Chris Forman's Blog, page 5

Oils well that ends well.

I had two experiences recently with major retailers that I thought I'd share with you, and both were related to oil in some way. One involved an oil change in the Mustang and the other was replacing a snow blower that seized the engine as a result of being bone-dry in the crankcase. Apparently small engines need lubrication as much as their big brothers, maybe even more so, especially after that nasty storm we had last year.

I needed an oil change in the Mustang and debated where to take it. Years ago I changed my own, but it is worth a bit extra to stay clean and not have to crawl under the car, plus the disposal of the old oil is a pain. At my age and size I'd just get stuck under the car anyway. I've been taking it to the dealer, but the wait is too long. I drove past a couple of those oil change places and the local Valvoline place didn't have much of a line. That decided it. I pulled in and was told it would be a half-hour or so and the price was about thirty bucks. Not bad. Well, thirty minutes later my car was in the bay. Five minutes later the mechanic called me out and talked me into an up-grade on the oil and a new air filter. Now the bill was at seventy bucks. The funny part came when the mechanic was finished. He came into the waiting area with my dipstick in hand. He had it in his right hand and the long part was over his left forearm like a sommelier presenting a bottle of fine wine. He said, "Your current oil level sir." I didn't know if I should sniff it or take a taste so I just smiled and nodded my approval. Theatrical customer service.

We went to Sears to buy a snow blower and the one I wanted was out of stock, so I asked about buying the one on the floor. The saleswoman, a nice older woman, checked and said I could. I then asked about a discount for buying the floor model and she called the manager, several times. He didn't respond for about twenty minutes and when he did the response was that there would be no discount as they could order me a new one, or I could buy one in another store. I replied that I could indeed buy one in another store. There was a Home Depot and a Lowes on my way home. One of the other sales people said that it wouldn't snow soon anyway, so I shouldn't be in any hurry. Teresa said that we should leave. I told her no, that the original saleslady was trying so hard to help me, and that she would get a commission for the sale, so we stayed and I bought it anyway. Here's where I may have had a problem with the store, but I liked a person working there. I worked in retail for quite a few years and realized that she was looking out for the customer in spite of what the store was doing to send me away.

So now I'm ready for the snow again and the oil in the car is fine. Next thing is new tires for the Mustang. That may prove amusing as well.

Our new portrait.

Here is our new portrait. Not too bad for a couple that has been married for almost thirty-three years. Hopefully the next thirty-three will be as kind.

Thirty-five hundred miles in the Mustang

Well, the summer is over and we're back home again getting ready to get back to work. It went by too fast but we had some fun traveling and visiting the grandchildren (and our kids too). Two round trips to Wilmington, a couple to Pennsylvania, and one to Montreal put about thirty-five hundred miles on the 'Stang. This is a bit less than the five thousand miles we travelled last summer, but that included Alabama and New Orleans. We did plan to get to Boston and Baltimore, but those trips...

My GPS is Despondent

I'm a bit worried about my GPS, I call her Chloe since I have the British voice and it seemed a nice name. Seems she's taken to throwing herself from my window while we're driving in fits of desperation when I don't listen to her and follow her directions. At first I thought she was being a bit, shall we say bitchy, about things, but now I think she's feeling a bit unloved and under-appreciated.
It all started when we were driving to Pennsylvania to our daughter's house. I know the way by...

Hello friends and fans in the UK

Hello to all of my friends, and fans in the UK. And family too. I just got word from Amazon that the Kindle version of my books are now available in the UK. The price for each is three pounds, seventy-seven, which I think is equal to the five dollar US price. This is a lot better than the print versions which go through distributers and the prices can vary wildly.
Here is the link that will get you to the main listing. Once you get there order one of each, then tell your friends. If I sell...

Getting in touch with my Scottish roots

Last April I went to England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland with thirty-nine teenagers, and a few chaperones as well. It was an interesting trip, but it made me swear off of trips with teens. Now I love to go to Washington with my freshmen, but these were seniors and they were a tad wild. My favorite part of the trip? Scotland, hands down. I was only in Edinburgh, so I didn't see too much, but it was an amazing city with a mix of the old and the new. The people were also friendly, much more so...

Reflections on the South

Just got back from a trip to Wilmington, NC to visit the grandchildren, and I had a few thoughts about how different things are south of the Mason-Dixon line. Of course Wilmington is not truly indicative of the South because most of the people you meet aren't from there, they started their lives somewhere else. Not quite like Florida though where everyone is from where you're from. North Carolina is a lot different from the deep South, like Alabama.
There's a certain relaxed quality of life...

Then and Now

Teresa and I took a trip to Montreal a couple of weeks ago and the trip took us up the Northway, Route 87 above Albany. We had the top down in the Mustang and as soon as I smelled the pine trees I was flooded with old memories. You see, when I was a teenager I had a girlfriend in Vermont and I went up there every weekend to see her. What struck me were the differences between then and now. At the risk of sounding like an old geezer, I'd like to reflect on the differences in travel over...

Cape Fear Literacy Council

On Tuesday I had the pleasure of attending a reading and interpretation of works from Langston Hughs, Mya Angelou and others at the Cape Fear Literacy Council in Wilmington, NC performed by three women in front of a crowd of over thirty people. They did an amazing job. What made it more amazing is that these three women entered cape Fear Literacy Council a few years ago with reading levels below third grade.

After they were done, five or six other students read short and told us of their...

Southbound and down.

We're headed south to see the grandchildren, and our daughters and sons-in-law too. It's hard that they live so far away, but what is nice is that they live in an area that people call a vacation spot. Two of our daughters live in Wilmington NC and are only a few minutes from the beach so we'll be spending some time in the sand and surf. We'll also be eating at some good restaurants so look for some reviews on the Burgers and Brews blog
I'll be looking at the people and places as I work on...