"It's Just a Dollar"

I went to the grocery store the other day and saw they had a sale on Eckrich sausage;  I don't eat a lot of that, but it sounded good and a pkg. will make several sandwiches, plus some left to be sliced into some slow cooker beans.  I got two packages since they were 2/$5.00, a dollar off the regular price for each.

I wasn't getting many other items and happened to see that one of the packages of sausage rang up at the regular price.  I pointed it out to the young woman running the cash register and she immediately looked annoyed that I had even spoken to her.  She glanced at the register readout, sniffed in a disdainful way and said:

"It's just a dollar."

I told her if it was "just a dollar", then maybe the store could pay the difference or better yet, she could get the money out of her own pocket and pay it.  She didn't look to see the sale price in the circular, didn't call a manager or do anything else about it, just stared at me as though I was something she wanted to scrape off the bottom of her shoe.  I told her I didn't want it then, didn't want any of the items I had that she'd already rang up and I turned on my heel and walked out the door.  I may never go back, there are two other stores here in town where I'm treated much nicer than that.

I'm just getting tired of the attitude of people who deal with customers, it's happened several times over this last month.  A few weeks ago I was wearing a Texas themed t-shirt and the checkout girl told me she didn't like my shirt.  I asked her why and she she said "Texas sucks."  I wanted to reach out and slap her insolent cheeks, but instead went home, got on the company website and sent off an email complaining about the hateful little wench.  The next day I got an email from corporate headquarters and a phone call from both the store manager and the district supervisor, all apologizing and promising it would never happen again. I told them it had better not, that their competitor was just across the street.

I've always been Caspar Milquetoast on these things; when I ordered a steak and it wasn't done as I liked, I'd eat it and not send it back.  When I wouldn't get good service, I'd go ahead and leave a tip or if my pizza arrived later than promised and cold, I'd just eat it and not complain. Never again!  I got a burger yesterday at the best place in town and when I ordered, I asked that some ketchup be put into the bag, explaining to the young woman who took my order that they always left it out.  She assured me she'd take care of it, but when I got home, there wasn't a single packet in the bag.  I will be letting the owner of the establishment know about it, too. 

What these people need to understand is that, while their boss signs their checks, I pay their wages!  Without me...and other customers...they wouldn't have a job!

I worked at a liquor store while going back to school;  I was a good hand and single-handedly worked the busiest times, the evenings and Saturdays.  The morning staff never had more than a dozen customers from 10-2 and all they had to do was check deliveries (and more often than not, didn't stock the items and left it all for me to do) and were supposed to dust and clean, but none ever did.  One young "lady" told me "This would be a great job if it weren't for the customers." (she had several come in the store while she was trying to watch Days of Our Lives and that annoyed her)

I'm sick of that kind of attitude. 

Tale of the Tail

The Opossum is the only North American mammal with a prehensile tail.  It can use its hairless, foot-long tail to grasp objects and climb trees.

We know about 'possums, having had several close encounters.

Operator - Jim Croce

One of the saddest songs ever.


"You can keep the dime."

hyperhidrosis

hyperhidrosis hy·per·hi·dro·sis [hahy-per-hi-droh-sis] noun Pathology

abnormally excessive sweating

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I knew this word, but had forgotten it until I read the definition and then I remembered the first time I ever saw it. I was in junior high and had developed an embarrassing condition of my palms profusely sweating; oh, not all the time, but mostly when I was holding hands with a girl. (or before a test or a ballgame or trying to explain to my dad why I hadn't done the chores he had wanted me to do.) I found the symptoms and this term looking through a medical encyclopedia while trying to find out what was wrong with me.  Looking back now, I realize I didn't have hyperhidrosis, but suffered from the same anxiety and shyness most other teen boys did. Teenage angst, the wet kind.

Still, I did perspire a lot.  Sometimes during a basketball game after shooting a free throw, someone would slip on the pool of sweat that had dripped off of me while standing there taking the foul shot.  I would also sweat through shirts on a warm day, leaving visible circles under my arms.   I'd try my best to hide them by not raising my arms more than an inch away from my body, but I'm sure I then looked like a sweaty Frankenstein. I also had problems with sweaty, stinky feet, but getting on the other side of puberty and starting to wear cotton socks mostly solved that problem.

I still sweat a lot, though.  I've learned to put a bandanna or handkerchief in my pocket before starting some strenuous activity or otherwise I'll be blinded by the sweat rolling off my forehead into my eyes if I don't stop frequently and mop my brow and head.  I don't think that's "abnormally excessive sweating" but is actually a healthy and normal bodily function.

Several years ago, I went to the doctor for an unrelated matter and shook his hand after we had talked.  I had been more than a little anxious worrying about what might be wrong with me and was relieved that it wasn't what I had thought it might be.  My hands were clammy and damp and the doctor noticed.  "You have sweaty palms much?" he asked.  I admitted I did when I was overly anxious.  He scribbled something on a prescription pad and told me that would help.  I went to the pharmacy and got the prescription filled; the vial was full of little blue pills.  I didn't recognize the name, but took them for a day before calling a friend who had a "pill book" that listed most medicines.  She knew what they were when I spelled out the name...I had to spell it out, because I wasn't sure how to pronounce "Xanax".  "You'll like them." she assured me, telling me almost her entire family took them.  Hmmm...pretty mellow family, I thought, guess I'll keep taking them.

Yep, was no sweat taking them...no worries, not a care in the world, actually.

Oodles of Doodles

You Are Having a Challenging Day

You have a strong sense of humor, and that includes a tendency to make fun of yourself. You are thoughtful and reflective. It's likely that you're taking stock of your life right now. Your thoughts are very far away from what's going on right now. You have something important on your mind. You are friendly and easygoing. You're generally happy with who you are and the life you lead.

The Doodle Test

rarefied

rarefied rar·e·fied [rair-uh-fahyd] adjective

1. extremely high or elevated; lofty; exalted: the rarefied atmosphere of a scholarly symposium.
2. of, belonging to, or appealing to an exclusive group; select; esoteric: rarefied tastes.

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Sounds like a word this Congress and administration would use to describe themselves.

Put It On My Bill

The Australian Pelican has the longest bill of any living bird, up to 18 1/2 inches long.