The Golden Rule and Scams

The Golden Rule: "Them that's got the gold make the rules."

Over my many years, I have gone to concerts to see such performers as The Mamas and the Papas, The Association, Jim Morrison and The Doors, Three Dog Night, B.B. King, Led Zeppelin, and so on. With the passing of the torch, my daughter recently let me know she wanted to go to a concert in Cambridge, MA, at a place called The Middle East Restaurant & Nightclub.

Trying to be a good father and earn some well-needed Father Points, I checked the website and found that members of the group's fan club could purchase advance tickets for $52 each (the price included some extra "stuff"). For the rest of us, advance tickets costing $17.50 each would go on sale at 10 AM that next Saturday; I only wanted two. Thinking I was a "savvy" consumer, I pre-entered my consumer information and sat in front of my computer waiting for 10 AM to arrive. At the right moment, I began refreshing my screen to be among the first to purchase tickets. In less than a second, a new screen appeared stating "Online Tix Have Sold Out." I did everything right, but I didn't stand a chance.

Massachusetts law does say basically that it is illegal to sell tickets at more than two dollars above face price, but that has been ignored and laughed at for years. Almost immediately, the tickets I tried to get for $17.50 showed up on reseller sites at prices ranging from about $80 to $160 each (as of this writing, I found some online for $95 to $270 each. I don't know if they are all the same, but the first one I looked at also added a "service charge" of an additional 18.5 percent). Does anyone else see something very wrong with this picture? How do these people sleep at night (probably very peacefully)? These are the same people who show up after a disaster and sell water for $10 a bottle and a flashlight for $100 because they can.

The short of it is that my daughter won't be seeing the group, and in spite of my best efforts, I didn't stand a chance. I looked up "collusion" ('a secret agreement between two or more parties for a fraudulent, illegal, or deceitful purpose') which seems to be what's going on, but it doesn't seem to be very secret. Anyone up for a class-action suit? Anyone?

Trade-offs

Some 37 years ago (or so), my brother asked me what it was like living in rural New Hampshire. I summed up my existence by saying that if I wanted to buy a sweater, I could. If I wanted a long-sleeve navy v-neck, I probably have to order it from a catalog. Fast forward to today - some things are slow to change. (I do have to say, however, the Internet changes everything.)

Over the past couple of weeks, I have been to three hardware stores, one car dealer, and talked to a locksmith (who didn't follow-up on and return my call), and I am still without a spare key for my daughter's car. The good news is that there is a dealer who can help me; the bad, the dealer's an hour away - Road Trip!

Every so often, some need surfaces that reminds me I am still in rural NH, which isn't a bad thing - there are just trade-offs. Within ten miles, there is a Walmart and good sized supermarket. I take refuse weekly to the Transfer Station, which is fairly close. I have high-speed Internet and cable TV with 59 channels (of which I can actually get 57). Of those 57, there are perhaps 12 I like and actually watch.When I lived in and around Boston, I could eat out 24-hours a day. Here, the sidewalks are pulled in early.

On the plus side, I have been literally two feet away from various Presidential candidates. It is said if you haven't been, it's by choice. The good days are the best anywhere. The winters can be trying, but it's part of the package. We had one winter when day and night for three weeks, the temperature never went above zero. One winter we hit about 45 degrees below zero, and there have been winters with nothing more than a dusting of confectioners sugar snow. One Mother's Day, we had two feet of snow - it was gone the next day.

Many people are also among the best. In time of need, they can't do enough. I am lucky to be here.

There's much more, but I'm saving that for the book I'm working on.

Paying it Forward

I guess "Pay it forward" means to pass along a good deed. I briefly met a couple yesterday who embody the concept, and I will pay forward their deed as I am able.

I officiated a wedding yesterday in Pawtuckaway State Park, a venue to which I had never been. The bride sent along directions, which I gratefully accepted. As I always try to be early, I left plenty of time to find the place. The short of it is, I sensed something wasn't right, but I did follow the directions correctly. At one point, after going back and forth a couple of times, I saw a man and his wife in their driveway. He raised his have and motioned me over. When I told him what my problem was, he went into his garage and brought back a sheet of directions he had previously printed out. The directions from the Internet were way off, and I guess he and his wife knew they'd be seeing many people. There must have been so many driving up and down his road, that he and his wife printed out numerous sheets to hand out to lost travelers. What a nice thing to do for strangers.

If anyone knows someone who knows someone who may know the couple, please extend my sincere thanks and let them know I will pay it forward.

Two Words

In a recent column (www.bermansbits.com), I dropped in a personal quote along with others from some truly great names (Twain, Hayes, Carver, Reagan, Hoffer, and Badger). Quotes to me are among the ultimate literary forms because they say things so perfectly and precisely. When I was younger I used to think that if I could write like anyone, it would be John Steinbeck - he said things the way I would if I could, kind of like quotes.

Anyhow, in thinking about it and letting it percolate a bit, I realized the quote is something I truly believe in and is a quote that deserves to be shared with everyone in the world. EVERYONE! From someone on welfare to the average work-a-day person to those who inhabit the halls of the great palaces, hearing, understanding, and acting on the quote would change everything (it is that profound). No matter one's age, sex, nationality, political belief, personal credo, etc., the entire world would change for the better (except for those who don't follow it, which in turn would ultimately keep us just where we are).

The quote: “Two words that would truly make all the difference in today’s world: ‘Play fair.’” I mean, can you start to imagine what would happen if everyone simply played fair? From world leaders to businesspeople to politicians to bosses and workers, if everyone simply played fair everything would change. The search term "government fraud" brought me a quick 77 million returns. The government alone has wasted billions and billions of our dollars by not playing fair. Over the past couple of years, the word billion, which was once so hard to even speak, has been replaced by trillion, with no 'hope' or 'change' in sight.

I do have a solution: Play fair!

Mother Earth - It's Time!

During the years I taught a course in Science Fiction, one allegorical story was probably my favorite. It was called "The Wound" and was written by Howard Fast. I hate spoilers, but as the story is hard to find and you probably won't read it, I'll tell you something about it. It had to do with drilling for oil deeper than ever before and setting off an underground atomic bomb to aid the process. When the deed is finally done after some protests, "they" get a gusher all right, but it turns out it's not oil but blood - great symbolism!

One point of the story is we can't irresponsibly just keep taking and taking from the Earth - there really is only so much she can give us and will until she can't anymore. I am not a full-fledged tree hugger, but I do like to hold hands (limbs). I understand responsibility. Big Business is driven with the cry, "More! MORE! NOW!" as are many consumers. There is apparently little or no thought about outcomes or the future.

Good Science Fiction extrapolates - examines and presents possible outcomes if nothing changes along the way. Not everyone is smart enough or concerned enough to see that we need to think more about what's happening and the possible consequences of our actions.

I thought about this in light of the BP disaster. Maybe you can think about it too.

Tim'rous Beastie

As of this writing, there are still four kittens and two mother cats living on the porch. The day after the first kitten was placed in a good home and picked up, I went out in the morning, and there was the body of what I surmise to be a vole waiting for me. I went back inside to get gloves and paper towels to remove the creature, did a couple of other things, and went back out. The carcass was gone.

What got me thinking was why it was there in the first place. While I know our barn is an attractive birthing suite to cats, I doubt the step was an attractive place to end one's life; the vole didn't climb the step and expire; no, it had help. Knowing cats as I do, I know it was a cat that left it there for us. I think there are a couple of possibilities why. First, it could have been an offering, a thanks for finding a good home for the first kitten and an investment to assure we will do the same for the other three. Of course, I could be wrong and there is another possibility. It could be a warning that says, "Touch one of us again, and you could be next. This could happen to you!"

I like to think I know something about cats, but not that much.

Two Wrongs...

"The relationship between President Obama and Afghan President Karzai has had its difficulties -- most recently exacerbated by Karzai saying continued pressure from the west to reform might lead him to join the Taliban. As evidenced by the red-carpet roll-out to Karzai this week, administration officials have clearly decided to change their attitude towards Karzai and are focusing more on carrot than stick." (ABC News 5/13/10) In other words, kiss his what?

You know what? Let him join the Taliban - every nation has the government it deserves (even the US. We elect those we do so the rich can keep getting richer and the rest of us be damned - do you think it matters one iota who gets in?). Let us pull out, return our troops to where they belong (here), and get on with things. We are dealing with civilizations that were around long before democracy (and will be around long after, the way we are going), and never the twain shall meet. If and when they are ready to change, let it come from them - we can't occupy and expect positive change.

We are again supporting a government rife with corruption (birds of a feather?). I am reaching the point where I may do something I have never done - not vote! I am sick and tired of feeling I have to pick the "better" of two lessers. In the last couple of elections, I found myself voting against someone rather than for someone. Maybe it's the nature of the beast, but as we keep electing "politicians," we are getting worse and worse off. Remember the old saying, "What if they gave a war and nobody came?" Maybe by not voting someone may sit up and take notice - but not if I am the only one. What would happen if people stayed away from the polls en masse? Remember the other saying, "If you don't vote, don't complain." Well, maybe that's been wrong all along! It seems to me that no matter who is elected, those who are owed (by those they own?) will get their due (many [most?] corporations donate to both candidates to hedge their bets). The rest of us? "So on we worked and waited for the light, And went without the meat and cursed the bread...."

Feh!

Go to snopes to verify

I received the following e-mail, the content of which isn't at all important. What is important is the last line. I received this from a right-wing type who forwards anything that is anti-Obama and/or anti-liberal. It doesn't matter if there is not a shred of truth in it or how ridiculous it is - if it's anti-Obama/liberals, it gets forwarded.

There are actually about five or six people who do the same thing. Either these are people who do not think or question anything or they know the big lie technique in propaganda and are living it (tell a lie big enough and often enough, and people start to believe it). Whenever one of their e-mails says check it at snopes, I do! I'd say ninety percent are false, but these people don't care. I still glance at every e-mail I receive, but if it is from this group of people, as soon as I see it's political, I delete it. Trust me, I am no Obama cheerleader, but fair is fair.

No wonder the country is so messed!
------------------------------------------------------

"Please take a moment to read this and share with others

It could save a life.....

> THE RECENT TRAGEDY OF A YOUNG WOMAN BEING KIDNAPPED AND
> EVENTUALLY KILLED; AFTER SHE HAD REPEATEDLY GIVEN THE
> KIDNAPPER A WRONG PIN TO HER ATM CARD . IF SHE KNEW THE
> METHOD BELOW, SHE COULD HAVE BEEN SAVED. SO I THINK IT IS
> IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO LET YOU KNOW. HERE YOU GO.
>
> IF YOU SHOULD EVER BE FORCED BY A ROBBER TO WITHDRAW MONEY
> FROM AN ATM MACHINE , YOU CAN NOTIFY THE POLICE BY ENTERING
> YOUR PIN # IN REVERSE. FOR EXAMPLE IF YOUR PIN NUMBER IS
> 1234 THEN YOU WOULD PUT IN 4321. THE ATM RECOGNIZES THAT
> YOUR PIN NUMBER IS BACKWARDS FROM THE ATM CARD YOU PLACED IN
> THE MACHINE. THE MACHINE WILL STILL GIVE YOU THE MONEY YOU
> REQUESTED, BUT UNKNOWN TO
> THE ROBBER, THE POLICE WILL BE IMMEDIATELY DISPATCHED TO
> HELP YOU.
>
> THIS INFORMATION WAS RECENTLY BROADCASTED ON FOX TV AND IT
> STATES THAT IT IS SELDOM USED BECAUSE PEOPLE DON'T KNOW IT
> EXISTS.
>
> PLEASE PASS THIS ALONG!!!
> You can go on Snopes.com to verify."

Mission Accomplished

I was never a cat person growing up; we always had dogs, even if the first was a Pomeranian-Spitz cross named Pudgy. Along the way, there were German Shepherds, Chinese Shar-Pei, Golden Retrievers, and a Doberman or two.

I had always been blissfully neutral toward cats until one fateful Halloween when I went across the street to our neighbors' house to show off my spiffy new sateen costume, the kind thatyou step into and ties in the back. The short of it is that when I sat on this lady's couch, at the same time, I also sat in a fresh pile of kitten, uh, leavings. There might have been an issue with a claw or two as well, but that afternoon pretty well cemented my opinion of cats!

Fast forward to somewhere about seventeen years ago (my wife knows time things like that) two kittens showed up in our barn. One got placed and the other stayed with us. Her name was Ayla, named, of course, after the character from The Clan of the Cave Bear. My wife had previously arrived with two cats, and I pretty much endured them, but this one was new - a kitten.

Although she said she doesn't remember, my wife told me that according to her reading in the cat Warrior series there are cats whose mission in life is to convince non-believers that cats are really okay. I suspect that was Ayla's job. For years, as soon as I sat down, she was on my lap, and as soon as she was on my lap, she ended up on the floor. That was our relationship. She never came into the bedroom because she couldn't just lie down - no, she'd have to walk and stick her face onto ours, which made it difficult to sleep.

A couple of years ago, more cats started showing up in and around our horse barn. Apparently our barn is an attractive birthing suite for felines. We somehow ended up with two new kittens about a year apart. Ayla must have decided I needed to be her friend, because she never gave up and redoubled her attempts to climb on me. Since she had no patience for the other new cats (but for some reason did have patience with me), I started letting her stay. It wasn't so bad. As a matter of fact, I have reached the point where I have fallen asleep in the recliner with three (count 'em) cats plopped down on me.

Without going into details, today was the day I had to say "Goodbye" to Ayla. A couple of weeks ago, she suddenly began losing weight and becoming lethargic. Perhaps I should have acted earlier, but it all seemed to happen so fast. We spent the morning today with her in my lap watching some TV and then we went for a ride. After a stop at the vet's, I came home alone. Already, there are the empty spaces around my desk and the house where I expect to see her. There's no jingle of the bell she wore.

With people I know recently having lost fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, brothers, and sisters, I know she was "just a cat," but she was nonetheless an important part of my life. I think I cried more for her than I did for Scarlett the Doberman who served as a major anchor in my life for fourteen years.

Anyhow, goodbye Ayla, and enjoy your rest - you earned it.

And, by the way, Mission Accomplished!

CENSORED!

Sent to me by my friend Mardean:

Phillip Pullman commenting of the "offensiveness" of his book The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ (and what he says goes way further)....

"It was a shocking thing to say and I knew it was a shocking thing to say. But no one has the right to live without being shocked. No one has the right to spend their life without being offended. Nobody has to read this book. Nobody has to pick it up. Nobody has to open it. And if you open it and read it, you don't have to like it. And if you read it and you dislike it, you don't have to remain silent about it. You can write to me, you can complain about it, you can write to the publisher, you can write to the papers, you can write your own book. You can do all those things, but there your rights stop. No one has the right to stop me writing this book. No one has the right to stop it being published, or bought, or sold or read. That's all I have to say on that subject."

And that's all I have to say....

A New Appreciation

Last night, for the first time, I watched "Undercover Boss," a show in which a company's big boss goes undercover to work in the trenches and learn what life is like at the bottom (figure of speech especially considering the episode featured the Chief Operating Officer of Roto-Rooter).

As the show unfolded, Rick (posing as Hank) did various jobs and got to know some of the front-line workers. At the end, he called the workers in, introduced himself, thanked them, and helped them with personal things he learned about that were happening (someone with medical issues; someone else behind on her mortgage; etc.). It's one of those feel-good, get all misty at the end shows. Even Rick lost if a few times.

Today I happened to stop by a fast-food store, and I looked at the employees in a new light. They may not realize it, but they are on the front line and fully represent that company to the public. If the company hires some SFB (don't ask if you don't know), one bad experience may set the customer against that company for life. I don't know how someone found out, but it has been said that if you like or love a company, you will tell six people. If you hate it or have a bad experience, you tell 75.

Anyhow, to the workers, keep your heads up and be proud of what you do. You are far more important than you know. Be the best (whatever) you can.

To the customers, respect these folks putting in all that time to sometimes just get by (and today, sometimes not even that). We all have bad days, but sometimes we have to pretend not.

He's Baaack!

As of Friday (March 5th), a new column of mine ("Berman's Bits") will be appearing in The North Country News, an every-other-week publication well worth picking up or reading online if you are not in the NH area (http://www.northcountrynewsnh.com). I am excited about appearing in actual print once again and will do my best to entertain you and yours. Woo-hoo!

The Black or White Fallacy

There seems to be quite a bit of ink (actual and virtual) being spread around about the upcoming election in Massachusetts to fill the late Senator Kennedy's seat. As news and opinion (haven't they really become the same?) are reaching a fever pitch, it seems most appropriate to mention something called the Black or White Fallacy. The fallacy simply presents something in an Either/Or format pretending those are the only two choices when if fact, there are many shades of gray in-between.

After eight years of Bush-Lite bringing us to the brink (of what I am not sure), the country decided we had had enough and it was time to pull back, that Hope and Change were needed, so Obama was elected. The vast majority of the electorate had spoken saying they Hope for Change, but I don't see much of either.

Well, a year into the new President's term (a year is a year), I have pretty much lost hope for positive change. I feel like we are being nudged (shoved) closer to the edge, and we are starting to teeter with arms waving to stave off our fall just a moment longer... and that gets me to the point of this entry - Democrat or Republican... they're really all the same - they're all POLITICIANS! We accept TWO choices only. We are made to feel we are wasting a vote if we leave the well-worn path and vote for someone who really may be different (Ron Paul, Mike Gravel, Harry Browne).

If I run for office, do I have a snowball's chance? I may have some ideas that may appeal to some people, but I am not a recognized POLITICIAN (which should actually be a good thing. I have no one to answer to or "take care of" except the People! I am not a black or white - I am a gray that most people won't even acknowledge exists. I am an outsider, and the only way for me to even make a blip on the radar is to have one person tell two people who will tell two people, etc. If that happens just 30 times and everyone spoken to votes for me, I would receive 1,073,741,824 votes, which is something like 3.5 times the population of the United States! My ideas are at: http://www.bermansbits.com/politics.html. You don't have to like them, but at least compare them to what else is out there now

To vote for the lesser of two evils is still to vote for evil, and that's what we have to choose from... time after time after time....

Moving the Money

$$$$$ to $$$$$

Okay, I have a new cause. Since Washington is not capable of bringing about any real change to watch out for "we the people" (they have too many special interests to watch out for), it has to fall "to the people." There is a current movement called "Move Your Money" (check out: http://moveyourmoney.info/). Can one person make a real difference? It would be like a gnat on an elephant. How about a million gnats? They could be like the straw that broke the camel's back. I see this movement the same way. When we have banks too big to fail, something's wrong when people are failing. It's called Wall Street vs. Main Street. As long as things remain the way they are, guess who's going to come out on top....

I have two major credit cards. With my good credit, one is charging me 25.24 percent - that is usury (defined as "The practice of lending money and charging the borrower interest, especially at an exorbitant or illegally high rate." That's my "reward" for mainting a good rating and being responsible? I don't think so!

I am going to check out my local credit union, which appears to have a rate of 9.9 percent. That's a bit more reasonable! I am one person, but if millions of "one persons" moved their money, that would be noticed and felt. One drop of water may be insignificant, but millions can start a flood.

Let it begin.

(Edit) I did apply for and should receive a new credit card with a rate of 9.9 percent! That’s a lot better than 25+ percent. Not all will qualify, but the money stays local.