Legal Scam by the Sprint Corporation

Today I went to the Sprint store on Van Nuys Blvd. and no I was not a happy camper. I was in there just about a week ago because I have had many problems with my Samsung Instinct. I have the first edition of this phone and because of the same problems they gave me a refurbished phone against my wishes back in September, as though my wishes mattered.

Often times we have no choice in the matter unless we decided to cancel the service and go to another mobile company. I am always hesitant to do that because I don't feel that any of these companies give good customer service. Even with such a tough economy they do less and less for their customers.

When I got the refurbished phone I was told by the manager, who had been there for awhile, that the warranty was the same as a new phone. Last week I was told that the warranty was only 6 months on a refurbished phone. Now you know I am livid at this time, because I was just about two months past the warranty, due to the fact that I had two major surgeries in a four month span and was not able to go back until now, also knowing that I had 12 months worth of warranty. I was eligible for an upgrade but didn't want to spend the money on a new phone because I have been out on disability for almost a year. It just was not a necessary expense. I just wanted a phone that worked the way it was suppose to. I don't think it is too much to ask for one to get what they paid for. Obviously that is in fact too much to ask for.

So today I was forced to upgrade and add another 300 dollars to my bill, because the phone was not working at all. Needless to say again I am not happy.

Of course again they tell me that I have thirty days to see if I like the phone or not, but if I don't like it and decided to bring it back they will give me another new phone. But here is the catch, if I don't get the same model, then I will have to pay a 35 dollar restocking fee. So tell me if for some reason I don't like the phone, then why would I get the same model. Do they really think the consumer is that stupid. I get it, they just don't care, whether we are happy with their product or their service.

I feel the need for the cell phone because I live on the west coast and all of my family including my daughter lives on the east coast. As always a telephone has become a necessity, since I no longer have a home phone.

Now here is another way to screw with the consumer. There is a 100 dollar mail in rebate on the phone, but in the fine print it says that I must write my name as well as the other pertinent information in all capitol letters. Now who normally writes their name in all capital letters.

This is a reason that they will wait four months to return the rebate form telling you that the rebate was not accepted because it did not meet the guidelines provided. Now I say four months because they will wait just enough time for the rebate to have expired before they inform you of this error.

It is so annoying to me to be a slave to this system of capitalism or should I just call it was it is, another way to stick it to the working class. Another way to LEGALLY SCAM the little guy.

What would a company look like that genuinely cares about it's customers and treat them the way they would want to be treated. We probably would not recognize it if we saw it, because we would think it was a SCAM.

Straddling That Threshold

Why does it take sickness or near death experiences for us to wake up and see what is really important in this life. There are many people that do not wake up even then. I know of a woman that had cancer and even had to have a bone marrow transplant and she didn't change at all. She was still her insecure, jealous, and bitter self. How did she find the time and energy to hold on to that. I know another man that had a bout with prostate cancer and when he finished almost a year of treatment, he went back to his deceptive and greedy ways. Then there are those like myself that just get tired of the status quo and want something that is more meaningful in their lives. I say it is maturity, but others may think it is crazy. My problem is I don't know exactly how to let go of the old life and embrace the new one. So I am straddling the threshold, which is quite miserable. This is the time when I realize I just have to let go and let God. Anyone that has been here knows just how hard that is.

Why Here?

It always amaze me where we build houses. Anywhere and everywhere. So much of nature is destroyed to build houses and shopping malls and I can't understand why. How many shopping areas do we need?

This is a photograph of a house built on the side of a hill, right off of Ventura Blvd. Many houses here are built high on mountains, hanging off of a hill, or deep in a valley. Most often it just takes away from the natural beauty of the area, because now there will be utility wires needed to supply the newly developed area.

I was talking to a woman on the Metro the other day and she said that she was from northern California but have been in Los Angeles for over 20 years, and she told me how much it has changed. How many of the parks have been destroyed to build more and more subdivisions and shopping centers. I still think that California is one of the most beautiful places that I have ever lived, but it is not too many locals that agree. I will say that the shopping here is more than I have seen anywhere. I often wonder how these stores make it financially year after year, but somehow they do. The recent economy disaster has devastated many, but there is so much more that is withstanding this disaster. I do enjoy the fact that there are so many choices, but it can be quite overwhelming. Loving it just the same.

The Allure of Newsstands.

One of the first things I fell in love with when I moved to California was the many newsstands that are scattered throughout the city. The first one I encountered was in Hollywood on Cahuenga. It reminded me so much of New York. I am an avid reader of everything and anything that I can get my hands on. There are not any newsstands in my hometown of Savannah, Ga. , at least not any more. There was one in the downtown area, but I don't remember them carrying any of the international magazines. It was located on Drayton Street right off of Broughton Street, but it is long gone now.

The newsstand shown above is in San Fernando Valley on the corner of Van Nuys Blvd. and Ventura Blvd. It is one that I go to quite often even though Borders Books is right down the street in the same block. Often times the newsstand will have the newest magazines before the bookstore. However, I go to both quite often. I order my books from Amazon because I get a better price, even with the coupons offered by Borders. I love just browsing the shelves and seeing what is new out there.
There is now an electronic newsstand, which is good if you are looking for a particular periodical that you can't find anywhere. Nothing beats going to your neighborhood newsstand, seeing the proprietor often and he knows your name.

When I am in a city and I find newsstands their inventory usually gives me some idea of the diversity of that city. Even more so about the neighborhood of which it is located. At the newsstand above you will find your array of national newspapers and a great deal of latin magazines. There are also many  magazines on Yoga and holistic health. Ventura Boulevard is lines with Vegan Restaurants, Yoga Studios, Acupuncturist, etc.

 The newsstand on the corner of  Cahuenga and Hollywood Blvd.,  there is a large section of magazines on film, photography, videography, also a large selection of international newspapers in many languages. It is quite interesting.
 You will be in another area and find a great deal of Russian or Asian newspapers and magazines.
It is amazing what gives you insight to the demographics of an area.

 These are the things that really draw me to large cities such as Los Angeles and New York. The different ethnic groups,experiencing  their culture and food in such an authentic way. Often times I feel like a stranger in these neighborhoods and wonder how I would feel  if I were visiting these cultures abroad.

This Baby was in pain.

I went to the Los Angeles Equestrian Club yesterday and totally enjoyed myself. I watched a few horse shows taking place outside as well as inside the arena.

I came across this little horse that looked like a wounded puppy. He was in fact hurting in more ways than one. As I approached the pen, he was on the opposite side from me, so I decided to stick my camera lens through the bars to photograph him. I did get the first shot that way, but after that he started to walk toward me, slowly of course and with conscious precision. That is when I discovered that he was barely putting his right foot on the ground, realizing that he was hurt. When he approached me, he put his nose through the bars as a dog would when they want you to pet them. I was a little hesitant at first, because horses will bite you and this was an unfamiliar horse, and he was hurt.



So I started to talk to him and he continued to push his nose through the bars. So I decided to take a chance but putting my hand in further down from his mouth and rubbing his neck. Thinking if he made a quick move toward my hand, I would have time to snatch it back. But he didn't do that and I continued to rubbed and touch him from his neck and finally to his jaw and nose. He just wanted some love because he was in pain. Is that not familiar! I continued to rub him and talk to him and he was really calm. It actually felt good to give him that attention, I wish that I could have spent more time with him . Again he was unfamiliar to me, so I moved on after awhile.




I was surprised to see William Shatner there participating in one of the horse shows, but I discovered that he was the one promoting the show. I was aware that he was putting on a charity event at the club later that afternoon. I was able to get a few photos of him.

How Many Ways Do We Victimize Our Children?

When I think about all of the injustices in this world, it really just makes me sick to my stomach. But I often feel helpless in these situations because I don’t feel equipped or without enough black marks on my own life that could either land me in lot of trouble somewhere or embarrass me. Well it is not enough to stop me for sure, but I don’t even know where to start.
I am going to start by reading about children advocacy and see where that takes me. I feel like there is something that I can do and something I need to do for the sake of children in this world. They are victimized in so many ways. How do we stop this, where do we start? I guess that is the question on the minds of many of us. There are so many children that are victimized within the family structure, as well as outside of it.



As I am writing this, I look over and there is a picture of my late grandmother sitting on my pc laptop, which is open for quick use. It reminds me that my grandmother took in, or a tleast kept track of a young boy whose mother was an alcoholic. He was a couple of years younger than my father, who tells me that he and Smithy had been friends since he was six years old.
Smithy spent many nights at my grandmother’s house and on family vacations with them. My dad always talked about when they would sit down to dinner he and Smithy would sit and eat, they would drink a quart of milk each at one sitting. My grandmother told me that when she ordered milk from the milk man, which came in glass bottles at that time and delivered to your door, she would always order enough so Smithy would have exactly what my dad had.
I don’t know the extent of how she cared for Smithy, but I do know as an adult Smithy thanked her, and often said he would probably be dead if it was not for my grandmother.

This is what is lacking in our society, people, caring for others. There was a time when you didn’t have to be family or blood related to help others in their times of need. Others would see a young mother struggling and step in to help, with whatever they had to offer. Sometimes that may have just been guidance. We are so into our own little worlds these days, and we shut out what is going on around us, so we don’t have feel, we become emotionally disconnected from the pain of our fellow man. I have been guilty, as I think most people have, because we don’t think that we can make enough of a difference. We are afraid to get too involved because then we will lose focus on what we want and believe we need in this life.

We all have seen too any cases where the children in our society are abused and/or neglected, and end up in the foster care system. Many times these kids are placed again in abusive situation, and sometimes are lost in that system. We have read those stories where these kids end up dead in our system. There were a couple of cases in Florida when I lived there, that was beyond appalling. One such case was a toddler had been dead almost a year before her case worker realized that she was missing. Another, when two young kids were placed in the custody of their uncle after their mother's death to discovered that he had been sexually molesting the little girl for about four years, and had started on the little boy. After he was seen with the two children by a lady that knew his history called the authorities. It was discovered that this uncle had been convicted and served time for child molestation in another state. These two children were actually wards of the state of Florida, but the authorities allowed the uncle to care for them, without a complete and thorough background check. How did they not know this man's criminal history before allowing him to take these two young children.

After these cases the state of Florida was definitely under attack, rightfully so, and a number of people lost their jobs. However, no state is adequately staffed for the growing number of neglected children entering the system. I always wondered what could be done, and I had thought if regular citizens could volunteer to help with the overload, how could they be certified to do the job and do it well.

Well there is a program in place to do just that. It is called CASA, Court Appointed Special Advocates. . If many of our youth that are serving life sentences in prison had someone there for them, many of them would not be in jail.

The young woman in the video above, Sara Kruzman, would have been one of those children that would have definitely benefited from having a child advocate. Her mother was on drugs so she found that home in Gigi, who was a pimp. Now she will spend the rest of her natural life in prison for fighting back. She is again victimized by the system.

Where is Home for you?

I have been having a great deal of dreams about my hometown lately. I don't know what it is all about, but it is a great deal better than the nightmares that I have been having for the past month due to percocet of which I have been taking after surgery.
I have been reconnecting with old friends via facebook and it has been wonderful.

I am from Savannah, Georgia, which is an absolutely beautiful city, but I never felt it was a place for the upwardly mobile. The glass ceiling is definitely visible. Therefore most of my friends moved away after high school and never returned. However I did return for a few years and never felt good about being there. I always felt stagnated. So I left again. Now that I am getting older I feel a pull back home. Maybe it is just that I have been reconnecting with those from home and miss the days long gone.

My parents are still in Savannah and they are getting older, so I am sure that the day will come when I will return, but it is not today. I am grateful that my parents are still in good health and doing well, as am I.

Maybe it is just time for an extended visit.

Where is home for you? Do you still feel connected? Why?