Mixed Bag today - I have a few things on my mind :)

Bus Kids

When I was a teen, I volunteered through my church's bus program. Every Saturday morning, I'd rise early and go to the Bus Captain's Meeting where the grown ups sipped coffee and I planned my visits. Then I'd go from house to house on my bus route, looking for new bus kids and visiting my existing bus kids to see if they wanted to come to church the next day. Every Sunday morning, I'd arrive at the bus depot around 7 am and met my bus driver and my bus workers - sweet boys who would run from the bus to the kids' doors to pick them up - and we'd have some donuts and cocoa (coffee again for the grown ups, none for me thanks. Even to this day, I hate coffee.) and chit chat while the bus warmed up and then we were on our way. And we would go house to house and pick up kids to come to church. I'm sure for most parents, we were a free babysitting service. It was a lot of work, and it took dedication to do it week after week. But I took my job as Bus Captain seriously for several reasons. First of all, I myself was a Bus Kid. When I was 4 years old, a very nice lady came to my house and asked my mom if she could pick me up for church. My mom agreed, but only if she could come with to make sure it wasn't a cult. If it hadn't been for the Etheringtons, I may never have found the faith that grounds me so deeply today. I have to believe that meeting the Etherington Family were part of God's Divine Plan for my life. Had I not started attending that church, I probably never would have wanted to attend the Christian School there. And had I not attended Schaumburg Christian School, I never would have met some of the dear people who are still my close and beloved friends today, over 15 years later. Secondly, I believed in reaching others with the message of salvation by grace. I knew that all these unchurched kids were just like I was so many years ago, and have never been exposed to the truths of the Bible. I wasn't just out to save their souls...but I wanted them to learn Christian love. I wanted them to grow up to be good people.

Twice in the last year, I have had the serendipitously joyful experience of running into a couple of my Bus Kids. And they're all grown up now. And from all signs, they've grown up to be good people, productive members of society. There are not words for the joy, the gratitude and the pride I felt at those moments. To have a hand in that...while I was just a teenager! I did that. I impacted lives for good. It was overwhelming and beautiful and just such an awesome moment. One of my Bus Kids was my waiter at a restaurant. We immediately recognized each other. And as I left the restaurant, I gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek and told him how happy I was to see him again. Last night, I ran into another of my Bus Kids at our gym. She's the director of their childcare program there. And she's all grown up and married and just stunningly beautiful. And we locked eyes for just a moment, when I murmured, "I know you." And she just said "I know" and grinned brightly.

It helps me understand why moms are notorious for being the weepers at graduations and weddings and whatnot. My heart swelled with so much pride I thought it would burst -- just imagine how I'll feel when it's my own children that I see being successful!

We're Not Gonna Take It!

I used to make fun of my mom for returning stuff we'd worn. We would tease her that throughout our childhoods, she purchased for us just one pair of shoes. And the second we had worn through them or grown out of them, she'd return them to the store making a huge fuss and demand a new pair in replacement for free. Of course that was a total exaggeration, but it made for some funny teasing when we were kids.

But I "get" what my mom was thinking now. Last month, we went out and bought Tim a couple pairs of shoes. He was wearing his tennies to work everyday and they were just thrashed. They stunk and the white leather had cracked and was scuffed and there was no support left in the sole...they just needed to GO. He was protective of them, as they were sentimental shoes to him. They were the tennies we bought just before departing on our trip to St. Thomas for our wedding and honeymoon. We both got white leather New Balance tennies for that trip. We were the nerdy tourists with the blindingly white new shoes. Anyways, his honeymoon shoes had bit the dust, whether he wanted to admit it or not. And new shoes were out there to be had...with lots of great sales for Father's Day. I had budgeted $100 for his new shoes, and with that money we ended up being able to get 2 pairs of shoes for him (and a bonus work out outfit for the gym) because of the great sales. He got a really comfy looking pair of tennies and a pair of dressier brown leather shoes for work that are made by Nunn Bush. The Nunn Bushs were an $80 pair of shoes that we picked up for 1/2 off. It was a total score and I was so excited. The inside was built like a tennis shoe with a Gel Comfort insole, but with a businessy looking leather shoe outside. It was like the Best Of Everything Shoe. I was especially excited for them since Nunn Bushs are usually pretty pricey and are known for being a well made shoe. Since Tim has to walk from the train station to the office & back every day, a comfortable shoe with good support was great for him. Better than the thrashing his feet were used to taking every day from his Honeymoon Shoes.

After 3 weeks of wear, however, both my bubble and the Gel Comfort insole on the Nunn Bushs burst. I was so upset! Of course, I knew Kohl's wouldn't return the shoes or exchange them after they were worn. I wouldn't DARE try my mother's shenanigans of raising hell in the middle of a store until they give you what you want just to shut you up and get rid of you. I was pissed about the shoes, but still...I have my pride! Thanks to the Information Superhighway, I found out that Nunn Bush is owned by the Florsheim Corporation, and I called them. I left a message with their Customer Service department and waited. Then the next day I called back and left another message. Hey, I don't work a paying job. I can call these people every day all day until they pay attention to me. :) Customer Service called me back today, and I explained my problem with the shoes. They're sending me out a replacement pair free of charge and would like me to throw out or donate the defective shoes.

Well, now I'm on a roll. After I got off the phone with them, I called MAC to complain about a defective liquid eyeliner I purchased. The brush inside the tube was curly, and you can't make a straight line with a curly brush. MAC is also sending me out a replacement free of charge, with their apologies for my difficulties.

This all started 3 weeks ago when our PUR faucet mount water filter started acting up. It was only a couple months old, and one day it just stopped working. I was pretty upset, because it was a recent unnecessary upgrade from our old filter. This one sits horizontally where the old one was vertical. The new position allows me to fill jugs easily, which I loved. But still, I could have lived with the old filter, I didn't need to pony up the $40 for a new one. So when it died so quickly, I was kinda pissed. I didn't have the box or receipt anymore or know how to fix it. So I went to the company's website, clicked on the "Contact Us" link and sent them an email. I told them my problem and asked for troubleshooting help so I could fix whatever was wrong. Their reply? We're sorry you got a bad faucet mounted filter, send us your home address and the model # and color, and we'll ship you out a replacement faucet mount free of charge. Well, now. How many times do things, newer things, break around the house, or not live up to the performance you expected, and we just throw them away? This was like a new era in consumership for me. I didn't have to accept shoddily made things. I could call the company out on their crap and say "Hey! I spent my family's money on your product, and it sucks! Fix it!". And THEY WILL.

So I encourage you, Good Citizen. Next time a product fails to meet your expectations, or an item falls apart before its time, don't just suck it up. Fight back! You Google that company's name and look up their Contact Us link and call them or email them and ask them "What can you do to stand behind your company's product?" Because as long as the American Public continues to accept crap, they will continue to let us pay for crap. The more people speak up about sloppy workmanship and defective merchandise, the more incentive these companies will have to tighten up their product engineering and quality control.

Mom, thanks for buying me that one pair of shoes and returning them over and over and over again. I'm sorry for making fun of you. I know better now.