Last week, I did a Walmart grocery order. Nothing out of the ordinary, it was a simple take my $200 for a few sacks of food and drinks.
What happened next makes me feel bad for others.
I got someone else’s order. A 50 pound bag of cheap dog food was left in the rain along with 6 bags of Walmart brand flavored water instead of my order of 46 items. The local Walmart told me to call 1-800-WALMART who told me I could keep the crap they left that I didn’t want and that I would receive credit within 10 days — but no groceries.
There was a time in my life my family would’ve gone hungry.
I was responsible for the crap they left although I didn’t want it. Worse, I have to wait 10 days for the debit hold on my card to simply fall off without their corresponding transaction required to release the funds. With so many people living paycheck to paycheck, that might mean a family goes hungry for a week. I’ve been that poor before, have you?
Too early for ripe tomatoes, but I guess I could’ve fed my hungry family dog food along with onions and radishes from Mr. Pesky’s garden…
Why not allow the customer to choose if they would like the order delivered late rather than cancel and wait 10-days for their money to be available?
Now you know: Ants can recognize themselves in a mirror. In an experiment, blue dots were marked on ants’ heads. When presented with a mirror, 23/24 tried removing the dot. Without the mirror, none tried to remove the dot.
I’ve sure made more than my fair share of mistakes and bad decisions. I don’t regret all my bad judgement calls because something good came from some of them.
But there’s this one thing that I’ll never get to do-over…
I regret living in a city during COVID lock-downs.
At my dermatology appointment on Wednesday, we talked about the fact that my last visit was in 2020 — right in the middle of the shutdown. Those appointments were one of the few places I went during that time. I remember the surgery center required a clean test before they would check me in, and there was a shortage of rapid tests. I was lucky to get one in time.
I was stuck in Seymour during the entire COVID scare — away from my family and friends — with only dogs to keep me company.
Perry was considered an essential employee so he wasn’t around for at least 12 hours per day. Ben was helping Colette with online classes. There wasn’t anything to do, and no one to do anything with anyway.
I tried to stay upbeat but it was a pretty awful time.
Of course, with no events going on I wasn’t making any money. I didn’t have work things to do and the phone wasn’t ringing either. But if I would’ve been here at the barndo, things wouldn’t have felt so desperate.
Here, I could’ve gotten in the pool in the summer and the hot tub when it turned cold. I could’ve fed hummingbirds in the summer and other birds in the winter. (My neighbors knocked down my bird feeders saying it attracted birds that made a mess in their pool.) I’m not out and about much now either and have slowed down my work responsibilities — and I’m still busy.
During COVID, I spent most of my time staring at walls and miles of privacy fences.
I could’ve been doing this instead…
What’s your biggest regret? Have you made changes to ensure the same situation doesn’t require you to again make a decision you’ll regret?
Now you know: After British Airways Flight 9 flew through volcanic ash, the Captain announced “We have a small problem. All four engines have stopped. We are doing our damnedest to get them going again. I trust you are not in too much distress.”
The dogs woke me this morning at 4:30 AM. I’m not one of those people that can get up (like to let the dogs outside, wait for them to pee and let them back in), and just go back to bed and sleep more. Once I’m up… I’m up.
By around 7:00 AM, I went back to bed and finally fell asleep. And then… Katie called. She’d already sent multiple text messages — I didn’t hear the notifications — but when she called I heard the ring and answered. She was in the driveway.
I feel awful!
Wondering why we feel bad when we don’t get enough sleep, I asked Grok. Grok said that I feel bad because lack of sleep disrupts the body’s and brain’s normal functions. It also talked about amygdala and my prefrontal cortex — but essentially, it said my body and brain are screaming for the reset that sleep provides.
I’m blaming the dogs and not my visitor.
I’m putting all the blame on my hounds — primarily Dharma who grunted and whined until I got up — instead of Katie. Her visit wasn’t horribly early, and I’m always happy to see her.
Now you know: In 1929, in the United States, Kodak founder George Eastman pushed for a 13-month calendar with equal 28-day months and a new month called “Sol” between June and July. It was used at Kodak but never caught on nationwide.
There are only 6 people that consistently eat from Mr. Pesky’s garden. Those 6 rotate according to what vegetable is available… and Perry shouldn’t count at all since he doesn’t like anything planted in it. NaLona and Barb rotate in — and Coco likes the green onions (in foods and salads) but never a tomato.
More than 75 tomato plants are in the ground!
Mom bragged about hoeing her peas today, and Mr. Pesky complained about the robins nipping the tender plants already in the ground. So much work to get to this point — not counting spreading the poop and tilling it last fall. I appreciate it, but will appreciate it more when tomatoes are on my plate!
Must keep them on my good side…
Sure don’t want to make those two mad and lose my garden privileges!
Now you know: Male yellowhead jawfish protect their eggs by holding them in their mouths until they hatch.
First, we survived another “be weather aware” night. Although we had a short storm, it wasn’t awful. The worst part was the scary, blaring warnings coming from every device we own. Other areas weren’t so lucky and there’s some awful wide-spread damage... just nothing here or close to my hometown.
I didn’t think there was damage close to me (lots in Columbus and Bloomington), but around 10:30 PM, NaLona had a tree blow down across her truck and roof. No clue what kind of damage is under that tree, but I’d guess the truck is totaled and the roof has damage too. At 10:30 PM, we had NOTHING. Not a drop of rain even… and she’s about a mile from the barndo as the crow flies. Crazy!
I am not a man.
I picked Colette up because Ben was working. Coco took a photo to send to her Dad to let him know we were on our way. She’d just had field day at her school, and like her Dad, she’s not one to smile for photos. (They both think it’s funny or way more impressive to scowl, I guess.) Me? I always crack a big, fake smile.
I planned to look at the camera for a brief second for the shot (I was driving), but didn’t get the chance.
Technology is amazing… until it isn’t.
Since the photo wasn’t great, I thought I’d ask ChatGPT to make us pirates. This is a first-rate example on how you can’t trust AI to always be right.
I am not a man. I do not want to be a man.
I do not have chest hair.
Now you know: Llike his brother, Unabomber Ted Kaczynski, David Kaczynski also spent years rejecting society, living in a hole in the Texas desert covered by metal sheets. David would return to society and eventually provided the FBI with the tip leading to Ted’s arrest.
