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Follow This Hero’s Eight-Day Quest to Find a Nighttime Hot Dog at Wawa
By Matt Schultz
Published:
Some searches are meant to go on forever: The quest for enlightenment, for the meaning of life, for immortality, for true happiness — with these endeavors, it’s baked into that premise that there is no true end. As maddening as it can be, the searching is the answer.
For seven long days, it seemed like this guy on Reddit – who set out to find a pre-made hot dog available at nighttime at his local Northeast Philly Wawa – was on a similarly existential pursuit. Then day eight came, and the unthinkable happened: He found his nighttime hot dog.
It’s an astonishing feat that should be celebrated, but before we take a victory lap beside him, it’s important that we first fully understand the magnitude of the accomplishment – by going all the way back to our protagonist’s very first hot-dog themed post:
It seemed simple enough: This was your average Philadelphian frustrated with the way Wawa has fallen off over the last few years. There was no sign that this man was about to go on the odyssey of a lifetime.
There were, however, haters galore. Like every brave explorer setting out for the unknown from Columbus to Magellan, our Redditor had countless naysayers ready to write off his goal as madness:
But that didn’t deter our warrior. He came back on Day Two, as hopeful as ever… but to no avail:
He also provided a FAQ. Seemed like even early on, the haters were getting to him. But what’s a Hero’s Journey without obstacles? –
Day Three: Failure:
Day Four: Also a failure. There are no pictures of the hot dog fridge on Day Four – just this FAQ (his second one in just four days). This may have been rock bottom for our hero. The pressure is mounting. He’s realizing just how daunting a task this will be. And he is lashing out…
Day Five: Nothing. Here is where I, personally, would’ve given up. But that’s why I’m not the main character of this story. I am weak. Our hero, on the other hand, knows that the night is always darkest before the dawn:
Day Six: He posted two photos because he went twice this night. Nothing both times. He also included this in the caption: “I WILL NEVER GIVE UP!!” –
Day Seven: Reading his words in the caption below, I can’t help but notice that our hero seems content, happy, even playful. Perhaps he came to terms with the fact that this goal of his – to find a nighttime Wawa hot dog – might never happen, and if that’s the case, then that’s perfectly fine. And maybe it’s this exact, wise outlook – the willingness to let go of control – that paved the way for what happened the very next day:
Day Eight: Victory at last –
A truly beautiful and inspiring tale. I also don’t think it’s a coincidence that this hot dog miracle occurred right as the Flyers clinched their playoff spot and began this run they’re on. The stars may finally be aligning over Philadelphia. And, stars all lined up… would look a lot like… a hot dog… Yes…
Matt Schultz is a comedy and sports writer from Philadelphia. He’s written extensively for ClickHole, The Onion, and Conan O’Brien’s Team Coco. His work has been featured in Vulture, Deadspin, The A.V. Club, Paste Magazine, and other publications. Much of his sports journalism can be found on college basketball websites that don’t exist anymore (PhilaHoops Heads rise up…)