Passing the miles away

When I was a child, our family travels were all by automobile. We did have an AM car radio but I don't recall our using it much. Instead, we had a little blue book with song lyrics, the kinds of songs you'd sing around the campfire such as Home on the Range, or Red River Valley. Dad would belt out his strong baritone and the rest of us would join in. Dad would be driving so he couldn't read the lyrics but he didn't need to in any case. He had them all memorized.

Traveling with our own kids we happened upon the Storyteller Tapes that were recorded stories (familiar fairytales and bible stories) on cassette tapes with booklets containing the written version for the kids to follow along and enjoy the illustrations as well.

Now that it's just Carolyn and I, we visit the local library and check out enough Books on Tape or Books on CD to fill in the hours on long trips. Radio stations are too sparse in the desert areas of our travel and we're pretty picky about listening to commercials anyway. Music CD's are nice for short fill-ins. But books really make the time fly. Sometimes we're even surprised that we're already at a usual rest stop or fueling location and have to backtrack.

Tuacahn's "Cinderella"

This "Cinderella" is not your Disney Cinderella. Unlike most other musicals, this musical was written for television. Rodgers and Hammerstein created an extravaganza that was actually inspired by Disney's success with "Snow White". According to the program, when Cinderella was first shown on TV, it boasted an audience of over 100 million. It was estimated that if it had been a Broadway musical, it would have had to play to standing room only crowds for 110 years to equal that size audience.

But, again, Tuacahn has used their unique outdoor theater to make the show even more outstanding than it might normally have been. There was a real horse-drawn carriage (2 actually, 1 normal looking and a second one looking vaguely like a pumpkin); a flying fairy godmother; the ability of the prince and Cinderella to dance 20 feet above the palace ballroom floor; and, of course, a small fireworks display to cap the evening.

Even though it had been made abundantly clear in all the publications that this was not the Disney version of "Cinderella", almost everyone felt a little disappointed. Those of us who had seen "My Fair Lady" the previous evening noticed that there was just no comparison in the quality. Sort of like seeing a Shakespeare play followed by Monte Python. "Cinderella" was worth seeing but if you have to pick one, pick "My Fair Lady."

Tuacahn's "My Fair Lady"

Lerner & Loewe's "My Fair Lady" is such a classic that there's hardly anything I can say more about it. It broke the record for longest running play on Broadway and was then made into a film that broke records as well. But the Tuacahn Theater has outdone themselves on this one. The fabulous outdoor theater allowed them to include in the production an onstage: rainstorm, horse race, fireworks display, two horse-drawn carriages and a vintage motorcar. Although there was a cast of close to 40 people, the stage is large enough that they never looked crowded. All the performers were miked which meant that every line and every song lyric was clearly heard by the whole audience. We had fourth row seats, though, and appreciated all the nuances of facial expressions. Everyone stayed marvelously in character the whole time.

To make the evening even more entertaining, we enjoyed the pre-show buffet dinner and the pre-show English street show, and the pre-pre-show girls' dancing team all the way from Orem, Utah.

Great experience. Great show. I highly recommend it.

A muralist at heart

Most of us are creative even though many would deny it. Those need extra encouragement to get their creative "juices" going. Others are creative but undisciplined and need training and focus before their creativity can be appreciated by the rest of us.

My granddaughter Libby appears to be the second type. She is creative beyond her five years of age as these pictures indicate. She likes large canvases for her art which allow her to represent figures almost life size at times.

You will note the happiness in her drawings. There are lots of smiles. (You can double click on these pictures to see an enlarged version.)

Soon these great works of art will be covered by a couple of coats of off-white paint, landlords these days being somewhat fussy about unauthorized decor on the walls of apartments. But I suspect Libby will remain an artist and, with the proper encouragement and discipline, will someday grace the walls of other homes with art that will be even more appreciated.

Blessing the latest grandchild

The most recent addition to our extended family (if you don't count the recent wedding) is, of course, Gavin. He arrived with a few breathing problems and had to stay a couple extra days in the hospital but he's more than made up for it since then.

As you can see he's a healthly happy baby who is either getting bored at what his grandpa is saying or trying to get a word in edgewise.

He seems a little happier with his grandma.

After the church ceremony (during which photographs are discouraged) in which Philip officially gave him a name and a blessing the family gathered again at the Ancestral Family Home to break bread, dip nachos, drink punch, and in general have a good time visiting and congratulating Philip and Jenny while filling our stomachs. Very nice affair.

A Wedding to Remember

As you probably guessed by the break in the sequence of posts, the past three days has been a bit more hectic than normal. But today was certainly a special day in the life of our son Lee and his immediate family. That immediate family expanded significantly today as he married Staci. With her two daughters and his son and daughter than will now have four kids to take care of and enjoy.

The event started with a party held at Jessica and Jon's house and underwritten by Carolyn. Since the wedding itself was held on a gondola floating along the canals of Naples (California) there wasn't room for all the people who wanted to wish the couple well and they weren't anxious to have a large reception.


As the sun was dipping toward the horizon, the small wedding party gathered on the dock, posed for pictures, and boarded the gondola which was piloted by two "professional" gondoliers.

When we had left the dock and had wound through parts of Naples, the officator began the short ceremony that served to unite Lee and Staci.

A kiss by the newlywed couple sealed the ceremony.

And the new family of six headed back to the shore amid strains of "Arriva derche Roma" and "Baby of Mine" from the soundtrack from Dumbo. There was a little bit of something for everyone.

Super deluxe trash pickup day

We had another neighborhood trash pickup this week. It was so wonderful to be able to set out our recently redundant dishwasher as well as all the old scrap pieces of floor tile that were way too heavy to put in the regular trash. And within a few hours the whole pile was gone.

Of course that was nothing compared to the pile our neighbors set out.

We really appreciate Carmichael City doing this on a periodic basis. Of course other cities allow you to call and schedule such a pickup but some of us need a little bit of a nudge to proceed with cleaning the yard or the garage. A little postcard in the mail saying "this is the date" helps.

Losing weight

It's not going to change my grandson's way of greeting me with a pat on my belly and saying, "You're my fat grandpa, aren't you?" But it does make me feel better about myself and hopefully contribute to improved health. I'm talking about my losing 10 pounds in the past month. My goal is to lose another 20 to 25 pounds before the holiday season this fall and I'm hopeful I can attain that.

So far I haven't had to resort to any usual diets or changes of habit. I continue to exercise at the gym 2 to 3 days a week for about an hour and I keep active with delivering Meals on Wheels, volunteering at the Library, and walking around campus as part of the Sac State Renaissance Society. But mostly, I've tried to be really good about not taking seconds and not taking large portions and not eating out more than once a day. I think it's also helped not to eat a two-slice bread sandwich every lunch.

In any case, it's not dramatic but it does seem to be working little by little. And I've certainly got a skinnier wardrobe just waiting for me - all the clothes I used to wear in the 90's!

Conversational Spanish

Although I've enjoyed the Renaissance Society's offerings at Sac State, the offerings seem to be either professional lecturers/speakers or fellow society members giving little more than "book reports" on a favorite topic of theirs. I still enjoy a regular class with homework, quizzes, and class discussion. So I picked up the current schedule of fall classes from American River College.

My first thought was taking an Elementary German class so that I could brush up on my German. But Carolyn thought I should take Conversational Spanish so we could use it on a trip to Mexico. Then I remembered what fun the two of us had had taking drawing together and taking a semester of guitar instruction together. Of course, that was back when Carolyn was rarely out of town and we could plan on a Tuesday or Thursday evening out.

But wait! Even now when she spends so much time on the road, she's almost always home by Friday afternoon. Do they teach Conversational Spanish on Friday evenings? Yes! They're off campus classes but no further away than the guitar class or the archeology class I took. The more we discussed it, the more it sounded like a lot of fun and potentially useful, too. Even if we never get to Mexico, Carolyn could probably apply it in her work.

Registering for the class was another matter. It seems that American River College as part of the Los Rios Education District, doesn't like to keep "deadwood" on their rolls. If you miss taking a class one semester, you're no longer "active" and have to submit a whole new application to register again. As "non-traditional" students, even when we take a class every semester we have to submit a "mini-application" to verify we're still interested in taking classes with no degree in mind. Fortunately, this can all be done online so in an evening we were able to apply, register, and pay our fees. Now we just have to wait until August to start the class.

Insurance drug benefit

For many of us, our medical insurance is pretty much taken for granted until we are between jobs and have to pay 100% of the premiums or do without. And we certainly take note when we visit a doctor or an outpatient clinic or, heaven forbid, actually go in the hospital for a major operation. With our Kaiser Permanente plan we usually don't even see a bill to know how much we have benefitted from the insurance.

But we do often see the savings on our pharmacy sales slips because Kaiser, like Safeway or Albertson's lists on the sales slip "You have saved $xxx by shopping with us today." When I picked up the first 100 days supply of my Parkinson's disease medication, I was a little disgruntled that they asked for $15 copay instead of the usual $5 (because my physician had specified a brand name product). But when I saw the sales slip that I was getting $1,000 worth of medicine for $15 I shut my mouth.

I don't know what Carolyn's medications are costing us but this ($10 per day) easily beats all my other medicines in cost per day. And certainly makes me glad we have insurance.

Father's Day work party - 2007

Once again the women's group of our church (or more specifically the leaders of the women's group) got together the day before Father's Day to prepare a special treat for the fathers.

This time they decided to pool their collective efforts and produce little packets of cookies for each father.

I can personally vouch for the cooking ability of these lovely ladies and look forward to sampling my packet. Thanks, Alice, Carolyn, and Jeannette.

Because I'm a man

Because I'm a man,

When I lock my keys in the car, I will fiddle with a coat hanger long after hypothermia has set in. Calling AAA is not an option. I will win.


Because I'm a man,

When the car isn't running very well, I will pop the hood and stare at the engine as if I know what I'm looking at. If another man shows up, one of us will say to the other, "I used to be able to fix these things, but now with all these computers and everything, I wouldn't know where to start." We will then drink a couple of beers and break wind, as a form of Holy Communion.


Because I'm a man,

When I catch a cold, I need someone to bring me soup and take care of me while I lie in bed and moan. You're a woman. You never get as sick as I do, so for you, this is no problem.


Because I'm a man,

I can be relied upon to purchase basic groceries at the store, like milk or bread. I cannot be expected to find exotic items like "cumin" or "tofu." For all I know, these are the same thing.


Because I'm a man,

When one of our appliances stops working, I will insist on taking it apart, despite evidence that this will just cost me twice as much once the repair person gets here and has to put it back together.


Because I'm a man,

I must hold the television remote control in my hand while I watch TV. If the thing has been misplaced, I may miss a whole show looking for it, though one time I was able to survive by holding a calculator instead (applies to engineers only)


Because I'm a man,

There is no need to ask me what I'm thinking about. The true answer is always either sex, cars, sex, sports or sex. I have to make up something else when you ask, so just don't ask.


Because I'm a man,

You don't have to ask me if I liked the movie. Chances are, if you're crying at the end of it, I didn't . . . and if you are feeling amorous afterwards then I will certainly at least remember the name and recommend it to others.


Because I'm a man,

I think what you're wearing is fine. I thought what you were wearing five minutes ago was fine, too. Either pair of shoes is fine. With the belt or without it, looks fine. It does not make your ass look too big. It was the pasta and potatoes and margaritas that did that. Your hair is fine. You look fine. Can we just go now?


And this is, after all, the year 2007, I will share equally in the housework. You just do the laundry, the cooking, the cleaning, the vacuuming, and the dishes, and I'll do the rest. Like wandering around in the garage with a beer, wondering what to do.


This has been a public service message for women to better understand men.

Parkinson's Disease?

The neurologist called it a "working diagnosis" after he examined me this morning. He was quick to point out that a definitive diagnosis of Parkinson's is possible only with an autopsy and invasive dissection of the brain which he thought I wasn't too interested in getting at this point. But, he pointed out, the four most common symptoms of Parkinson's are:

* Tremor, which means shaking or trembling. Tremor may affect your hands, arms, legs, or head.
* Stiff muscles.
* Slow movement.
* Problems with balance or walking.

and I have three of the four symptoms. (I haven't yet shown any significant tremors in daily living and he couldn't detect any in his physical exam of me.)

The good news is that Parkinson's doesn't affect life expectancy so I should live as long with it as I would have without it. The bad news is that it is incurable and progressive which means that without treatment, the symtoms will continue to get worse for the rest of my life.

Since the condition is caused by a lack of necessary dopamine in the brain, I'll be starting on an oral medication that is labeled a "dopamine agonist" designed to stimulate my natural levels of dopamine. I will gradually increase my dosage until my symptoms disappear (something the doctor thinks is very possible at this point) or the side effects such as sleepiness or nausea become intolerable. Of course, one of the things that will confirm the diagnosis is whether my symptoms respond to the medication.

During the visit with the doctor, I presented him with a list of all the symptoms I could think of that indicated a difference in the way I act or feel from a year ago. Although I tried not to use my knowledge of Parkinson's disease indicators, my list was close enough to that list of indicators that the Doctor asked if I had used online resources to attempt a self-diagnosis. He said it in a nice, non-accusatory way. I liked that he was sharp enough to consider that possibility, though.

So, like Michael J. Fox, it looks like I will be trying to deal with this new and interesting development in my life.

Here is the link to Kaiser's Health Dictionary entry for Parkinson's. The other location I felt very helpful was at Parkinson's Disease Foundation.

As the doctor pointed out to us, every case is a little different so you have to be cautious about generalizing symptoms or outcomes.

A Long, Hot Summer

It looks like we're in for a hot one this year. We're not quite to the middle of June and already we've had our second day of "triple digit temperatures," a fancy way the news announcers around here have for saying 100 degrees. What would they do if we were using the Celsius thermometer.

Seriously, though, we do have to start planning for extra watering of our trees and grass, additional hours of running the air conditioner, even ways to cool the house down as much as possible in the night time as we can't necessarily count on the delta breeze to waft through our windows.

Mr. Wizard

Don Herbert made an impact on my life and never knew about it. I’m sure that I am just one of millions, though, so it isn’t surprising that he wouldn’t have know me. On the other hand he was one of the few radio, movie, or TV personalities that I can say have truly made a difference in my life.

Don was known on television and to the 100,000 members of his fan clubs as Mr. Wizard. His weekly television show "Watch Mr. Wizard" aimed at grade school kids of all ages was a favorite of mine. Although he began in 1951, it wasn’t until several years later that we had a TV set in our house. But I recall watching movies of his show in school even before we could watch him on TV.

Mr. Wizard used words like “magic” and “mystery” but he was always careful to explain that this magic of science was available to anyone to open the mysteries of the universe. After catching our attention with something like floating a needle on water with surface tension, he would then carefully explain what is at work here. There was something for the youngest kids to enjoy and the oldest to ponder.

“Mr. Wizard” ran for 14 years from 1951 to 1965, for one year in 1971, and on Nickelodeon from 1983 to 1990. I think it’s safe to say he influenced more than one generation to become scientists or at least appreciate the scientific method. I think I’ve considered myself a scientist ever since watching him for the first time.

He died Tuesday, June 12, 2007 at the age of 89.

Real Life learning

I was cleaning the top of my chest of drawers the other day and came across this souvenir of San Luis Obispos. It is the wrapper for a chocolate bar that the hotel provided each guest as we checked in. That is a nice gesture sort of like the warm chocolate chip cookies that the Doubletree Inn in Sacramento hands out. But what I found most charming was that this was a local product, produced by the students at Cal Poly SLO. It brought back memories of other students' efforts that we have appreciated at other colleges and universities.

Back at BYU we were regular customers of the dairy products that were an integral part of their agricultural program. Of course the plays, instrument and choral performances are entertaining as well as educational. And there is even a high class reservations-only restaurant at American River College that we haven't taken advantage of yet. But the menus we read during the breaks in our art class certainly were tempting. It's too bad more university level learning can't also be a direct benefit to the community.

RIPping old tapes

RIP: The action of copying music track(s) off of a music CD, LP, cassette tape, or other media, and also possibly converting them into some form of compressed file, typically MP3.

Several months ago while trying out a retirement gift from Extreme Geek, I "RIPped" one of the old reel to reel tapes that I had made before Carolyn and I were married. I was not happy with the hardware or the software I was using at the time so I returned the hardware and elected not to buy the software by the time the free trial period ended. And that was the end of that -- I thought.

But the other day I cleaned off our computer desk and found the 3 CDs I had created at that time and loaded them into my Highlander CD player. Carolyn and I found them so nice to listen to because they reminded us of our early married days (40 years ago). I decided to make another go of it.

This time I googled "RIP LPs" and found several more pieces of potential software, one of which (PolterbitS) had a 14-day free trial period. This time the match was much better. No special hardware is required as one part of the software records the music that is input through the Line In jack already existing on most computers' sound cards. This software segment allows you to pause the recording and adjust volume levels. The second part of the software allows for both manual and automatic splitting of the recorded audio file into tracks as well as some rudimentary filtering and file saving with track and album names. There is nothing fancy such as database look-up but with the age of the tapes I'm RIPping, I don't know how many I'd even find in a database.

The net result is that I can convert my tapes to MP3 files almost as fast as I can play them. Then using the CD burner that came with my computer, I can create a CD for each album on my tapes or make a compilation CD of just the favorites. Anyone for some great 50's music?

Croatian Extravaganza

It sounded fantastic in the flyers - "one of California's most popular cultural and social events" and "promises good food, good entertainment, and fun for all who attend". Besides, who would not want to get better acquainted with one of the lesser-known but historically significant cultures of Europe?

The reality was a little less glowing. For a $7 admission fee you could wander the grounds of the Croatian-American Cultural Center, visit the booths of half a dozen vendors who were there to display (and sell) t-shirts, head bands, embroidered keepsakes, olive oil, etc., and listen to various performing bands throughout the day. Children (for an extra fee) could play on a couple of the blow up jump houses and slides.

Also, for an extra fee there was some wonderful food such as these pigs and lambs roasting behind the food service lines. In addition to the meat, they served what was probably the sweetest saurkraut I have ever tasted, German style potato salad, bean salad, and a type of cole slaw. The bakery offerings were tempting as well.

Although we enjoyed the food and some music, there just wasn't enough going on to keep a person entertained for more than an hour or so. Members of the Croatian community seemed to be having a great time visiting with friends and family but for us outsiders, we ran out of activities after only a couple of hours.

Some days...

Some days it just doesn't pay to go to work. Of course, being retired I don't go to work most days unless you call all my "fun" volunteer jobs work. But I still spend 4 to 6 hours one day a week at the Alta California Regional Center which is why I heard about their traumatic Monday a couple of days after it occurred.

It was a usual Monday, maybe a little more hectic because there were workmen around replacing some air conditioning equipment on the roof. Then around 11:00 someone reported a funny smell in the accounting area and the adult units above that area. Soon a visible cloud could be seen in some of the cubicles and aisle ways. Staff were reporting headaches. Evacuation of the building was ordered and the fire department was called to investigate.

It turned out to be a freon leak but oddly enough from equipment lines that were not involved in the replacement units the workmen were there working on. Although staff was assured that the freon was non-toxic, the oily odor was overpowering and only slowly dispersing even with additional venting fans brought in. Some staff were even concerned about going back to their desks or the break room to get their lunches. Management staff agreed to retrieve any such lunches. Finally, the decision was made to send the staff home for the rest of the day.

While stragglers were chatting in the outside patio area wondering when it really would be safe to go back in, someone noticed a swarm of honey bees in a nearby tree. They didn't appear to be threating the Alta employees but a pure mass of 10,000 bees is still intimidating. Calls were put in to our building owner, property manager, and exterminator. Someone in the group decided there had to be a better way. They called Uncle Jerry from Jerry's Cookies & Honeybees.

Uncle Jerry, dressed in beekeeper regalia and sporting a less than state-of-the-art tree saw, soon had the bees following him and his honeycombs to a new hive he had brought for them. With the bees safely in their new home (except for a few stragglers of their own) Uncle Jerry then proceeded to share some of his delicious cookies with his new loyal fan club. The exterminators were called off.

I'm just sorry I missed it and the opportunity to get some pictures for the blog.

Jakie graduates, too

Not to be outdone by others in the family getting bachelor's degrees or celebrating other significant milestones, Jacob Loveridge somberly joined his classmates at Wonderland pre-school graduation exercises.

It's hard to tell if the teachers put the fear of God in the kids or if Jake was just pensive that day as he walked down the aisle.

Even posing with his parents, his smile was forced rather than the usual spontaneous (if sometimes posed) smile.

And when he posed with his teacher, he really looks like he is thinking that this really is the end of his carefree days. It's a tough world waiting out there for a pre-school graduate.

User friendly library

Even though I've been closely affiliated with the Sacramento Public Library and Friends of the Library for over 5 years now, I am still learning just how "user friendly" it is. My latest lesson came from a bookmark that had been left in a book I checked out - "Droll Stories" by Honore de Balzac. The bookmark indicated it had been ordered by someone to be delivered by mail, it was part of the Homebound Books by Mail program. I thought (since the book is almost as old as I am) that this must be some long forgotten service but the date was 2007. Turns out there is still a lively program to deliver books to the homebound. This is in addition to 2 bookmobiles and downloadable digital books. Just amazing.

We do have a great library that is always looking for ways to reach out to the public.

Where will my donation go?

We get at least a dozen requests from fund raisers each week and they all seem convinced that their's is the most deserving of any cash you might have lying around. So it was with some interest that one of the ones showing up in our mail this week included a note that they had been evaluated by Charity Navigator and been rated the highest rating of Four Stars.

Naturally, that made me curious about Charity Navigator and the work they do. With the thousands of charities in the country, they have to be somewhat selective so they eliminate private foundations, hospitals, educational institutions, and all organizations that aren't required to file IRS Form 990's such as organized religions. They further concentrate only on organizations that raise at least $500,000 per year from the general public and have done so for at least 4 years. They then use the information from the most recent 990's to determine fund raising efficiency and organizational capacity (ability to withstand "lean" years).

I was also interested in some of the editorial comments of the Charity Navigator's CEO as well as some of their hot button items and "caution" lists like the following:

* 10 Charities Overpaying their For-Profit Fundraisers
* 10 Highly Rated Charities Relying on Private Contributions
* 10 Most Frequently Reviewed Charities
* 10 Highly Paid CEO's at Low-Rated Charities
* 10 Charities Stockpiling Your Money
* 10 Charities in Deep Financial Trouble

Although it isn't a perfect answer to evaluating requests for hand-outs, I certainly intend to use it to filter requests that I get in the future.

Identity crisis

I was turned down at the blood bank today. I've been donating 2 units of plasma each month for the past several months but today they deemed my blood pressure just a bit too high to start the process. I rushed home to use my home blood pressure meter to verify that I was higher than normal (my normal). I wasn't.

Now I'm faced with a dilemma. Do I make another appointment knowing that it is a 5 mile drive out of my way to make the attempt and knowing that there is now a good chance that they will turn me down anyway? Or do I decide that I've done my bit for humanity having donated about 3 gallons of whole blood and 1 gallon of plasma during my lifetime? Do I give it a rest or keep trying until they tell me to give it a rest?

As I weighed the question, I realized that I was dealing with my self identification. I am what I do and one of the things I've always done is donate blood or blood products. If I can no longer do that, am I diminished?

I think I transitioned so easily to retirement because of all the substitute activities I now have for full-time work. And the fact that I have voluntarily chosen these activities. But what happens when I can no longer practice some of them and the choice isn't mine to make? Will I then experience the feelings of being fired or laid off? Again and again?

Yet another Kaiser department

Between the two of us, Carolyn and I seem bound and determined to try out each and every one of Kaiser's services. The latest is my use of the Rehabilitation Services and more specifically the Physical Therapy department.

My lower back pain is getting, if anything, worse. It's quite tolerable if I sit in a comfortable chair or lie in bed but I really can't do all the things I want to with those restrictions. So my primary care doctor sent me to Rehab Services.

After a very short wait, a pleasant young man ushered me into his office, asked a few basic questions about my pain and mobility then proceeded to have me move and stretch in various directions. He noted those that I couldn't do as well as those movements which caused me to wince. He applied pressure and asked me to work against him to measure my muscle health. And in the end he prescribed three exercises which should strengthen the back support and easy my pain.

So far, I've been diligently following the prescribed exercises and nothing has changed. This is not a good sign.

Finishing the job

We weren't sure they were serious about offering to give up yet another weekend in the cause of our kitchen floor but this Saturday Steven and Lisa again showed up on our doorstep ready to lay more tile. We had borrowed a tile cutter from a friend at work or the task wouldn't have been possible at all. And, of course, the closer we got to the end, the more little, aggravating cuts needed to be made.

Here is Lisa, getting ready to lay the final two pieces of this puzzle.

After they were in place we celebrated with a picnic in the park eating KFC and listening to some great bands.

Customer service and beyond

When was the last time you had a company contact you with the news that they're giving you a refund on a recent purchase because they were able to negotiate a better deal with their supplier? I was just floored!

This is the text of the card we recently received from Costco:

At Costco, we are dedicated to bringing you the best products at the best prices. Our records indicate you recently purchased an HP Digital Camera. Our buyers were able to negotiate an ever better deal on this item, so we are passing on the savings to you. Please follow the activation instructions below for the enclosed Costco Cash Card valued at $40. Thank you for your continued membership.

Do they have our loyalty? You bet!

Lawnmower repair

In our throwaway culture, do we repair anything anymore? I bring up the question because our lawnmower had some serious problems and my first thought was to buy a new one at Home Depot or Lowe's, not look for a repair shop. The blade needed to be sharpened or replaced, the motor backfired every time I stopped the engine, and (the final straw) the right front wheel had decided not to stay put at the level it's set. It's a little tricky trying to mow with a three wheeled-lawnmower. So I started looking at lawnmower ads.

Then Ed mentioned that they had had trouble at Lowe's getting them to repair the lawnmower they bought there. They had finally taken it to a repair shop that had fixed the problem. I got the name and took our mower in to them. They couldn't have been any nicer, in spite of the fact that I admitted buying the lawnmower at Costco or Home Depot. I'm sure they'd rather people buy mowers from them but they'll fix others as well.

It took a couple of days longer than the 10 they had originally promised because they had to order a part, a part which I had brought to their attention when I brought the mower in. They could have ordered it then and saved time. But the lawn didn't really seem to suffer going a couple of weeks without being mown and the neighbors were kind enough to not say anything.

Now back in commission, the mower feels like new and runs as smooth as an electric. The total cost was less than half the cost of a new mower so I guess this time getting it repaired was worth it.