Years ago, when I was teaching at several New Jersey colleges and universities, a few of my students randomly confided in me how they felt purposefully ripped off by their Newark college admission offices. They believed they were tricked into studying in Newark instead of New York City.
The all mighty dollar is responsible for some of the worst destruction the world has ever known. The dollar, unlike the natural disasters which do not discriminate directly based on who has money and who does not, makes swift decisions on who lives and who dies, what architecture is worth saving and what gets destroyed.
If it wasn’t for celebrity adoption, after all, many people wouldn’t have even heard of some of the countries from which babies are being adopted — Namibia, anyone? The people of Haiti count themselves fortunate that the dollar came to rebuild, while anyone visiting New Orleans can see where the dollars flow and where they do not.
One of the keys to living a human life is equally accepting the joys and the sorrows of our short time on this earth. We love to celebrate good things like birthdays and marriages and births, but when it comes to the sadder side of bouncing on this mortal coil, we often turn inward and inky and ask for privacy, and sometimes, we might even feel ashamed for feeling desperate and undecided. We need space and room to grieve because grief is the price we pay for love and friendship even though we may be reluctant to settle that barter.
Please forgive the title of this article. I know “Shitheel” can be an offensive word, but it is the perfect word to describe what happened to me on the phone last night with Payless ShoeSource Customer Service — and the “heel” in a “Shitheel” headline about a rotten shoe company was just too perfect to pass up. Consider this story the perfect “Shitheel” shitstorm where all the crap in the world swirled into one, massively bungled, Public Relations and Customer Service nightmare and then shat on me.
The day before yesterday, I placed a big order for four pairs of men’s and women’s shoes on Payless.com for $159.17 USD. I liked Payless shoes. Their shoes were cheap and good. Oh, how I wish I’d remembered why I cannot afford cheap shoes.
The next day, expecting delivery, I went online to check my order status only to be met with this screen telling me my order had been CANCELLED!
