Say it ain’t so.

CE And Mrs. CE were on our way to a meeting last week when we happened to find ourselves walking behind two of New York’s finest.   although perhaps difficult to see from the photos, their shoes were falling apart to the point where it was clear to CE that if speed was necessary, these two brave souls would need a cab to keep up with the bad guys, because there was no way in hell they could run in those shoes.  

What’s happening? How can it be that in greatest city on earth the people that are protecting us don’t have proper footwear.  And CE knows shoes.

(Editors note: CE used to work in the ladies shoe department at A&S in the Queens mall) 

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If you have the answer please let us know.  

And remember caveatemptorbuyerbeware  

always.   

Flying the friendly skies

CE recently had the misfortune to fly the unfriendly skies of United.  It was not the airline staff that was at fault, but if you have the misfortune to sit towards the rear of the plane as is so often CE’s plight your food choice may be limited due to the clear favorite food choice having been distributed to the passengers sitting closer to the front.

But, the inconvenience above is Just a red herring. The problem that most concerns CE is the lack of civility that we passengers demonstrate towards each other.

The “shared space” concept that the airlines like to present is nothing but a hoax. There is little or no sharing because most airline passengers become hungry wolves and indiscriminately abscond the precious and limited overhead stowaway compartments with a clear and total disregard to the needs of fellow travelers.

In this high altitude microcosm it matters not if you are seated in economy, economy plus or business class, the struggle is the same.

as always,

caveatemptorbuyerbeware  

''The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers,'' was stated by Dick the Butcher in ''Henry VI,'' Part II, act IV, Scene II, Line 73.

for many years CE has repeated adnauseum our mantra that “the only time a corporation does something good for the consumer it’s a coincidence “. There are exceptions to every rule. Some of you may have in the past cashed in your coins at a TD bank. TD for no charge ( and TD also gave out prizes to kids young and old who correctly guessed within a few dollars the amount of change being counted) accepted the coins which you could either redeem for cash or deposit to your account.  It was a great banking and learning experience for my mini me CE. 

So by now you are probably wondering what TD Bank has to do with Shakespeare’s admonition to slay lawyers.  Sadly some law firm saw TD banks courtesy to consumers as an opportunity to file a class action.  Although TD checked the accuracy of their counting machines every four hours and took the machines off line if they were even just one penny off,  this was not good enough for the lawyers.  

Well as it happened the lawyers did have a valid argument , the TD coin counting machines were off infinitesimally.  This inconsistency in the coin counting resulted in a settlement which caused TD to discontinue the service and take the coin counting machines off line.  

So CE asks who wins and who loses?  Now CE has to count and roll his coins and wait on line at the bank to make a deposit or CE can use the coin machines in the supermarkets and pay a 10% fee.  

Shakespeare, it seems that you were on to something.  But, please give CE and Mrs. CE another 30 years.   

as alwsys, 

caveatemptorbuyerbeware 

 

Slow down

As we move ever closer to December 21, our winter solstice let’s try to take a deep slow breath and rather than cogitating on the negatives, let’s try to adopt some of the great philosophy of Jerry Posner.  CE and  Mrs. CE believe that he is on to something. 

Cheers! 

Ok? No it’s not ok

Why do so many people use the expression ‘ok’?  What does ok? represent?  Actually it’s not ok.  I no longer wish to hear someone end their sentence with ok?  “ hello, like um you know, we don’t like have it in you know,  like in your size, ok?”

CE & the NRA

CE recently received a fundraising call from the NRA. CE agreed to make a contribution on the condition that the NRA’s policy included the requirement for background checks including mental health background checks prior to anyone obtaining a gun and a 30 day waiting period to perform the background checks.  CE also conditioned a donation on annual mandatory continuing education requirements to maintain a gun license and further that each gun be registered with local law enforcement agencies.  

To CE’s surprise the NRA representative (who declined to be named in this post) agreed with the above in its entirety.  

As CE’s father often said, “where there’s life there’s hope”  

as always, caveatemptorbuyerbeware.   

Can I help you?

Why do people ask the question if they really don’t mean it? 

Up up and away

well CE and Mrs. CE together with mini CE after a two hour weather delay took off on JetBlue from JFK to SFO this afternoon to celebrate thanksgiving with our west coast family.   Unfortunately there was an extremely disruptive passenger who moved to empty seats across from us and prevented us from enjoying the Jetblue experience.   The crew had apparently spotted him before he moved to our proximity because when I mentioned the issue to a steward he was well aware of the situation.    Apparently this gentleman, and I use that word loosely, is a frequent JetBlue flier and is known to the JetBlue organization although this was the first time that this plane crew had come across him. 

 To get the full picture,  this odd looking gentleman thought nothing of exposing himself, lowering his pants and raising his shirt while sitting Awkwardly on his seat and every 10 to 15 minutes he made mysterious.   ( no flush was ever heard) trips to the bathroom.  

Prior to moving to our row of seats,  he had made a loud public announcement that he needed to sleep and couldn’t sleep where he was originally seated and then proceeded to fidget for the entire 6 1/2 hour flight without sleeping a wink.  We would have greatly welcomed the peace and quiet that his nap would have brought.   

 Further his bizarre antics made it impossible for CE to get any shut eye because CE was on security mode to make sure that no harm would befall Mrs. CE or mini CE.  

CE applauds the Jetblue flight staffs vigilance. They were on high alert during the entirety of the flight.  I surmise however that the combination of alcohol and whatever else he may have been taking contributed to his disruptive behavior.  

The CE takeaway from this experience confirms once again—be on your guard and

Caveatemptorbuyerbeware

 

NYC the silver lining

well CE needs to adjust his line of sight. Rather than looking down at the shmutz lining the streets, CE needs to see the beauty and the qualities that makes NYC the beacon of hope that it is.  Is there another city that offers the possibilities that New York offers?   What I should have learned yesterday is not that I was exploring a city where people don’t care but that I was exploring a city that gives hope and light to the world.  

The streets of New York

It is rare that CE spends non working time in NYC. Today CE was asked to assist Mrs. CE with a few grand parenting duties.  So between giving baby CE a bottle and making two coffee runs there was an unusual amount of downtime to explore the city.  Much to my regret the city seems to have regressed, the streets, corners and curbs were practically filling up with garbage before my eyes.   

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Is this phenomenon of mindlessly discarding garbage a simple lack of respect for others? Is it due to a lack of community and no sense of civic responsibility?  Are those who are inclined to litter residents of the area or are they simply passing through and don’t give a damn?  Where is the anti littering campaign of my youth? Would no littering signs make a difference?  Does anyone care?

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You can now judge a book by its cover

it’s official, In a matter of a few years paper books will no longer be available for reading. 

Physical books will be represented in various art forms as exhibited recently in Lennox Massachusetts   

 

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The library room is for contemplation and reflection the books are there to give an ambience not for reading  

 

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CE rememberers with fondness the feel of actual books, flipping through the pages and then back again. Using actual bookmarks or just folding over the corner of the page.  

Those days are disappearing  

 

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Faux wall capital One bank 56th and Broadway NYC  

Chiao books.   

Manners

Where have all the manners gone, long time passing? Where have all the thank you sir or ma’ams gone long time ago?  where has our civility gone it’s gone to a world that I’m not on. Oh when will we ever learn oh when will we  learn again?

“Please have a seat the doctor will be right in”

How many times have those meaningless words been said?  CE has heard them too many times to count.

The process typically begins with a nurse that ushers you into one of the examining rooms to take basic complaints and vitals. And then you are left sitting on the uncomfortable examination table for up to an hour. 

 

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Complaining about this is comparable to honking your horn in bumper to bumper traffic. it doesn’t get you anywhere faster but it gets it out of your system.   

cheers!  

See,  I feel better already.   

CE

 

Mail box post script

Well CE was hoping to insert a video but sadly I have no clue how so we will have to wait a few years until CE learns which buttons to push.  

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Another sign of the apocalypse

Once upon a time in a land far away before CE existed, you could go to a mailbox with a bunch of envelopes and letters and small packages and put them in the mailbox with ease. But lo have the times changed. 

Ryder Cup

The entire CE family from our eldest at 92 to our youngest at 9 weeks wishes Tiger Woods and Team USA a successful trip across the pond.

The 42nd Ryder Cup Matches will be held in France from 28–30 September 2018 on the Albatros Course of Le Golf National in Guyancourt, a suburb southwest of Paris. It will be the second Ryder Cup to be held in Continental Europe, after the 1997 contest, which was held in Spain.Wikipedia

 

No room at the Inn. The Labor Day weekend misadventures of CE and family

Hello


As per our conversation earlier today you have asked me to recount the misadventure that we suffered at your hotel last evening that lasted into the wee hours of this morning.  Our first indication that things were not quite what they should be was when we inquired of your staff if it would be possible to get a dehumidifier or air purifier because as soon as I walked into the room my allergies erupted.
We were advised by Maura that no such equipment existed on the premises.  And to the question of switching rooms to perhaps a less musty room we were told that no rooms were available both of these statements were later in the evening discredited. 


At 11:30 PM we arrived back to the hotel with our group to discover to our dismay that our daughter and her cousins room could not be accessed with their room key. after determining that there was a larger issue Maura called in the maintenance supervisor.  Maura told our daughter and her cousin to have a seat in the lobby and wait there because once again she advised  that there were no other rooms available.  After waiting for over an hour Maura remembered that there was indeed an available room that the girls could move into because the maintenance supervisor ( who was a gentleman)was unable to access the door.  When we asked Maura  what the girls should do for sundries and clothing Maura suggested at 1:00 in the morning that they go to Rite Aid which is open 24 hours we asked Maura to find out if Riteaide would have the necessary supplies and clothing and we asked how she thought the kids should get there at one in the morning.  Maura was not at all helpful with this and was actually rude and insolent. although her co worker Audrey made an unsuccessful attempt to call over to Riteaide. 

During the course of my conversation with Maura she informed me that I was harassing her and that she would call the police and demanded that I leave the lobby.  my wife was on the phone with me as I was speaking to Maura and she placed an initial call over to the police and we explained the situation to them. 
Within five minutes  six police cars arrived at the hotel entrance way and several officers  spoke to my wife and me while several other officers spoke to your staff.  as they left your hotel the police expressed to us that they believed that the hotel should have done right by us and should never have escalated this situation and clearly we were due a standard of care higher than what was being delivered by your staff.
Also, on her way back into the hotel, when my wife stopped to ask Maura for her name she refused to give it to her and told her to leave the lobby because, she said, my wife was creating a disturbance. What an interesting and bizarre statement by Maura; it was by that time 1:30 am and we were the only people In the lobby.  

Go figure.