."

I thought that taking a bath in the employee sink was kind of a ballsy thing to do, but I'd seen worse. We've ALL seen worse. And if you've ever worked in a restaurant, then you know that not everything is 100% sanitary, that there are questionable practices and questionable people in every establishment. Don't think you've been lucky enough to miss out on some of that unwholesomeness in your lifetime. If you eat fast food, then don't be alarmed by someone taking a bath in the sink. Human germs aren't half as bad as the stuff they actually put INTO the burgers and fries.

Relax. Take a deep breath. Quit with all the "that's disgusting" talk. Have a beer and watch the video again.

This video, and Timmy's story, have escalated through the local Dayton News all the way to Inside Addition and even Anderson Cooper. The amount of hits on his MySpace page compound by the hour. Likewise, the video has been growing with weed-like intensity on YouTube, followed by dozens of creative and not so creative "video commentaries".

You Tube. We'd seen it happen before with Miss Teen South Carolina, Chris Crocker (the Britney Rant Guy) and several others. But what makes Timmy's video so addicting to people? It's because Timmy is, if anything, genuine, and he relates to kids in small Mid-Western cities where crystal-meth use has reached epidemic proportions, where closing factories have produced ghost towns, and where there is simply no place else to turn for a regular kid except for music, fun and friends. So it doesn't matter if you think it's funny or not, it makes them laugh and that's all that matters. And either way, people have been commenting. People have been watching. People have been disgusted and tickled.

If you hate Timmy Tackett, you can only blame yourself for his sudden popularity. After all, you've probably already seen the video or are about to go check it out. Just type in "burger king bath" on YouTube. Like a car crash you just have to look.

Those of us who know Timmy know that he's just a sweet guy who was trying to have some fun and make the best out of a job most people ridicule. After all, who the heck do you think is working your fast food restaurants? It's mostly kids like Timmy who are trying to make ends meet the best way they know how.

We've all taken part in practical jokes. If you haven't, then you haven't really lived. I spray painted my city building when I was 13. I'm not proud of it, and it was a stupid thing to do, but at the time I thought I was having the time of my life. The ramifications came later. YouTube wasn't around back then, so all I got for my pains was the receiving end of my dad's belt.

So think about how many ridiculous things you've done in your lifetime, and give the kid a break.

The video was, and continues to be, entertaining. What's next for Timmy? Reality TV? Crushing album sales? Who knows.

Regardless of the outcome, happy belated birthday Timmy.