On the Homefront

Rarely do I ever write letters to corporate management complimenting their remarkable customer service. That’s because rarely do I see exemplary service. But today I was compelled to write a letter to Lowe’s of Roseville (the new town we live in) commending their employees. They are awesome! I won’t bore you with all the details but yesterday we had quite an ordeal trying to buy a blasted grill (how hard can it be, right?). Despite all the brouhaha, we were very impressed by the service that was rendered. Maybe it’s because this particular Lowe’s is right next door to a Home Depot. Good ol’ Adam Smith was right – when two enterprises compete, the consumer wins! Plus, I remember how hard it is to work retail. You stand on your feet all day, working your tush off, dealing with an ungrateful public. And, to make matters worse, you get paid peanuts! So, I thought it would be very nice to write a letter to encourage the spirits of a few weary and heavy-laden Lowe’s employees. (Now that I think about it . . . It would’ve been really nice if some thankful customer had written to Starbucks telling them, “That Amy girl, she’s a keeper. She makes the best nonfat lattes ever.” But it never happened. Oh well. I’m not bitter.) ____________________________ We love our new neighborhood. Next door, there are these two little boys who are very cute and very friendly. One of them, Nick, stopped riding his bike and came to talk to us on Friday night, as we sat in the front yard pulling weeds from the landscaping. (It was very enjoyable to sit in the cool of the evening and dig our hands into the dirt. Very rewarding, I must confess.) Nick gave us the scoop on the neighborhood. During our conversation, a black and white cat, named Sylvester, walked over and started cozying up next to me. Nick’s family feeds Sylvester but, according to our young new friend, “he’s the neighborhood cat.” Apparently, Sylvester particularly enjoys lying in the shade of our front yard. So it seems that I’ll get many more opportunities to become acquainted with him. Nick told us that he has a lot of friends in our neighborhood. “I’m sorry we don’t have a little kid for you to play with,” said Kevin. “That’s okay. I don’t need any more friends,” he replied. Nick’s younger brother, Taylor, offered to mow our lawn for us on Saturday. Since we don’t have a lawnmower yet, we took him up on this. He missed a few patches of grass but, hey, we’ll give him a break. After all, he’s only eight years old – and it was very nice of him to offer. (Although, I think his mom made him do it. His mom has a large Bush-Cheney sign painted to her car’s rear window. So, I’ve already decided that she’s a wonderful person.) ;-) I think this is the first time we’ve spent a three-day holiday weekend at home in years. Although we worked non-stop (and got a lot done), it was kinda nice to just “be home.”