Another day, another scam

 

I woke up this morning to atext message telling me that USPS was unable to deliver my package and offeringme a form to fill out to reschedule delivery. I’m not good at texting on myphone—clumsy old fingers—but I am a rule follower, so I began filling it out. Ihad to stop and start over once—this was before I had brushed my teeth or hadmy tea. I finally got a little suspicious when they wanted my credit card—if apackage was coming through USPS there should be no charge. So why the creditcard?

I checked Amazon and thepackage I was expecting had indeed been delivered—it was still in the mainhouse and hadn’t made its way to the cottage yet. So when I got myself togetherfor the day and finally settled at my desk, I decided to check out the web linkon the computer rather than the phone. Wonder of wonders! That page wasn’tworking right now.

Jordan came out a bit later,bringing the package, and said oh for sure to ignore such. This afternoon, the scamwas confirmed by two more emails exactly like the first. The first came fromAudrey—the next two from Margaret and Linda. They are clever, official lookingforms, presented with a cheery, “The USPS team wishes you a good day!” So thisis my warning to all of you!

I note with sadness thepassing of California chef, restaurant owner, and vintner Michael Chiarello atthe age of sixty-one from an allergic reaction. I remember watching him when hehad a regular TV show. As his last name implies, his focus was Italian food,and he was charming and fun to watch. In my appalling collection of recipes,there is a worn piece of paper with Chiarello’s picture (much younger) and thetitle, “Mom’s Stuffed Eggplant.” It’s a different kind of recipe for EggplantParmesan, calling for hamburger. The eggplant is cut in half, hollowed out, andthe eggplant meat, some hamburger, and tomato cooked together with seasoningsand Parmesan and then stuffed back into the eggplant shell for baking. Yes, it’sa bit of work, but it’s so worth it. RIP, Mr. Chiarello—you brought joy to mykitchen.

It’s been another intense dayfor me, past noon before I finished reading new emails and the various newscolumns I follow, like Heather Cox Richardson. I value my exchange with membersof Guppies, the online chapter of Sisters in Crime—today we got going on thepros and cons of Substack, the online platform that combines a blog, newsletter, payment system, and a customer supportteam. I have not for now considered moving this blog to thatsystem, but I’m curious how many regular readers would follow. Substack offersfree and paid content, and I would keep the blog free. At some future date, Imight serialize the Food of the Fifties project I’m working on. And I mightcharge a tiny amount for that. I’ll welcome any comments. Substack seems toencourage back-and-forth conversation more than the blog does. On the otherhand, I’m grateful for my blog readers and not anxious to shake up thatreadership. So I’m on that uncomfortable fence, but it’s not an immediateproblem: the Food of the Fifties manuscript, tentatively titled Mom and Mein the Kitchen, is a long way from completion. Indeed, it may be such an ongoingthing that, like my Thursday cooking blog, “Gourmet on a Hot Plate,” will neverbe finished.

Andthe horror from the Israel/Hamas War continues to come into our living rooms.Weighty thoughts tonight. Count our blessings and pray for the ordinary peopleof Israel and Palestine.