Today the Cherokee Tribune, Tomorrow…Variety? Entertainment Weekly?
January 22, 2012
Guess whose mug graces the cover of that august chronicle The Cherokee Tribune this fine Sunday morning? None other than Yours Truly…
And here’s a closer-in shot:
There are a few things I feel the need to point out:
1. Note the relative size of my picture as compared with that of Newt Gingrich, winner of the South Carolina primary. I’d say it’s about 8-1, wouldn’t you? Seems fitting.
2. Notice the juxtaposition: I’m usually the guy smiling, and Newt’s usually the guy with his mouth open screaming.
3. OK, Broadway it ain’t, but improv is sure fun.
4. If you live in the area, and haven’t come yet, you’re missing it!
If You Want to Deal with an Honest Phone Company…
November 23, 2011
May I suggest you not patronize Sprint.
I consider it a public service to blog about companies both to avoid and to patronize. A few years ago, I blogged about why I will never give another dime to DirecTV (their incessant mailings to me notwithstanding). I had signed up for DirecTV and the salesperson had not been honest with me about the commitment involved, and thus since I do not do business with unethical companies, when my two-year “commitment” was up, I changed my service and vowed never to do business with them again as long as I lived (though I remain perfectly willing to give them all the bad publicity they so richly deserve).
Now, the same thing, essentially, has happened with Sprint. After a number of relatively happy years with Verizon, I succumbed to what looked like a deal too good to be true to switch to Sprint. Turns out it was. I was quoted a price by the salesperson in store, assured my bill would be that price, and now, lo and behold, the bill is ca. $30 more than I was promised. Contacting their support department was to no avail; they “apologized”, but explained there was nothing they could do. Fine. Thankfully, there are some things I can do. I can fulfill my commitment (I guess at least in this case, I was told I would be making one!), and then change carriers, never again to do business with Sprint. I can let my friends know that if they are considering Sprint, they ought to look in another direction (that’s what a friend ought to do, right?). I can learn, I guess, what I need to ask next time I sign up for such a “service” (I think that next time, I am going to literally get a salesperson to write in longhand–and sign–the understanding that we’ve reached).
By the way, while I”m on the subject, just a word about other companies I do not patronize, and why:
- Apple – Apple led the fight in California for the legalization of “gay marriage”, and I have no interest in my money going to fund the further destruction of American society;
- La-Z-Boy – The culprit here wasn’t unethical behavior, or some social stance; rather, it was the singularly most inept customer service I’ve ever received. Happened many years ago, and it was probably, in all honesty, limited to the suburban Pittsburgh store with which we dealt, but it put a bad enough taste in my mouth that I doubt I’ll ever do business with La-Z-Boy again.
- Comcast – Actually, I am still doing business with Comcast, but weighing my options; again, it is the horrible customer service that I’ve typically received from Comcast which colors my choice here.
I should balance this piece with some businesses that I consider to be great businesses. I work for one, of course: Chick-fil-A is the real deal. I thought this when I was just a customer; I know it from the inside now. Kohl’s is one of the finest companies going. My wife and daughter became fans and drug me along; now I’m totally sold on the place. The Cheesecake Factory is a great restaurant that consistently delivers great experiences, and the one time we had a bad experience there, I was dealt with in such a way that I never hesitated going back. There was a company whose name I don’t remember, and with which I doubt my readers will ever do business, but recently I ordered something from them second-day air, and when it was not there when I was promised, they promptly refunded my money. I called them back specifically to tell them what a stand-up outfit they were. And if I think of some more companies, I’ll be happy to add them as well.
Making a “Proportional” Argument
September 22, 2011
A decision came down from Chick-fil-A corporate headquarters last week that has a few operators really hot and bothered. I won’t get into what it was all about; it’s an internal matter, and that’s enough said. One particular operator took the initiative to write a chain-wide email to express his strong disagreement with the decision (a concern which, from my vantage point, is much ado about very little, really).
But here’s the point of this post: in crafting his argument, and then later reiterating the same basic position, he on each occasion resorted to apocalyptic language, warning that by this decision, he feared Chick-fil-A, a company long known for its foundation of Biblical principles, indicated that we were capitulating. In his follow-up, he wrote about how all that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.
Please. I mean, really, please.
If you have a point to make, make it. If you have an argument to support it, fine. But every time we exaggerate the stakes, we weaken our argument. Frankly, I thought that this particular fellow had a relatively tiny good point to make, but when he overmade his point so, I wrote off his entire argument.
Now this doesn’t mean that there aren’t some small decisions that have large consequences, or that there’s no such thing as a “slippery slope”. But I think that as we make arguments—whatever the topic—we would do well to remember a proper sense of proportion.
9/11
September 11, 2011
“It was the first time I ever saw you cry, Dad”, said Practically-Perfect Daughter yesterday as we considered together the 10th anniversary of 9/11. I think we all knew instinctively that the world that we knew on 9/10 would never return to us. I remember a few things clearly:
- On the last normal night of our lives, Karen and I spent a nice evening celebrating my 41st birthday. We ate seafood at Youngstown Crab Company (we’ve never been back, though I’m not sure why).
- On the bright, sunny Tuesday morning that was 9/11, I got up early to change the oil in my car, prior to our district pastors’ gathering. I went to Sheetz to pick up some refreshments, and my associate pastor, Steve Van Slyke, was gassing up his car or something. “Have you heard about the plane hitting the World Trade Center?”, he asked, and of course I hadn’t. I went to my office, fired up the computer, and was immediately horrified. I called Karen and told her to turn on the TV, that I’d be home in a bit. We had the pastors over to our house where we sat in stunned silence for a couple hours watching the events of the morning unfold in all their horror.
- We organized a prayer service for that evening at the church, and a Sunday evening service on the Mercer Square for all the area churches to come together and pray.
- I remember wondering what kind of world my kids would grow up in.
I don’t know that I have anything particularly profound to say, and I doubt my words add much to the remembrance of the situation. But it’s a day none of us will ever forget, and life as we knew it has never been, nor will it ever be again, quite the same.
And…We’re Back!
September 9, 2011
51 today, and here I am again. OK, I said from the start that this “retirement” might be a “Brett Favre retirement”, but actually, it wasn’t; I actually did take an entire year off (unlike Favre, who hopefully now at long last has thrown his last NFL pass). Maybe it was more of a “George Foreman retirement” or a “Richard Nixon retirement”, but definitely shorter than a “Tiki Barber retirement”, though Tiki seems to be having a difficult time un-retiring these days, unlike me, who can do it just by…doing it!
So, what’s new with me? My 51st year of life (remember, when you turn 50, you begin your 51st year) was a pretty good one. I’ve worked at Chick-fil-A now for 16 months or so, and recently had some adjustment to my job description that has been a great change (no need to go into details; suffice to say that everybody concerned is happy about it). I took dance lessons two nights a week for a month, with the goal not so much being to become a great dancer, or even to do it with any regularity, but rather to be more comfortable with the idea should my acting career call for it.
Speaking of my acting career, I was in three productions this past year. Last fall, I played William Henry Blore in Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None; we had a tremendous cast and it was a real blast, my favorite role of the year. Next, I was in Hello, Dolly, playing a cameo role as well as a waiter and townsperson; after having had the lead in The Music Man the spring before, I was faced with a harder role: second fiddle! It was fun, though in talking with the male lead, a guy who’s become a good friend, we both agreed that he had the easier role than all the choreography that my role called for! Lastly, I was in a world premiere play entitled Flippin’ thru the Rolodex, a spoof about four old geezers who get their dates on Friday night by…you guessed it. For the record, I did not play an old geezer! Had a small part in that as well; it’s all I wanted. Beyond this, I have gotten paid for a few acting-related gigs. Below is one of the two internet commercials for which I was modestly compensated:
Continuing in the performing vein, I added a new experience to my…experiences collection. I’m now a member of the iThink Improv Troupe, based in Woodstock, GA. We’ve done several performances; below is an excerpt from one such performance:
‘Nuf of that. I was trained this past year in Walk Thru the Bible’s New Testament Experience, so now I”m qualified to teach both Old and New Testaments. Karen and I joined Grace Community Church of Marietta, a fine church that is proving to be a good home church for us in this season of our lives. Pastors John Harris and Randy Kirby have become good friends; I’ve had four opportunities to deliver the Sunday morning message in the past year (in addition to teaching Walk Thru the Old Testament).
OK, so what’ll be different about my blog henceforth? In some ways, very little; I will probably still pass on the stuff that interests me, whether it be about the church/being a follower of Christ, politics, sports, or just life in general. One thing I want to add—a new category—will be to try to ask, from time to time, A Good Question. Sometimes we learn more from asking questions than from pontificating as to answers. There will still probably be spurts of inspiration—when I’ll write several posts—followed by dry spells when I won’t have much to say for a week or two. Sure, that’s not the ideal way to build a blog, but it suits me at this juncture of life. Just glad you’re reading this, meaning you’ve stuck around to read whatever else comes to mind. Let’s have some fun.
This phrase comes from the 1978 "Jonestown massacre" in which most members of the Peoples Temple cult, blindly following their leader Jim Jones, committed suicide by drinking cyanide-laced Kool-Aid.
Osborne: A Contrarian's Guide to Knowing God
Schlossberg: Idols For Destruction
