The Toyota Reessayer

As most Canadians know, a sure sign of spring is Tim Horton’s annual Roll-up-the-rim-to-win contest. And every year, many of us have a renewed hope of winning if not a new vehicle or laptop or cash prize, then at least a free coffee or a donut.

So it was with great anticipation that I entered my local Timmies last week I knew that last year’s major prize was a Toyota Matrix and that this year’s grand offering was some new model of Toyota unknown to me. But never mind, I thought, I’m sure it will be clear upon rolling up the rim on my winning cup what kind of vehicle I would be getting.

So I ordered my medium coffee, a decaf to ensure that I would not be overly excited in the event that I became an instant winner. As I sat drinking my cup of coffee, I allowed my mind to wander, envisioning myself behind the wheel of a brand new Toyota something or other.

Finally I finished my drink and the moment I’d been waiting for arrived: the ceremonial rolling up of the rim. With only my right thumb poised, I unfurled the right hand edge of the rim and rolled it out to reveal my prize.

I must admit that I was expecting to be greeted by the usual "please play again" or possibly a free coffee or donut. But I was shocked to find my revealed rim bore the word "Réessayer." At first I was a bit mystified until I realized that this must be the new model of Toyota on offer by the Tim Horton’s chain.

Could this be? After God knows how many years and who knows how many coffees, was I finally the winner of a brand new car? Apparently yes.

I was elated and could hardly contain myself. In a matter of days, I would, in all likelihood, be driving a brand new Toyota Réessayer.

I headed home in a state of sheer elation. Once home, I sat down at the kitchen table and proceeded to dial the Tim Horton’s 1-800 number.

A pleasant-sounding woman answered the phone and I described to her my good fortune. She asked me where I had bought the coffee and then she asked me to read exactly what was on the rolled out rim.

"Well it says I’ve won the Toyota Réessayer," I replied. "You know, your major prize."
"Could you read to me exactly what is on the rim," said the woman.

Reading directly from the cup edge, I told her it said "Réessayer S.V.P."

"Ah, yes," she said. "You have indeed won a marvellous vehicle. It costs virtually nothing to maintain and basically runs on air. It is a modern miracle of engineering and is, in fact, invisible."

Little did I know that I had won such a fabulous car. Not only was it a Toyota; now I discovered that it cost nothing, ran on air and was invisible.

Trying to contain myself, I giddily asked the Tim Horton’s woman when I could pick up my new vehicle.

She kindly suggested that I check my driveway every day to see if my winning vehicle had been delivered. Since it is invisible, I expressed my concern about being able to recognize it when it arrived.

She said I should simply go out in the driveway and kick in the general direction of where one of the tires should be and wait for my foot to make contact. If I hit nothing but air, she suggested that I wait until the next day and then simply "please play again" or look up the word "réessayer" in a French-English dictionary.

It’s been a few days and my new car apparently has yet to appear, as far as I know. But in the meantime, I think I’ve won again. That is, of course, assuming that Toyota also makes the new "Gagnez Un Beigne" sedan.