From the "What's Wrong With This Picture Department"

I was standing on the platform at the Hicksville LIRR station yesterday waiting for my usual 7:06 into NYC when I heard this announcement come over the PA system: "Commuters should be aware that there will be a random search of trains stopping in Jamaica today."

- Now, if you really wanted to catch a bomb wielding terrorist would you tell him when you were searching the trains? Hmmmmmmm.... Maybe I should take an express and skip the Jamaica stop.....

News Item: An out-of-control wild fire burned 18,000 acres of forest in Little Egg Township, NJ after a New Jersey Air National Guard F-16 fighter jet dropped flares (used in combat to disorient heat seeking missles) during a training mission.

- Let me get this straight... It is brush fire season. The 9,400 acre gunnery range is experiencing dry conditions and these dudes decide to drop flares during a training exercise.

May 14th

Happy Birthday Dennis.

Snippets

News Item: 21-year retired Army 1st Sgt. Jerry Massey assigned to train Iraqi Army recruits reports that, "We can't leave here for another five years, minimum." Iraqi Army commander Col. Abbas Fadhil says, "We need time for training.... We need at least seven years. Even better, 50 years."

Five years? Seven? Fifty? Just when will these people step up to defend their country?

News Item: As the surge continues to build, the Iraqi parliament prepares to take a 2 month summer recess. "For the Iraqi parliament to take a two-month vacation in the middle of summer is impossible to understand," U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker said. Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates also said that he pressed for the recess to be canceled. Sen. John Warner (R-VA) said a two-month recess is "not acceptable."

Maybe they could be encouraged to cancel this insane idea if we link their vacation plans to the new war funding bill; i.e. no parliament, no money.

News Item: "Iraq may demand timetable for U.S. to get out"

Hmmmmm... An interesting thought but will Bush listen to them just because it is their county?

Old Fashion Customer Service

Ever wonder what ever happened to customer service? I have. It seems that more and more these days we are being asked, no, required to help ourselves more and more. Self-serve gas stations have given way to self-checkouts at the supermarket. And don't even get me started with those sterile automated telephone menu systems that we must now maneuver through in order to resolve whatever issue it is that we have. Thus, I was pleasantly surprised not once, but twice in the past 2 days with examples of that "Old Fashion Customer Service".

First, I was out shopping with my wife, Angela, looking for a comforter for our daughter's birthday. We were looking in the JC Penny at Roosevelt Field and had found exactly what we were looking for and; it was on sale! However, the only twin size that was on the display had been opened and the box was a mess. We located a salesperson and I asked if, perhaps, they had more of that size and style comforter in the stock room fully expecting what has now become the standard response to this question: "everything we have is out." Much to my shock and surprise the salesperson called an associate and left the floor to check their stock returning in a few minutes to report that they did, indeed, have more but they had to get a stock man to pull one down off a high shelf. Wow. We left with the item we came for and some good vibes from the store. Now, that's what I'm talking about!

The second example came while trying to resolve an issue with some contact lenses that I had ordered for my daughter from 1-800 CONTACTS.com. The lenses that arrived appeared to be different than what I had ordered so I had to put in a call to the company to find out if they were right or whether I would have to return them. Well.... You can imagine how amazed I was when, instead of being directed through a multi-tiered telephone menu system, my call was answered by... Jenny; a real live human Customer Service Representative! I explained my problem and was kindly asked if I minded being put on hold while she found out the answer. Within minutes she was back on the line telling me that the lenses were the correct ones. Seems the company had recently changed their packaging. Thanks, Jenny! Now, that's what I'm talking about!

And Away We Go......

So here I am, or rather, here we are. At the start of what I hope to be an interesting journey.