Time Off

This is an unusual day for me. I called in sick. That is a rarity. I've probably missed work two or three times in the last 10 years. It's usually the grunge or the snots. This time it's snots.

Starting on Friday, my nose started running, which made me cough. So there I was, coughing and blowing my nose, coughing and blowing my nose. I'm always amaazed at the human body's ability to create so much snot in such a short period of time.

At least I'm not running a fever. But, I think my co-workers will feel better with me not being in their presence today.

And I'm really glad it's not the grunge.

My Recent Non-transaction

I've been looking for a new weed eater AKA gas powered string trimmer. I've researched them on Consumer Reports and other web sites. Over all, I have determined that none of them are worth a darn.

Consumer Reports recommends Stihl. But when you read the consumer ratings, you want to look at something else. I looked in the stores and finally decided to go with Craftsman by Sears.

I went to the Sears website and checked out all of their models, read about them and perused the customer ratings. I finally decided to purchase one. So I went to my local Sears outlet. They didn't have it but would order me one.

I went back to the web and checked the availability at all the local Sears stores. Nada, nothing, nobody has that model. So I decided to order it on the web. Everything went fine until it came to "checkout" and the site wouldn't go there. I tried about a half dozen times but always had the same result.

So I wrote down the model number, the price, the sales discount, and called Sears. After hanging on the line a few minutes, a live person came on the line to assist me with my purchase. He was impressed that I had both the Sears item number and model number. He noted it was on sale and his figures matched mine.

Then he asked if I wanted to purchase the extended warranty. Knowing the miniscule life expectancy of string trimmers, I decided to purchase the warranty which was good for three years.

So, he began adding up the figures and put in $9.95 for shipping.

"You're kidding aren't you?"

"No sir".

He told me I must pay for shipping but it comes directly to my house and not the local Sears outlet. Well that sorta pissed me off, so I told him to remove the extended warranty. Then he gave me another total.

I explained that the Sears website said I get another 10% off for using my Sears card. He seemed confused but checked and said I was right. So he proceeded to give me a credit of $9.95 for my 10% discount. I explained that his math was way wrong. That was far less than 10%. He said there wasn't anything he could do about it, because that's the way the computer figured it.

So I told him his figures weren't adding up correctly. Then I said, "Tell you what, let's just cancel the whole thing."

"The whole thing?", he asked.

"Yep", I said, "the whole thing." "This order is cancelled." End of conversation.

I purchase a lot of items at Sears. In recent years I've purchased a refrigerator, dishwasher, double convection oven, smooth glass cook top, and a microwave. All of that was purchased at one time and I got a 10% discount for using my Sears card. I purchased a riding mower and somehow, got a senior citizen 10% discount. My gas grill had a few scratches on it so they knocked off 5%. I paid full price for a hedge trimmer. All of those purchases have been hassle free.

But this time, it just wasn't right.

Tabloids

I've been meaning to give my thoughts on tabloids.

When I was a youngster, tabloids printed stories about pregnant space aliens giving birth to humans, women who gave birth to 3 children and a cat....all at the same time. People worshiping their cow and eating their dog. A man who could walk through walls but couldn't get over a fence.

You get the point. They were all fake stories which seemed to capture the imagination of a group of people. Tabloids were not to be believed, although like wrestling, some folks thought them to be true. Others found them to be entertaining.

My folks always told me that tabloids were of no good to anybody. They said only the uneducated read tabloids and if you were seen reading a tabloid in public, people would think you were a moron. If it is real news, it will be in the newspaper.

So, I always shied away from tabloids. Even today, I avoid spending any time with a tabloid, whether it's a stand alone paper or just an insert in my local paper. I throw the tabloid sections in the trash as soon as I open the paper. That's where Momma and Daddy said they belong. I believed them then and I believe them now.