Daisy, at Compost Happens, tagged me for a meme! I loves the good meme. I won't tag any of you, since I'm out and about with Red Rocks (I haven't killed him yet!), but I will suggest the meme as a way to cheat for summer blogging. :) It's my favorite blogging pasttime!
This one is the seven deadly sins. I have to lie in all my answers. Which is unfortunate, really, as the truth is almost always more interesting and entertaining with me.
"Sometimes you can learn more about a person by what they don't tell you. Sometimes you can learn a lot from the things they just make up. If you are tagged with this meme, lie to me. Then tag 7 other folks and hope they can lie."
Pride What is your biggest contribution to the world? The catapult. Rocketing cats into the sun on a daily basis - that's my claim to fame. Poor cats. They never know what hit 'em. Till they're sizzling little kitty bits on the sun's surface.
Wow. I like this lying thing. Let's see what other trouble I can get into.
Envy What do your coworkers have that you wish were yours? Sanity. Seriously. I wouldn't lie to you about this. The people who work in a psychiatric hospital? Sanest people in the world, God love 'em. I sure wish I was as together and sane as my coworkers.
I'm really getting into the groove of this! I might take up lying as a sport.
Gluttony What did you eat last night? Fried cat. Oh alright. I kid. Lou the Loud would take umbrance with that one. I really had fresh, thick tomato slices, straight from the garden, on home made biscuits, with mayonnaise, salt, pepper and basil leaves.
Alright, that's taking it a little too far for my tomato hating self. Time to step it down a notch.
Lust What really lights your fire?
Mmm. A match. Wait. No. The sight of a 1979 Chevy Chevette. With rusted out floor boards. Oo baby!
Greed Name something you hoard and keep from others.
Sloth What is the laziest thing you ever did? So many lazy things to choose from! This one's tough to lie about, since sloth is my deadly sin of choice. Dang. How 'bout not blogging for a month because I didn't feel like it?
Phew! Still got it.
Anger What really, really bugs you? Dog hair on the furniture. Cat hair on my bed. Animal hair in general chaps my hide.
Know what? Since I haven't left Marcy's yet (she's such a good hostess - see, you don't know if I'm lying or telling the truth, DO YOU?), I think I'll tag Marcy! How 'bout them apples? Apple dumplings. Mmm. I forgot my Adderall - can you tell?
First and foremost, Today's Funny Bone Monday is directly following this post.
Y'know, it's been awfully quiet here lately. I'm gearing up for a road trip, looking around for Fred and Bessie, thinking they'd love to hit the road again, when it hits me that I haven't seen them in days. Can't find them. So I search the whole house. Toss out a lot of junk. Do some dusting. Darn ADD.
I asked the kids if they'd seen our darling bovines. No go. The Hunny hasn't seen them either, but he never looks. So I asked Flash.
Flash had no clue. I asked Patches.
She had no clue, either. Then I asked Lou.
Lou's a wiley cat. He was quiet at first, but we all know he's not called Lou the Loud for no reason. Once he started talking, I couldn't shut him up. Turns out he was sthe one who sent them packing. He was upset that his Boy was at Scouts camp and was feeling mischievous. Sent those cows away, he did, sometime last week.
So I started looking in the more obvious places. First I visited all the bloggers whose homes they so graciously opened to my little cows. No one had seen them.
I widened the search, heading to other bloggers. And that's when I found my wandering babies. They're at Karen Deborah's. Seems she's spotted them in her garden. At least they're safe, which is a relief. Only time will tell what kind of trouble those two will get into in Mississippi.
Welcome to Funny Bone Monday, the Road Trip edition! Before we get started, I want y'all to pop over to Romancing the Road to visit with Rachel and her hot Comet. What a fab story! It's a video, for those of you reading this while working. *ahem*
While you're reading, I'm sleeping or driving. Sleeping because I worked all night. Driving (after noon), because I'm heading to Marcy's house! Then breakfast with Holly the Anglophile Football Fanatic, and on to my grandmother's in Louisiana!
Let's get on with it, then!
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His and Hers Road Trips
HERS:
Pulls off at wrong exit.
opens window
asks directions of a knowledgeable police officer
Arrives at destination presently.
HIS:
Pulls off at wrong exit absolutely positive it's the correct one.
Drives five miles into wilderness, still thinks he's right.
Drives an extra 5 miles just in case.
Finally rolls down window just to get fresh air
Pulls up to a 7 -11
Gets three hot-dogs, a large slurpee, and beef jerky
Asks person behind counter how to get back onto the highway.
Gets back into car.
Laughs at the idea of looking at a map as he pulls away from the 7-11.
Drives down a dirt road with no street lights insisting this is the way back because guy from 7-11 said it was.
Almost hits a deer
Curses the night
Curses you
Curses the large slurpee
Drives and fiddles with radio.
Yells at you for suggesting the map again
Admits he didn't want to go to Thanksgiving at your sister's anyway.
There was an old man who always rode his bike to his brother's house every weekend. It took him 2 hours and he alway's made it by there by 2PM.
One day he tried to make it in 1 hour. Collapsing on a hill from exhaustion, while sitting there, a Corvette pulls up and asks him if he needs a ride. The man looks at his watch and sees he would be late if not, but there is already a passenger, so he asks how?
"No problem," says the man in the corvette, "I've got a rope in the back and we'll tie your bike to the back bumper and you can ride."
The man says, "Ok!"
They take off and the driver yells back, "Just yell BEEP BEEP if I'm going to fast." No problem the man thinks. They come to an Intersection and a Ferrari pulls up, the man's eye's widen in fright.
Sure enough, the light changes and THEY'RE OFF! Anyway, the guy made it to his brothers on time and the Vette lost.
Meanwhile, at the local police dept... "Hey guys the weirdest thing just happened to me. A Ferrari and a 'Vette just lost me at over 120 mph on Main Street."
"What's so weird about that?" asks the other cops.
The first cop says, "There was this old guy on a bike behind them screaming BEEP BEEP and trying to pass!"
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A car breaks down along the motorway one day, so the driver eases it over onto the shoulder of the motorway. He jumps out of the car, opens the trunk, and pulls out two men in trench coats.
The men stand behind the car, open up their coats and start exposing themselves to the oncoming traffic. One of the worst pile-ups in history occurs.
When questioned by police why he put two deviants along the side of the road, the man replied, "I broke down and was just using my emergency flashers!"
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The Policeman couldn't believe his eyes as he saw the woman drive past him, busily knitting. Quickly he pulled along the vehicle, wound down his window and shouted "Pull over!"
"No" she replied, "they're socks!"
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And the video du jour ...
Couldn't help it. Had to add this one.
See ya next week, bloggy peeps! Unless I sneak over to my aunt's and use her hideously slow dial up. AUUUGGGHHHHHH!!!!!
Y'all, I know that I periodically do these book tours and give away the books. The offers for the tours come through periodically and I get to choose the ones which interest me. There have been some which have been just meh. Others have been decent. This one is a better finished product, book-wise. I enjoyed the book and learned in the process. The book is Defying Autism, by Karen Mayer. It's simply her story. On to the tour! Oh, and I'll be giving this book away. Leave me a comment and I'll choose a winner randomly when I return from my trip next weekend!
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You have a real mix of talents in addition to being an author. Will you please tell us about yourself?
I am a stand up comic and speaker with a passion to impart truth and hope to people and to remind them that God is still purposed to have them move into their destiny.
Your new book, Defying Autism, is about your son, James. Will you tell us a little about him?
James is my first born, the apple of my eye. He was born right on time, perfect in every way. He progressed and hit all of the appropriate markers ahead of time. He was one of those vey easy babies that you could pass to anyone and he was still a happy baby. He was pointing and babbling at a year, and into everything!
He sounds adorable! At what point, did you start to notice that something was wrong?
We took James in for his 18-month check up and shots, after which his behavior took a dramatic, turn for the worse. When we brought him home, he would run to the same spot in the hall and stand with his back to the wall and slam his head backwards into the sheetrock. To say this was upsetting was an understatement, but then I thought maybe this is the dreaded terrible twos, or little boys are rough. So we would redirect him and send him on his way. The redirecting stopped working; it was though he could not stop behaving this way. He had many other strange habits, obsessive behaviors that began to appear. He would eat the little pieces of sheetrock, where he had actually put a hole in the sheetrock, he pulled the wallpaper off and ate it, he pulled up the corners of the carpet and ate the foam underneath it, he ate the rubber lining out of our car doors, he watched videos for hours standing in front of the TV.
What did you do? Who did you go to for help?
First we went to other parents of children. I owned a salon so I had the free advice every hour from women who had “already been through it”. I wanted to believe as they all said, that this is a phase, this is the two’s, little boys do strange things. We then went to professionals, pediatricians, speech therapists, ENT specialist, pediatric specialist, state agencies, MHMR and of course our church for lots and lots of prayer.
What can you tell us about autism?
Autism is a severely handicapping disorder that begins at birth or with in the first two and half years of life. For many years autism occurred in 5 out of 10,000 births, however since the early 1990’s the rate is now calculated at 1 in 150 births. Most autistic children are perfectly normal in appearance, but spend their time in disturbing behaviors, which are marked differently from those of normal children. They may stare into space for hours, throw uncontrollable tantrums, show no interest in people including their parents, and pursue strange repetitive activities with no apparent purpose. They have been described as living in a world of their own. Some autistic children have remarkable giftings in certain areas such as music or mathematics, and all need help.
What was your greatest fear?
My greatest fear was losing my child at five or ten years, or as an adult, to an institution. I would watch the movie Rain Main over and over again and assume that would be the best outcome for my son.
What was a typical day like for you and your family?
A typical day for us would be James up before we woke with a video in and grunting for what he wanted. He would only eat a few foods, several times a day he would throw up to let you know he didn’t want or like something.
Crying, tantrums and fits filled the day from sun up to bedtime. His fits had no beginning and sometimes it felt as if there would be no end. In the spring of 2000, when he was almost 6, he was still in a diaper, on a bottle and only spoke 20 words.
Did school help James?
School did help James; he did much better with a strict structured environment. The opposite of that however, is that it is hard to duplicate that environment at home with a family. School helped James academically, but not emotionally or socially.
Did church help James, or you?
Unfortunately, church did not help James at all. My husband and I were music ministers and would fill-in at churches that were looking for a fulltime staff person. This meant a lot of changes every few months – new locations, new staff, and new strange glares inferring what a bad mother I must be for my baby boy to behave in such a way. Church turned into a place I dreaded and had been such a place of family and belonging before.
What was the turning point for you in this journey?
Having heard the weekly cry of my heart for help for my child, one of my clients recommended a ministry team, a deliverance team, Gospel Revelation Ministries. I didn’t know what deliverance was, but I had no doubt I needed some. I went through personal deliverance and then followed with James in the spring of 2000. I was terrified but they said that God said he was going to be healed, so I stood with their faith. As we brought James into to the room for deliverance, he began to thrash and point to the door to leave, he was ready to go. The team prayed and laid hands on him. They said that the first demonic curse would have to go in Jesus’ name to the dry places. With that, my son reached his hand out and screamed, “come back, come back, come back, come back!!!” He was calling out for the demons that were leaving him. That was the turning point!
So, what was next?
The first thing I did was the most difficult. I changed my mind.
I changed what I believed that God could –and would – do if petitioned. I changed what I thought about the stories in the Bible. I changed my belief in what is available to us, TODAY, by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.
When I began to be open to the truth of the scriptures, and not just what someone else said I should believe, or someone else’s interpretation of the scriptures for me, then…the Word of God began to truly be a light unto my path.
That was several years ago. How is James today?
James is wonderful! He is 15 years old going in to the 9th grade. He’s six foot tall and an amazing athlete. God’s promise is that he will restore our minds daily and James has caught up with remarkable speed. He is still about 2 ½ years behind academically, and in three resource classes, but is making up lost ground daily. He is completely healed from the oppression of autism.
What do the professionals say?
Doctors say it is something, maybe higher than what they have in the medical field. It is nothing short of a miracle!
What can families hope for who have children with autism?
Families can believe and stand for their loved one’s healing. Jesus is in the miracle working business. He healed James.
James’ story could be anyone’s story. I was not the “good” Christian, but I stood, no matter what, believing for my child’s healing. Your healing may be through diet, environmental changes, behavioral changes, or even the way James was healed. However it comes, do not waver from the promises of God. Exodus 15 says, “I am the Lord your God who heals all of your diseases.” He is Jehovah Rapha, our God who heals. If it is in His name, it is in His will!
Karen, where can our readers get a copy of your book, or find out how to have you come and speak for their group or organization?
They can find out more about my book and speaking information on my website at KarenMayer.org. I would love to hear from any of you who are dealing with autism in your family or among your friends. I hope you are encouraged by our story – that there is hope, healing, and freedom for your situation.
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I read this skeptically, even as a Christian reader. I was glad, thoughout the book, to see Karen saying that this was simply HER story. But I know that God is bigger than everything, that He can do what she says He did for her James.
Some days there's just nothing you can do but find something to laugh at. Today I found a lot of somethings to laugh at and thought I'd share. Do you mind?
I can't even tell you how tired I am of hearing Black Betty. Yes, Guitar Hero was a good idea. One of our children is obsessed with mastering Black Betty, however. I'm. Going. To. SMASH. The guitar.
Looks what's blooming in our Tulsa heat in my front yard! Pretty, isn't it? Now if I could just get it to stand up straight. If I could just get my kids to stand up straight ...
One night this week I was talking to Marcy or Krista (this week's a blur) on FaceCrack and dropped the top of my coffee table on my fingers. How you ask? I took photos so I could show you. I loves my coffee table. What I don't loves is cleaning up before taking pictures.
Speaking of Krista, she sent me the most fun prezzy in the mail! See?
I won one of her Name That Tune Mondays over at Shades of Blonde. What fun! I knew that someday my vast knowledge of ELO tunes would come in handy. Thanks for the yummy scented candles, Krista!
And speaking of Marcy, I'm going to be at her house next Monday night near Dallas! Anyone up for breakfast on the east side of Dallas Tuesday morning? I'll have Red Rocks with me.
Speaking of me traveling, I'll be coming home on Friday, the 3rd of July. I'd like to travel up through Texarkana on the way home. Anyone in the area want to meet for lunch? Karen? Anyone else?
That's it. That's all I've got. Go home. And if you need a laugh tomorrow, don't forget to stop in at MIT Mommy's. I've slightly reworked Funny Bone Monday to fit her blog.
Before jumping in with both feet - because I certainly plan to today - let me say that I am privileged to guest post for MIT Mommy today. I'll be posting on her site this Friday as well. Shame on her for leaving on vacation and letting me roam freely on her site. Heh. I think I'll be hiding when she returns from vacation.
Y'all know that this Sunday was Father's Day. My bad, not posting at all. It was a weird weekend. Not that that ever slows me down. But I had a lot of thinking to do.
I've written about my family here, how much I love and enjoy them. My kids, they love grandma to little bits and pieces, and they thoroughly enjoy their three girl cousins, as well as uncle Lil' Bro and his lovely wife, their aunt. As for the Evil Sister, I think they like her most of all. When she's visiting, or when we meet up with ES and the Not So Evil Uncle, the kids wig out on me. The kids think they're the coolest relatives to walk the planet. It has nothing at all to do with that horrid Annoy-A-Tron she gave them last year ...
So this weekend, it being Father's Day, there were weird vibes going on in my house. The Hunny, he doesn't do holidays well. Especially not the parental day types. I must say he's done much better in the last year or two.
I don't ever talk about his family here. We left Florida and moved half way across the country for a reason. Many reasons. The in-laws are one of the big ones. We had, the last couple of years in Florida, very strained relations with them. Moving was freedom for us. It was peace. It was the opportunity to be a family for the first time. To love each other and get to know each other, to get to know ourselves. For our children to be OUR children. It was GOOD.
It IS good. It gets better every day. But like most things in life, it had to get worse before it got better. And we still have our bad days. Holidays are worse than most bad days. Too much associated with them.
This is all disjointed, I know. My apologies. I don't have a better way to do this. Several of you write about your families from the stance of anonymity. I love that. I'm not anonymous and don't want to be. Neither do I want or need to talk about the past and the ugliness. Much. I don't especially feel the need to be anonymous, either.
See, my in-laws, a few of them, are difficult people. The parents, really. I can't speak to them or be near them anymore. It's not productive. I can't be loving in the relationship. I don't really like them, truth be told.
Because of the family dynamic, because my Hunny couldn't be free of it till he was nearly 40, the family is toxic for us. Granted, had we handled things differently as newlyweds, or as new parents, we might actually have a relationship with them now. But we thought things were normal. They weren't. They were very sick. Are very sick.
So here we are in Tulsa. Surrounded by family we love, who love us, who we're finally getting to know well. Faced with the stark difference in the life we once led and the one we lead now. It still boggles my mind. I'm so grateful for my family, for what we have now, for people who love us all unconditionally.
I don't hate my in-laws. I don't like them either. I think that they're people I'll probably never be able to be near again, for anything more than a wedding or a funeral. I'm okay with that. Really. But it hurts my heart to watch my Hunny hurt. And it does my heart good every day he steps into freedom a little bit more.
Sorry. I know I'm not being all detail oriented about the situation. I don't want to hash through the sordid details. Shoot, I don't want to remember them, period. Believe me, I have lots of stories. None of them funny, really. All just really sad. Who wants to live through that twice? I figure I'm doing enough damage with this post, since I'm not even remotely anonymous. *sigh*
Alternate Saturdays I attend a writer's meeting. Random meetings with random people. O, I kid. Same group of reprobates every time, call themselves Ink Slingers. Mind if I introduce you to a couple of members?
This is Saria. Isn't she lovely? She's into anime and manga, and she writes fan fiction and fantasy. Her Keebler elf stories are the best. Oh alright. We give her a hard time about the elves because it's not everyone's cup of tea. She's actually a great writer and does the fantasy genre well. I always look forward to her submissions. So does Mr. Monkeysuit.
This is Heather, our fearless leader. She and Mr. Monkeysuit are getting married. Well, they would. If Heather wasn't already married. Shh! Don't tell Heather's husband.
What's she doing? She's peeling a banana. Duh. Mr. Monkeysuit thought it looked yummy.
I guess MM got cheeky, because Heather's reading him the riot act. Mr. M can be cheeky, as you know. His roving eye wanders to his mouth and gets him into trouble.
Oh my! The little smart mouth got himself into quite a bit of trouble! No, Heather! Don't beat Mr. Monkeysuit! He's so little!
Hmm. I think Heather's taunting him, letting him know that his smart mouth means no banana for him. I don't feel sorry for him one bit. Bad monkey!
Of course, he managed to sweet talk me into giving him a bite of my monkey bread ....
Welcome to Funny Bone Monday, the Underwear Edition!
Today's entry will be just a little different. Searching for underwear humor online is a little ... unnerving at best. So I'm playing around with the post a bit.
Quick addition! The Evil Sister sent me this photo:
Looking for something different to wear? Fond of your eggs and broccoli, but no one else is? Try these, the Anti-Flatulence Panties! Yes. They are real.
Like it our not, this is our top 10 undie DONTs for this summer. If you find yourself falling into one or, dare I say it, more categories below, please please take a look at our Fit & Size Guide to find out what size is right for you.These are crimes no underwear-wearing human should commit.
1. Bunchy Butt
There’s nothing more uncomfortable than wearing underwear that’s baggier than your pants. It twists, bunches, rides up and sags. And we don’t want to see it either. If you decide to wear leggings, for heaven’s sake please wear something with a slimmer cut to avoid looking like a Shar Pei.
2. Strappy backs
Two straps are okay. Four straps are okay. Anything more is ridiculous. Black bra, pink tank, green tank, orange tank- the straps alone look like a blend of everyone’s thoughts at a Grateful Dead concert. If you’re going to sport more than one shirt, wear a strapless bra. Just thinking of all those straps is distracting me from my work.
3. Flyaway butt cheek
The beginning of summer doesn’t mean the end of blustery days. And less clothing does not mean less underwear. Short skirt + thong + wind = flyaway butt cheeks. You never know when a gust of wind will kick your skirt high into the air. Prepare yourself with undies that are cute, clean and cover your bum!
4. High rise
High-rises are great for New York apartments and South Beach condos, not as accessories for low-rise jeans. There is no reason to wear granny panties that rise 9 inches above your waistband. It is a waste of fabric and looks ridiculous.
5. T-back-a-saurus
What’s worse than too much underwear hanging out of your pants? What about too little? I don’t know one human being who enjoys seeing thongs hanging out of girls’ pants. It’s rude, embarrassing and completely avoidable with the correct pair of low-rise panties. Let’s all do our part to make sure the t-back-a-saurus gets extinct this summer.
6. Color crimes
Bras and underwear can be quite fashionable, but there is a time and place to show them off. Under white shirts and pants is not the appropriate place to wear your bright purple and orange lingerie. If there is one rule you remember all summer, let it be that white garments = nude undergarments.
7. Do your boobs hang low?
Do you boobs hang low? Do they wobble to and fro? Can you tie them in a knot? Can you tie them in a bow? Can you throw them over o’er your shoulder like a continental soldier? Do your boobs hang low? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you need to buy a better bra (or put one on to begin with). Ladies, if you are well–endowed, A BIKINI TOP DOES NOT COUNT AS A BRA. Nothing is more disgusting to see in the hot summer months than a pair of knockers blowing with the breeze.
8. Bra tan lines
The female farmer’s tan grosses me out like no other. It brings back memories of summer fun ruined by sports bras and two-a-days. Unless you work outside all day, every day, there is no excuse for bra tan lines. Look people, if you refuse to wear a bra that properly fits under your clothing, wear sunscreen. What is the point of an uneven tan?
9. Emergency underwear bathing suit
Swimwear is typically fabricated from materials such as nylon, Lycra, spandex etc. Why? Because these fabrics are resilient when wet and are quick to dry. Do you think your cotton underpants are going to have the same properties after jumping into a pool? Skivvies by land and suits by sea. Unless you are going for the sewer-dweller look, I’d steer clear of this situation.
10. Poopty peupty pants
Saggy, baggy and vomitous, OH MY! Do you realize that when you wear underwear six sizes too big, it looks like a diaper? We don’t want to hear the comfort argument because there’s no way a saggy butt can feel pleasant. You need to accept Goldilocks’ reasoning and refuse the too big and too small by going for something that fits just right.
It’s not too late - go out and get yourself a fresh pair!
The men of Charlie Company had been in the field for two weeks when the Sarge announces, I've got good news and bad news. First the good news. Today we're going to change our underwear.The troops start cheering wildly. Now the bad news, continues the Sarge. Smith, you change with Jones. Andrews, you change with Murphy . . .
This blonde walks into La Senza and buys a new bra and a little thong. The man behind the counter tells her that, if she'd like, they could stitch her name or something onto it. She says she would like them to write, "If your reading this, your standing too darn close!" the man says that will be fine and asks what kind of writing she would like, she answers "Braille".
One evening a husband, thinking it would be being funny, said to his wife “Perhaps we should start washing your clothes in Slim Fast. Maybe it would take a few inches off of your butt!” His wife was not amused, and decided that she simply couldn’t let such a comment go unrewarded.The next morning the husband took a pair of underwear out of his drawer. “What the heck is this?” he said to himself as a small dust cloud appeared when he shook them out. ‘April,’ he hollered into the bathroom, “Why did you put talcum powder in my underwear?! She replied with a snicker, “It’s not talcum powder honey… it’s Miracle Grow!”
Thursday I posted about my experience being over charged, or upcharged, at McDonald's. I promised to update you when I ate there again, so here I am!
Wednesday night we ate value meals at a different Mickey D's, but ate inside. The price of the drinks was broken out, but the combined total was correct. To make sure it wasn't because I could stare at the price while I ate, I went through the drive thru at that same McDonald's on Friday morning and bought a value meal. The drink was broken out, but the combined price was correct. Yay!
HOWEVER - Karen, at the Rocking Pony, had a value meal in Pennsylvania Friday afternoon and was charged 20 cents extra. She says that she upsized, but the 20 cents was on top of the extra charge for more food. I've asked her to let me know how they respond when she calls the store.
The worst part of this, I think, is how I've been treated by McDonald's management and supervisor. They act as though I'm the one with the problem, as if I'm cheating them, and pretend nothing is wrong. It was only when I pushed the issue, both times, that they did anything at all.
Had they only apologized and given me my 20 cents immediately, I would have gone away and forgotten this completely. It's not about the money. It's about people who lie and cheat and steal, then act like the consumer is in the wrong.
Because they are a mega-corporation, and most people don't pay attention, I'm thinking the small stores and the large corporation believe they can just get away with this. They train their employees to cheat the customer. And it's wrong. Twenty cents, over and over every day, multiplied by thousands of stores, adds up.
If you're in Tulsa, I can tell you that the McDonald's on the corner of 71st and Yale, tucked away near Charleston's, has fair prices and has not overcharged me. That's about all I can tell ya. Head to Karen's to see what she has to say.
Red Rocks on right, in his birthday shirt, with his two best buddies
We went to the local water park the night of his birthday and spent three hours wandering while little boys played in the water. And rode the Atomic Wedgie. Alright ... it's called the Silver Bullet. But Red Rocks wouldn't ride (extremely tall water slide) and one of the dads gave him the ultimatum, "You're getting a wedgie tonight one way or the other - your choice." He was the last one on the ride that evening. And loved it.
And now my baby is going away to camp for the first time. Am I all weepy and nervous? C'mon - y'all know me better than that. I'm helping him pack his stuff and waving bon voyage. He's headed to Boy Scout Camp on Sunday, working on his horsemanship, electricity and astronomy merit badges. Shoot, I'm jealous.
So you'll excuse me if today's post is brief? I must be off to shop for closed toe shower shoes and red cellophane.
Bloggy friends, I need your help. I'm hoping that you remember the McDonald's post in May? The one where I was in a hurry and was upcharged, then treated like an idiot by the manager? It happened again.
I know it's only 20 cents a meal. It's not about the money. See my receipt? The meal on the menu was 3.79. The total came to 3.99 per meal. See how the drinks are broken out separately from the meal? This is about deception, plain and simple. Hundreds of meals a day at 20 cents adds up. It's a lot of lying.
I know that's a lot of cream and sugar for small coffees. Hush.
I didn't have time to ask for the manager, since I was already late to meet someone. What I did instead was to call the 800 number on Mickey D's website. Some kind lady typed away while I talked. The next morning the phone rang and it was the supervisor for my local store. Yes, Margo, it's the cute retro McDonald's near my house. The one that's so convenient when we're running late. The one I haven't been to since the first debacle. The one at the corner of 91st and Memorial in south Tulsa.
In May, the meal was a Friday night Quarter Pounder meal. I tried a breakfast meal this time, thinking maybe it was the manager training his shift to upcharge. No. Not.
The supervisor who called was very vague. She asked a couple of questions, then stated that she just wanted to make sure I was satisfied, like she was done with the conversation. She even said something about the drinks intentionally being separate on the receipt because of some dollar value thing they're doing. So I asked if that wasn't why I was being charged 20 cents more per meal. That's when she offered me the coupons, I think.
No, I wasn't satisfied. She was very vague about what would happen. I think that this is something this store does on purpose and covers up the best they can.
Here's where I ask for your help. Next time you find yourself in a McDonald's drive thru, would you please pay attention to the price of the value meal you're ordering? Then check your receipt. See if you're being charged separately for drinks and if it totals more than the board price? Then let me know.
I'll update you when I get the coupons. I might even give them away if one of you finds the same thing happening at your local McDonald's. If you do, photograph or scan the receipt and let me know the original meal price. Do yourself a favor and call the store and the corporation. This is just wrong. I'm hoping it's only this one store.
Sorry to rant. There's not much I hate more than this kind of deception, preying on others in tiny ways. Adding up the lies and making money while it happens.
I know Monday is for funnies, but I just had to share this which I recieved in an email. It was new to me, and I'm hoping to you. My favorite kind of joke, too!
Oo! Before I share, today is Red Rocks' birthday! He's all of 12 years old. No sappy birthday note to him, as that's not my style. Instead, humor in his honor.
Bob Hill and his new wife Betty were vacationing in Europe ... as it happens, near Transylvania. They were driving in a rental car along a rather deserted highway. It was late and raining very hard. Bob could barely see the road in front of the car. Suddenly the car skids out of control! Bob attempts to control the car, but to no avail! The car swerves and smashes into a tree.
Moments later, Bob shakes his head to clear the fog. Dazed, he looks over at the passenger seat and sees his wife unconscious, with her head bleeding! Despite the rain and unfamiliar countryside, Bob knows he has to get her medical assistance.
Bob carefully picks his wife up and begins trudging down the road. After a short while, he sees a light. He heads towards the light, which is coming from a large, old house. He approaches the door and knocks.
A minute passes. A small, hunched man opens the door. Bob immediately blurts, "Hello, my name is Bob Hill, and this is my wife Betty. We've been in a terrible accident, and my wife has been seriously hurt. Can I please use your phone?"
"I'm sorry," replied the hunchback, "but we don't have a phone. My master is a doctor; come in and I will get him!"Bob brings his wife in.
An older man comes down the stairs. "I'm afraid my assistant may have misled you. I am not a medical doctor; I am a scientist.. However, it is many miles to the nearest clinic, and I have had a basic medical training. I will see what I can do. Igor, bring them down to the laboratory."
With that, Igor picks up Betty and carries her downstairs, with Bob following closely. Igor places Betty on a table in the lab. Bob collapses from exhaustion and his own injuries, so Igor places Bob on an adjoining table.
After a brief examination, Igor's master looks worried. "Things are serious, Igor. Prepare a transfusion." Igor and his master work feverishly, but to no avail. Bob and Betty Hill are no more.
The Hills' deaths upset Igor's master greatly. Wearily, he climbs the steps to his conservatory, which houses his grand piano. For it is here that he has always found solace. He begins to play, and a stirring, almost haunting melody fills the house.
Meanwhile, Igor is still in the lab tidying up. His eyes catch movement, and he notices the fingers on Betty's hand twitch, keeping time to the haunting piano music.. Stunned, he watches as Bob's arm begins to rise, marking the beat! He is further amazed as Betty and Bob both sit up straight!
Unable to contain himself, he dashes up the stairs to the conservatory.
He bursts in and shouts to his master:
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"Master, Master! ..... The Hills are alive with the sound of music!"
(I am soooooo sorry...... But you really should've seen that coming)
