I Have to Curb My "Creative Parking"

Recently, I went to a local lab for some blood work. Parking is in a structure, and empty spots close to the entrance are usually in short supply. And if you allow just enough time to get to the appointment, like I do, you need a spot close to the door. So, if I don’t see a parking spot as I drive up the ramp, I end up parking in an area that’s not designated as such.

No, it’s nowhere near a handicapped spot – I’d never park there! It’s just an out-of-the-way mini lane that happens to be conveniently empty almost every time I’m there. So I make sure I have my purse and magazines, or whatever else I think I’ll need, in my hands, and I pull in very quickly. Then, if no other cars or people are right there, I get out in a hurry and walk briskly to the door. If there are cars or people going past me, I stay very still until they’re gone, and then I leave my car. Well, that’s what I did the other day. It’s like a little game that I enjoy winning.

When I leave the lab, I stand at the entrance to the garage, as if I’m waiting for someone. And then, when the cars and people clear out, I scurry like a rat to my car, get in, start the engine and pull out as quickly as I can. If a guard passes before I can get out of my spot, I’ll sit there with my flashers on, as if I’m picking someone up. Have I got this down, or what?

Well, this time, I was hot and dying of thirst. So as I drove down the ramp, I grabbed the Diet Coke that had been in my purse while I walked the length of the hospital to the garage and unscrewed the cap. And – you guessed it - because of the jostling it took on my walk, it exploded as I unscrewed it. Before I could get the cap back on, the spray was everywhere. It was on the radio knobs, heat controls, dashboard, steering wheel, console, clock, windshield, ceiling and carpeting. And it was all over my pants. I couldn’t run the errands I’d planned for on the way home, and I was miserably uncomfortable in those pants.

It hit me immediately that the Universe was telling me it had had enough of my parking lot etiquette breaches. Okay, I got the message!

I Have to Curb My "Creative Parking"

Do Your Homework When Boarding Pet Birds

Recently, I saw an article in the newspaper about a pet store in Royal Oak, Michigan, that’s been around since the ‘50s. It’s still run by the family of the man who opened it over 50 years ago. And they board birds. That caught my eye, because I’ve boarded my birds only once, and it cost me $25 per day per bird. That certainly adds a lot to the cost of a vacation. So I decided to see what this place charged for boarding, and it was only $8 per bird per day.

Well, before I leave my birds anywhere, I have to feel comfortable with the place and the people who run it. So I stopped in to see the boarding area and ask some questions. The first person I spoke with told me that nobody ever gets to see the boarding area, which was the upper floor of the building, a split-level former house. I asked to see the owner and ended up talking with one of the original owner’s family members. That’s when I decided my birds would never be left there.

He told me that at any given time, they could board between 100 – 150 birds and that I’d need reservations for the holidays, because they usually get over 200 hundred birds then. I knew immediately why they wouldn’t allow anybody to see the boarding area. It had to look like a chicken coop, with cages stacked floor to ceiling, and it couldn’t possibly be clean enough for me.

This place was not huge – it appeared to be maybe a four-bedroom split-level house, with the downstairs broken into two sales areas for birds and fish. So that left the upper level bedrooms and bath(s). How in hell do you stuff that many birds into probably no more than 1,800 square feet and still maintain sanitary conditions? And even though they don’t require any vaccinations or testing for fatal avian diseases, the guy told me none of the boarded birds ever got sick from being there. How is that possible?

The birds never get out of their cages, and if your bird doesn’t get seed, you’d have to bring in your own food, because they feed at least some seed to all the birds. Seed is like the McDonald’s of bird food, being high in fat that’s meant to sustain outdoor birds that burn calories by flying most of the time.

The bottom line is I wouldn’t leave my dog at a kennel if I couldn’t see the facility, and I wouldn’t leave a child at a daycare if I couldn’t walk in unannounced and inspect the place. So why should I leave my parrots at a place like that? Obviously, there are a lot of naïve bird owners in the Detroit area. Fortunately for my parrots, I’m not one of them.

Do Your Homework When Boarding Pet Birds

A RWNJ is trying to take Michigan’s 9th Congressional District

Watch out, Michigan! There’s a right wing nut job trying to unseat Gary Peters in the 9th Congressional District in November. His name is Rocky Raczkowski. At least, that’s his name now – it used to be Andrew Edward Raczkowski. But it appears he wants to look like a prize fight contender, so I guess he thought Rocky would be more appropriate.

This is a guy who’s so right wing that he got Bat Shit Crazy Phyllis Schlafly to speak at a recent fundraiser. Remember her – the woman who chastised other women in the ‘70s for wanting jobs, while she worked as an attorney? Phyllis Schlafly has been the object of my utter disgust ever since. Having her speak at his fundraiser tells me all I need to know about good old Rocky. Makes him sound more like Bullwinkle.

But wait, there’s more. Rocky ‘s a Birther! According to the Rochester Citizen, this is what he said about the President’s citizenship at a forum in June:

“You have a president that seems to be, um … well … I don’t know if he even has been born in the United States, but … until I see a birth certificate.” Here’s a link to the story:

http://bit.ly/drqeqd

Well, his English just qualified him for the TeaKlan, even though he appears to have all his teeth. Have you been born in the United States, Rocky? And what about your wife – has she been born here, too? (What kind of name is Amalia Kaddo, anyway, Rocky? Is she here legally?)

The forum was sponsored by a Tea Party group. Now there’s a surprise – another arrogant scammer leading the gullible TeaSheep around by their noses. We don’t need him representing our interests.

A RWNJ is trying to take Michigan’s 9th Congressional District

Putting Off Seeing Someone You Care About?

I just returned from a funeral home, where I went to view a beloved uncle’s body and grieve with his family. A few days ago, he had a massive heart attack and never knew what hit him. He was only 73. Now nothing will ever be the same for his wife, adult children or grandchildren. And I cheated myself out of a post-divorce relationship with him and his wife.

Over 17 years ago, Rudy met another woman and left my aunt, who was devastated. She was also enraged, so much so that most of her siblings were hesitant to even mention my uncle. At least, that’s what I heard from my father. So I certainly wasn’t going to look him up, even though I really missed him.

Rudy was my dad’s younger sister’s husband. And to outsiders, they appeared to be a happy couple. I used to babysit for their two toddlers when I was 16, and I loved my aunt and uncle and their kids. I remember how Rudy was the life of the party. He was always in a good mood, always had a smile on his face. One of my fondest memories was how Rudy would come home from a party and get a pepperoni stick out of the refrigerator. (He was born in eastern Europe, and he loved sausages.) Then we’d talk, laugh and eat pepperoni slices ‘til my tongue burned.

Over the past several years, I’ve wanted to invite him and his wife to dinner at our house. But I didn’t have his phone number or address and couldn’t find it on line. I meant to call my cousin, his daughter, and ask for his number, but I never did that, either. And now it’s too late. This is the second time in about the past four years where I’ve intended to contact someone, but waited, only to have them die unexpectedly first.

So I’m writing this to nudge you into calling the people with whom you want to reconnect, before it’s too late. One thing’s for sure – I won’t let this happen again.

Putting Off Seeing Someone You Care About?

Do All Rental Car Companies Add 45% in Fees and Taxes?

I don’t travel as much as I used to, and it’s been quite a while since I’ve had to rent a car. So, when my husband got home from a business trip and was complaining about his rental car bill, he got my attention. I was floored by all the fees, some of which are probably imposed by local governments. All I know is that it’s ridiculous.

He rented a mid-size Volkswagen for a week, quoted at $187.93. But then, he had to pay the following fees:

Transportation Facility Charge - $1.60/day $ 9.60
Customer Facility Charge - $3.75/day 22.50
Concession Recovery Fee – 11.11% 22.17
Vehicle License Fee - $.33/day 1.98
Sales Tax – 11.5% 28.08
FFTXRSU .43

Total (including $187.93) $272.69

What in hell is a “Concession Recovery Fee”? And they’re charging a daily fee for licensing? Hell, why not hit customers with a fee for the lavatories, and how about depreciation on the lobby furniture? Most of those crazy fees should be lumped into one category called “WTF?” or “Bend Over”.

The fees and taxes amount to 45% of the quoted rate! (Maybe some of them are because the car was rented at the airport. If that’s the case, it might be worth it to use a remote location, if it provides free shuttle service to the airport.) It’s insane to me! Why don’t they just restate the rates, instead of calling them “Fees” to make them sound legitimate? For an unsuspecting consumer, a 45% surprise in the bill is huge.

And insurance is another issue – with all rental companies. Make sure to buy the rental company’s insurance, which is a HUGE rip-off, if your auto insurance policy doesn’t cover rental vehicle usage. Or, if you have an American Express card, check their rental car insurance. I’m told it provides complete coverage for a fraction of the cost of insurance purchased at the rental car counter.

If you get into an accident and don’t have insurance for rentals, you’ll be on the hook for actual repair cost, loss of income while the vehicle’s out of service and reduced value as a result of the damage. And you know that everything will be marked up to the max.

In fact, I’ve seen segments on news and talk shows that advise taking detailed photos of your rental car before you drive it, to show any existing scratches, dents, etc. Otherwise, they might try to charge you for repairs of those scratches and dents, or even new ones that occur after you turn the vehicle in.

And all this time, I thought financial institutions were the biggest whores . . .

Do All Rental Car Companies Add 45% in Fees and Taxes?

My Inspiration to Become a Hospice Volunteer

It seems like a lifetime ago when a neighbor I barely knew became ill with lung cancer. Although she lived next door, she was very quiet, and I didn’t know her, other than to wave occasionally as she walked to the bus stop.

One day, before I even knew that Paula was sick, a social worker knocked on my door. She told me that she was from hospice, that Paula was dying and that she needed me to bring her meals a couple days a week. Being a single mom with a demanding job, an even more demanding child and the added burden of college classes at night, I was more than a little surprised at the social worker’s request. But I did it and, over the next few months, became quite close to Paula.

On the last day that I saw her, I went into the house as usual, but the door to the dining room, where her hospital bed had replaced the table and chairs, was closed. Strange sounds were emanating from that room. I knocked, and an unfamiliar voice told me to come in. A woman I didn’t recognize was in a chair at the foot of the bed, and she was knitting. She was a hospice volunteer and was sitting with Paula while she was “actively dying”, a term that I’d never heard before.

I was so frightened by the flailing of her arms and the loud moans that I wanted to run out of the house. But the hospice volunteer kindly told me to take Paula’s hands in mine and talk to her. It took a few minutes for me to get the courage to reach for her hands, but I did, and I told her who I was and that I’d come to be with her. She calmed down immediately and became peaceful. It was a very emotional moment for me, and I believe it was the catalyst that led me to eventually become a hospice volunteer.

Ten years later, I happened to see an article in a local newspaper about a training class for Beaumont Hospital’s hospice program. My first thought was that I wasn’t sure I could sit with dying patients the way the volunteer had stayed with Paula that night. But remembering how it felt to be with her through the last days of her life, I decided to look into it. That was in 1999, and I’ve been with Beaumont Hospice ever since.

My hospice experience has enriched my life beyond measure. The patients and their caregivers have taught me so much about people, families and life in general. And I’ll never forget them or their stories. One woman had been a nurse in World War II. She treated wounded soldiers on a train that transported them from Normandy to hospitals. She was there on D-Day and told me countless stories about the injuries she witnessed. She also talked about how the nurses were allowed only one helmet full of water for their daily grooming needs. They’d start by brushing their teeth, then cleaning their bodies and then washing their underwear! I can’t even imagine making do with that. Another patient was an artist who showed me how to make a silver Byzantine chain, even though she was legally blind. I’ve been making jewelry ever since.

Being a hospice volunteer is definitely not for everyone. But if you think you’d be interested in helping patients have a peaceful end-of-life experience, consider becoming a volunteer. And if you’re in the Detroit metro area, Beaumont Hospice usually has a volunteer training session scheduled. Call Dennis Cole at 248-743-9405 for more information.

My Inspiration to Become a Hospice Volunteer

Walmart Left Its Mark On Our Neighborhood

Four years ago, Walmart announced that it was closing its store in Auburn Hills, MI, and opening a new one in Rochester Hills . . . right down the street from our subdivision. The residents tried to stop it, but the City wanted something (land, I believe) and had to let Walmart build in order to get it.

My husband, who’d been to the Auburn Hills Walmart, took photos of the property. He wanted to show the trash all over the parking lot, the numerous tree stumps (landscape trees had died and were cut down, leaving the stumps), busted up pavement with markers standing in the holes to prevent cars from driving over them and rust-covered light poles. He took the photos to a city council meeting at which residents aired their concerns. City council members assured the citizens that the Rochester Hills store premises would never look like the Auburn Hills property.

Flash forward to three weeks ago. On June 30, my husband took photos of the new store’s parking lot. And after being open for about two years, if that, there are already dead trees, stumps and trash littered everywhere, including an on adjacent walking trail. Plus, it looks like they’re cultivating weeds in some of the beds in front of the store.

It certainly appears that Walmart doesn’t give a damn about what its property looks like to the surrounding community. If it wants to build in your neighborhood, this is what you can expect.

Walmart Left Its Mark On Our Neighborhood