Playing Hooky with My Grandson

When you were growing up did you ever play hooky from school? I did once or twice that I can recall. Last week I decided to play hooky from work. I called it a "Mental Health Day." Lord knows, when you work in 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, 160+ hours a month, you need to take a break even when you aren't really sick. I chose to call out because my eight-year-old grandson had the day off and I just felt like hanging out with him.

Since he spent the night before at my house, I thought for sure he would take advantage of a sleep-in day but noooooooooooo! He had to wake up BEFORE 8am with a growling stomach. That meant I had to get up and make breakfast. That's what grandmas do.

I planned a fun afternoon that included lunch and a movie out of town. So what would we see? I wanted to see the movie with Melissa McCarthy and Bill Murray but my grandson was convinced that I wanted to see Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Never mind that he just saw the movie two days before, he was so sure I really would want to see that movie. So guess what? We went to see it and began the 20 minute trip from Durham to Morrisville. We didn't get there in time for the 12:15 showing so we bought tickets for the 2:30 showing and just hung out in the plaza area.

Since we weren't really hungry yet, we decided to pass the time away by throwing coins in the water fountain in front of the theater and by playing tag around this Christmas tree centered in the middle of the plaza.

After working up a hunger, we ate at Bad Daddy's which was right next door to the movie theater. And then it was showtime. We discovered we were the ONLY ones in the theater for the movie and that was pretty cool! And yes, my grandson was right. I really did like that movie.

It was a great mental health day for me and I was refreshed and revitalized to return to work the next day.

Nelson Mandela Inspired the Baby Boomer Generation

When Nelson Mandela was imprisoned in 1978 I was a junior at Ohio University. As a young,politically conscious activist, I joined many college students across the country in demanding that our universities divest from South Africa. We wanted our institutions to cease investing in companies that traded or had operations in South Africa. We were outraged at what was going on in South Africa with apartheid. The way blacks were being treated there was reminiscent of the way our own parents and grandparents had been treated here under the so-called "Jim Crow" laws.

Protests were held at many universities. As a result of these organized "divestment campaigns", the boards of trustees of several universities voted to divest completely from South Africa and companies with major South African interests. Hampshire College was the first in the nation to divest from apartheid South Africa. They were joined by the University of Massachusetts, Tufts University, Smith College, the University of Wisconsin, Ohio University, Amherst College and Antioch College. But the straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak, was when the University of California authorized the withdrawal of three billion dollars worth of investments from the apartheid state. Nelson Mandela stated his belief that the University of California's massive divestment was particularly significant in abolishing white-minority rule in South Africa.

Today as I reflect on the life of Nelson Mandela, I am reminded that one person can truly make a difference and inspire an entire generation.

I almost fell in love with Kroger

I heard on the radio that Kroger was having a sale on grapes so I decided to go there to take advantage of the sale.

When I walked into the entryway, much to my surprise, there were carolers singing Christmas songs and employees passing out goodie bags along with the Kroger specials of the day. So far, so good.

Then as I walked into the produce section, I found my grapes--and plenty of them---red, black and green---on sale as advertised. And what's even better is I got to pick and choose which ones I wanted and put them all in the same bag. Shortly afterwards, I asked a produce employee where the chard was and instead of pointing me in the direction, he actually guided me to the location and explained the different varieties. Now, I'm impressed!

But then a not-so-funny thing happened at the deli. This particular employee (and fellow boomer) seemed less than enthusiastic about assisting me. No smile and he mumbled his words. STRIKE ONE.

As I moseyed on to the wine section, a smiling face (a millennial) greeted me and asked if I wanted to sample a particular wine they had on sale. It wasn't quite noon yet but I thought, "What the heck!" He said he was giving me a double portion. I wondered if I had "wino" tatooed on my forehead. Nevertheless, I tasted it and was SOLD.

The wine had me feeling pretty good when I went to the checkout line. That was until I had a not so pleasant encounter with the cashier, whose name was Sharon. I greeted her first. She didn't speak back. She didn't even smile once. Perhaps she smelled the wine on my breath and thought I was just some drunk housewife hitting the bottle a little too early for her. Or maybe she was upset because she couldn't have any while on the clock. WHATEVER! STRIKE TWO. And what's even worse is she bagged my seafood with my fruit---which even I know is a no-no. STRIKE THREE.

At that point I felt the need to speak to a manager so I went to the customer service desk. Another (boomer) employee asked if she could help me in a tone that made me feel less than welcome. Once again--no smile. Then she asked me why I wanted to see a manager. I told her I had a complaint. I was sure she would soften up a bit and do her best to turn my negative perception around but she did nothing but stand there stone-faced until the manager, Mr. Hinckley, came to hear me out. He offered me a gift card for my feedback. I declined it because I wanted him to understand my complaint couldn't be bought off with a gift card. I wanted him to understand that good customer service is still the key to good business and that's why Harris Teeter remains the cream of the crop.

The bottom line is good customer service is the lifeblood of any business. You can offer promotions and reduce prices to bring in as many customers as you want, but it's also about the "experience" a customer has while in your business.

Great customer service is all about bringing customers back and about sending them away happy - happy enough to pass on positive feedback about your business along to others, who may then visit your store and, in turn, become repeat customers.

I almost fell in love with Kroger today but they just can't compete with my Harris Teeter---at least not yet anyway

A Baby Boomer Lesson on Diversity

On Saturday, my grandson was invited to the birthday/halloween party of one of his classmates. Since I had never met Julianna's parents I wasn't sure what to expect.


What I discovered was Julianna's mother is black and her father is of Latin descent. The children who came to the party were from different racial and ethnic backgrounds and it was a beautiful sight to see.

For a three-hour period, the adults watched as their children played and shared without prejudice. For that moment in time no one saw race as an issue. Even the parents were laughing and joking with each other.

By the time children get to elementary school, they are aware of differences and some have already developed prejudices against people who are different because of the adults around them.

There are simple ways that parents and baby boomer grandparents can help their children and grandchildren understand differences in people and be tolerant of these differences:

Show that you value diversity through your friendships and business relationships. What you do is as important as what you say.

Make and enforce a firm rule that a person's ethnic background is never an acceptable reason for teasing or rejecting someone.

Provide opportunities for your children to interact with others who are racially or culturally different and with people who have disabilities. Look for opportunities in the neighborhood, school, after-school and weekend programs, church, camps, concerts, and other community events.

Respectfully listen to and answer your child's questions about people's differences. If you ignore questions, change the subject, sidestep, or scold your child for asking, you may suggest that the subject is bad or inappropriate.

Teach you child ways to think objectively about bias and discrimination and to witness against these injustices. Set an example by your own actions.

I will be having my own party on November 2 and have invited a diverse group of people to attend. I wonder if they will choose to show up or allow their own prejudices to hold them back.
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When Baby Boomer Married Minds Think Alike

A couple of weeks ago my husband and I went to the Carolina Ale House for our weekly "date night."  While enjoying our meal, I noticed a young mother with her two children (a boy and a girl).  They were sitting in a booth.  Both children were cuddled up to their mother as opposed to sitting on the opposite side.

As I watched their interaction, I couldn't help but notice the closeness they shared but I I also wondered was she a single parent?  Where was their dad?  Was she struggling to make ends meet?  At that moment something came over me that I can't explain.  I excused myself from the table, went out to the car and got my  credit card from my purse (which I left in the car).  When I came back inside, I told my husband I felt moved to pay for their meals and I didn't want him to try to talk me out of it.

Surprisingly (or maybe not), he said he was thinking about doing the same thing.  I called the waitress over, told her I wanted to pay their bill but didn't want them to know it until we left the restaurant.

After finishing our meal, my husband and I walked silently to our car knowing our hearts had been connected even more deeply by a mom and two children we may never see again.

Grandchildren and Identity Theft

Mama needs a new car but she doesn't have enough money and her credit is bad. What does she do? She uses her child's social security number to establish herself a new line of credit. Sound far-fetched? Actually, it isn't.

Child identity theft is on the rise and it could affect your grandchild. According to Researcher Richard Power, children make perfect targets because they have no records and the crime usually isn't discovered until they become an adult.

Among the 4,311 children found to have distressed identity records, 300 were under five-years-old years old. Nearly 1,800 cases involved utility service records, such as bogus electricity service accounts. There were also 500 kids’ names attached to mortgages or foreclosures, and 415 of the kids had driver's licenses.

Among the more serious cases: a 16-year-old girl in Arizona with 33 credit accounts linked to her name, including three mortgages.

How does this happen? According to the report, the primary reasons for child identity theft are illegal immigration (e.g., to obtain false IDs for employment), organized crime (e.g., to engage in financial fraud) and friends and family (e.g., to circumvent bad credit ratings, etc.), the report says. And, more often than not, it is someone the child knows.

To learn more about how to protect your child or grandchild from identity theft, read this great article from CreditCards.com: Child ID Theft