Customer Service? Not Really

I realize that the internet has become 'the' place to shop for everything, including groceries. For those of us who would prefer to actually shop for groceries in a store, where is the customer service?

In recent weeks I've noticed a serious lack of customer service in local grocery stores. I won't mention any of the stores by name but I'm sure you'll know from your own experience. Here are some examples that have come up recently:

1. Several stores that are open 24 hours tend to stock shelves during what's has always been the main grocery shopping time. Skids and carts of merchandise block the aisle and the employees seem more bothered by a customer's presence than willing to stay to the side so people can shop. 
2. If you happen to see any employee walking the floor and are able to get their attention, they cannot tell you where any item is in the store. Occasionally one will offer to help you look for it.
3. Once you have your groceries and head to the checkout, you'll be very lucky if you find a live person available to ring up your purchase. Not a long line, just no one assigned to take MONEY from customers. This is becoming a more frequent occurrence, especially at stores that have self-check lines. 
4. Actually getting out of the store with your groceries and sanity has become quite tricky. I always group my groceries on the conveyor belt as I want them bagged (from previous experience) and still the cashier will want to put bread in with canned goods or chemicals in with meat (yes, it's happened recently). For some reason cashiers come from one of two schools of thought; put all your cans in a 1 mil strength bag or put no more than 2 items in a bag. 
5. Still trying to check out when they decide to group something together to save time and ring up 6 of something when you actually have 5. Many get annoyed when you put multiple items like soft drinks on the conveyor rather than just one and others advise they need everything on the conveyor. 
6. Another thing that is just completely disrespectful and rude is a cashier that will stand and visit with a coworker or friend while they should be paying attention to accurately scanning and bagging your order. I could truly care less what their plans are for lunch and after work and would prefer not to 'interrupt' their social lives to tell them they scanned the same item twice. 
7. Once you have your groceries back in the cart, you'd think it would finally be over... you'd be wrong at some stores. While the guy behind you walks out merrily with a television sticking out of his cart, you get stopped and your receipt examined because you bought a 25lb bag of dog food that while prominently displayed standing in the front of your cart, isn't in a bag. 

All I'm asking for is a cart that isn't full of trash that the lot people are too lazy to throw away, to have access to the aisles I need in the store, for someone to know where anything is in their workplace and to have a live person to actually pay attention to how they scan and bag the items. 

Being a cashier doesn't have to be a hard job. If you don't like it, find something else to do. Don't make customers pay for a bad attitude and lack of common sense. I've been a cashier and it wasn't hard to scan and bag items. 

Is it a lack of training by management? A lack of policy by the company? It doesn't seem logical to try to make customers miserable when nearly every day companies are announcing store closings. I really don't like the idea of going through a self-checkout lane with a week's worth of groceries while the cashiers get paid to stand and socialize just to make sure I don't have citronella scented ground beef or end up with a loaf of flatbread under my cans. 

I'm at a loss on where to try to shop for groceries. The above is a compilation of three local grocery stores. I don't even want to talk about the stores where you have to rent a cart or bring/buy your bags.

This may sound whiny but I don't think it's too much to ask that a company, who claims to want your business, train their employees on how to correctly perform their jobs. I think the management of the store should make sure that employees are trained properly and follow that training daily.

As we head into the holiday season, everyone's stress level will rise and cashiers could help lower that shopping stress by putting a little effort into their jobs.  

Released Kennedy Files

Let me start by saying I am about half conspiracy theorist, likely on my father's side. I've watched videos and read articles about some of the mass 'killings' in recent history and there are some valid points about cases like Sandy Hook. I really would like to see President Trump release those files as well but one thing at a time. 

I started reading the documents last night and read two about the connection between the CIA, organized crime and a few government officials including Robert Kennedy. The goal from the papers I read was to overthrow or outright kill Castro. 

I believe I may have read about the birth of false flags or at least their early existence. One paragraph in one of the documents was taken from a memo and essentially said 'we' could, real or faked. blow up a raft of Cuban refugees. The goal would be to blame the action on Castro and cause the Cuban people to rise up and overthrow him. Also in the paragraph was the idea to place plastic explosives in a couple strategic locations and blame Communists or Castro loyalists for the bombings. 

This is a prime example of a false flag. There are still activities being 'faked' today and blamed on a specific target to elicit a response from the public based on fear. Sandy Hook is an example of the same. The school used wasn't even in operation at the time of the false flag. One of the children who 'died' at Sandy Hook, died again 2 years later in a school shooting in Pakistan. 

Many who discount the possibility of our government or parts of it being able to pull off such an abhorrent act should read the released Kennedy files with regards to what the CIA had planned in order to urge Cubans to overthrow Castro. How is that different than staging a school shooting in order to urge the public to call for stronger gun control laws.

They even went so far as to plan to get botulism capsules to Cuba by way of mob connections. The mob connection with get the capsules to someone close enough to Castro to poison his drink. 

Basically, I find it interesting that while the CIA was working with the mob, Robert Kennedy was working to bring the mob down. He even went so far as to tell them to check with him before they made deals with mobsters, in case it was someone he was working on bringing down. 

There is a lot more to read but so far, what I have read does not lead me to change my theory. One of the memos I read was an angry reply by the CIA that they would not respond to, put in writing, or attend any open meeting pertaining to the assassination of Castro or a leader of any other country. 

Just that memo, to me, says the smoking gun will not be found in any of the files. It also reinforces my theory of what happened. Most involved were silenced years ago. 

Copy and Paste in Your Status

I don't know about you but I find it incredibly annoying to read the requests in my timeline from people to copy and paste what they've put in their status to my status, just for an hour. 

It's like a Facebook chain letter. I think some of the worst ones are those who say something like 'I'm cleaning up my friends list, like this post and copy and paste this to your status so I can comment. I know which of my friends will do it.'  

It's maddening. First of all, if our friendship is based off my willingness to copy/paste your status to mine; I think we have bigger issues. Second, it's MY status, I can put what I like there. Maybe something like... if you want me to copy/paste your status to mine to prove our friendship, go ahead and delete me now. 

I also don't care for the 'I bet I won't get one like or share' posts. Well, if I'm seeing it, you did so no reason for me to share it. A post should get likes and shares naturally. If something goes viral, it should because of the content being worthy or interesting enough to do so. 

The other status request that I find annoying is copy/paste this to your status if you know someone who has had a disease or has died from a disease. I think, as sad as it is, most of us have. I don't feel compelled to change my message because of a message on social media sandwiched between an advertisement and and request for a bale of hay in Farmville. 

Posts that request that you like and share if you agree or disagree are also kind of off putting. Like and Share if you believe in God... Like and Share if you hate war.  They are easy enough to scroll past, It's not a big annoyance, it's just the message it conveys. Basically, that if you don't like and share, you're agreeing to the opposite. 

I've noticed a trend on posts that should be fun that i think may have a darker purpose. Basically they are the posts that request you use the month day and year of your birth to discover your angel name, etc. That seems to be requesting too much personal information. Some want you to use other things like parents names. I am leery of putting the information in the comments. It tells people your name and birth date or what ever information is used. 

Bottom line: It's social media. To me that means it's for fun and communication. My status is what I want. My likes and shares are things that I like and want to share. 

Finally, and this one is getting harder by the day, I'm trying hard not to respond to posts by people who can't accept differing opinions on any topic. I never cared for speech and debate class but some of the people who post on Facebook needed that course every year of school. They just don't know how to respond without getting rude and foul. I agree with freedom of speech for all but the abusive nature some people take in posting or responding to posts is troubling. 

If you don't agree with someone, it doesn't make you right. It means your opinion is different. There are people out there who feel they have the ability to attack others viciously while hiding behind a screen. 

Messing With the Halloween Franchise

I am a horror movie fan and have been for years. I always look forward to the next installment of a series and always hope they have given the killer a decent 'story line' to follow. The Halloween series, save Halloween III, is probably one of my favorites and one I binge watch every year. 

For anyone who doesn't know the story. On Halloween 1963 Michael Myers brutally stabs to death with a butchers knife his teenage (probably 17 year old) sister Judith. He was only six at the time and was sent to Smith's Grove Sanitarium for treatment. Dr. Sam Loomis was assigned to the case and tried to reach the presumably catatonic Michael for 15 years with no luck. 

Dr. Loomis was able to glean enough from the time spent with Michael to know that he would kill again if released. His goal became a permanent containment of his patient. 15 years into his hospitalization, Michael was able to escape the sanitarium and steal a car. 

At the age of 21 Michael headed back to Haddonfield, IL with the intention of killing his younger sister who was now 17 years old. He likely killed a garage mechanic along the way and stole his coveralls, then stole some items from the drugstore; including his iconic William Shatner mask. 

His sister, Cynthia Myers had been adopted by the Strode family and her name changed to Laurie. He went to his former home and saw her leaving the keys under the mat for a prospective buyer as her adoptive father was the realtor selling the home. 

Laurie Strode had no memory at that time of her biological family and was a normal teenager preparing to babysit on Halloween night. Michael killed quite a few people in an attempt to kill Laurie, including her circle of friends. 

Dr. Loomis was able to prevent Michael from killing her but after being shot several times, Michael escaped capture. A nurse from the sanitarium has been sent to collect Dr. Loomis and bring him back to the sanitarium. She told him that Laurie was Michael's sister and the Dr realized why Michael had gone to Haddonfield. To kill his sister. 

Again, Michael had been stalking Laurie at the hospital she was taken to and had killed several people in his search for her. Dr. Loomis arrived in time to save her. At this point, Laurie, Dr. Loomis and Michael were in a room at the hospital with tanks of oxygen. Laurie shot MIchael in the eyes, they turned on different tanks to draw him to the sound and she escaped. Dr. Loomis blew the room up to kill Michael and sacrifice himself to stop the killing. 

You would think that would work and that would be the end of the story but then it wouldn't be the franchise it is today. Above is a rough description of the first two Halloween movies and the vision of the creators. At the end of the second movie, Laurie is taken away in an ambulance. Michael and Dr. Loomis presumed dead. 

Halloween III, while a decent story on it's own, has no place in the franchise. 

Halloween 4 and 5 focus on Jamie Lloyd living in foster care after the death of her parents in a car crash. Michael who was held in a high security hospital is being transported to another location when the EMT's are discussing the little girl who is her uncle's guardian. 

This arouses Michael again from a catatonic state. He kills all in the ambulance and escapes again. Dr. Loomis has recovered from his injuries and has returned to Smith's Grove. After learning of Michael's escape, he goes immediately to Haddonfield. He knows of Jamie LLoyd and plans to protect her and kill Michael. 

Both movies follow the same formula as the first two. Michael kills anyone who gets in his way and is finally captured. Someone uses an explosion to break Michael out of jail and kidnaps Jamie. They are both presumed dead. 

Halloween 6 is one of the more interesting installments of the series for me. The little boy that Laurie was babysitting in the original Halloween is back as an odd young man. Assuming some PTSD, he is obsessed with Michael and finding the reason behind the events that haunt him. 

Jamie Lloyd is alive but not quite well as she has given birth to a baby boy who was likely fathered by Michael. Eww but yeah.  Dr. Wynn puts the Mark of Thorn on the baby. A nurse helps Jamie escape with the baby, she is killed and Michael is again giving chase. Due to the storm, when Jamie arrives at the bus station, she can't call 911 for help but she can call a radio talk show. Tommy, Dr. Loomis and Dr. Wynn (who is visiting Dr. Loomis) hear her. Jamie hides the baby at the bus station where she leaves him and leads Michael away. 

In the meantime, Laurie Strode's adoptive uncle and his family have moved into the Myer's house and Michael considers them family. Kara, Laurie's cousin, has a son named Danny who hears the voice telling him to 'kill for him' and has even drawn the Mark of Thorn on the back of a disturbing drawing he did. 

Michael catches and kills Jamie but doesn't find the baby. Tommy hears the bus announcements in the recording and finds the baby, takes him home and names him Steven. The Mark of Thorn is still on the baby and I want to explain that at this point. 

According to the movie (depending on the cut you see) The Mark of Thorn is placed on one member of a family and the rest of the bloodline is sacrificed by that family member to protect the rest of the community. Michael has that mark and it's really the source of his strength to survive all the physical punishment his body has taken in the previous movies. Personally I find this an excellent explanation that gives the franchise a new direction to take. There are two versions of the movie, one harder to find. In part, the death of Donald Pleasence changed how the ending was handled. One version, Wynn is able to pass the protection of Michael to him and in the other, Dr. Loomis is finally killed by Michael. 

The way the movie ended we can presume that Kara and Tommy are together somewhere raising Danny and Steven. The only other living member of the family is Laurie Strode who faked her death and was in hiding. 

Laurie returns in H2O and it's been 20 years since her brother tried to kill her, and she is living under the name Keri Tate with her son John who just turned 17 at Hillcrest Academy. It's never, to my knowledge, been explained what the age of 17 means to Michael. Michael comes to kill John, Keri and a few others. When Michael is loaded into the ambulance, Laurie steals it and drives off to kill him once and for all. She succeeds in beheading him but Michael has put the mask on the EMT and crushed his windpipe so he is unable to speak. 

We next see Laurie at the beginning of Resurrection. She is in a mental hospital, assuming court order and mental breakdown, for killing an innocent man. She knows Michael is coming for her and hides her medication to stay alert. She nearly kills him but he stabs her and drops her from the roof. Her parting words 'I'll see you in hell'.

While I liked Resurrection, the rest of the story is not integral to Michael's story or the Halloween franchise. Resurrection was released in 2002 and Michael has been missing since. 

Based on the other movies, I see real potential for a new Halloween franchise movie. There are story lines to be had. Michael still has relatives to kill and who's to say Laurie Strode didn't survive that fall. Granted the time lines are a bit screwy but it's possible to continue.  

Steven is likely Michael's son and was superficially given the Mark of Thorn. He has real potential to become a serial killer. 

Danny pulled a knife on his grandfather in 6 and was hearing a voice telling him to kill. 

John survived H2O and would be a potential victim in another movie.

The rumors surrounding Halloween 2018 are disturbing. 

• Michael and Laurie may not be related 
• Throwing out Halloween II, 4, 5, 6, H2O and Resurrection
• Michael can be killed

What makes this part of the Halloween franchise then? Laurie Strode returns to Haddonfield. That's something people have been waiting for since she was carted away in the ambulance at the end of Halloween II. Oh wait... in this version... there is no Halloween II. 

I guess part of my problem with this new version is that they discount all of the time and work that were put into the others to tell this horror story over the years. There are fandom pages, among others, for all of the movies and all of the characters. Fans have theories on what happened to characters who survived. The Halloween franchise has a huge and loyal fan base.

Don't get my wrong, I'm not a total purest. i really like Rob Zombie's version with Michael a bit older and displaying the classic serial killer signs before he killed family. Rob Zombie's Michael was in fact able to be killed and I feel he completed his story at the end of his Halloween II. 

I'm curious about Halloween 2018 but skeptical that they can make the jump from 1978 to 2018. At the end of the original Halloween Michael had escaped with multiple gunshot wounds and Laurie was not badly injured. So 40 years later, Michael who has been dormant? living as a stockbroker? suddenly decides to go back and try to kill some random woman who he tried to kill when she was 17? 

I don't pretend to know their plan and some of the details being leaked might just be ideas they are considering. I hope they do the right thing for the fans of Halloween. 

Descended from Witches

Well, let me clarify the title, we are descended from accused witches in Andover, MA. during the late 1600's. I'm still researching this but the Lovejoy line does include accused witches during the hysteria of the time.  
Sarah Bridges, 7th great grandmother was born to John Bridges and Sarah Howe in 1673 in Andover, MA.  Sadly, her mother passed away in 1678, leaving John to raise Sarah and her older brother James (1671-1739) on his own. John married widow Mary Tyler Post that same year. Together they had Mary (1679), Samuel (1681), Elizabeth (1683) and Mehitable (1688). 
Mary Tyler Post Bridges was the daughter of Job Tyler (1619-1700) and Mary Horton (1619-1700). In addition to Mary, Job and Mary had Moses (1641-1727), Hopestill (1645-1734), John (1650-1652) and Samuel (1655-1695).

During the summer and fall of 1692, these are the family members who were accused of witchcraft. Many confessed under extreme duress and later recanted their confessions. 

Witch Trials

July28 Mary Tyler Post Bridges, 48; Job’s daughter, Moses’ sister 
August 2 Mary Post, 28; Mary’s daughter August 25 Susannah Post, 31; Mary’s stepdaughter 
August 25 Hannah Post, 26;Mary’s daughter August 25 Sarah Bridges, 17; Mary’s stepdaughter *7th great grandma
August 25 Mary Bridges, Jr., 13; Mary’s daughter *8th great aunt
August 31 Mary Parker, 55; John Tyler’s (Job’s son) mother-in-law 
September 7 Mary Lovett Tyler, 40; Hopestill Tyler’s (Job’s son) wife 
September 7 Hannah Tyler, 14; Mary and Hopestill’s daughter 
September 7 Joanna Tyler, 11; Mary and Hopestill’s daughter 
September 7 Martha Tyler, 11; Mary and Hopestill’s daughter

Of the ones listed above; all were imprisoned, found not guilty and released in 1693. The only exception was Mary Parker who was hanged 22 Sep 1692. 

The rest of the family during this time, did not escape the witch hysteria. John's brother Edmund (1637-1682) married Sarah Towne (1637-1703). They had nine children before his death. Sarah Towne Bridges then married Peter Cloyce (1640-1708) and they had three children. 

In 1692 Sarah Cloyce was accused and imprisoned for witchcraft. Her sister Rebecca Towne Nurse (1620/1-1692) was also accused of witchcraft and was executed on 19 Jul 1692. Another sister Mary Towne Estey (1634-1692) was hanged on 22 Sep 1692. Sarah escaped execution.

This is a very unpleasant part of our family history and certainly one I didn't expect. Rather than wipe it away, I want to learn about it. Grow from it and keep this from happening again. 

In Search of Great Great Grandma Eunice

Working on a family tree not the easiest thing I've ever done but it is rewarding to find the connections and sometimes even pictures of long lost family. Conversely, it is frustrating when you're not able to find documentation on relatives. Much like Nessie or Sasquatch, my great, great grandmother seems to be an urban legend. The only tangible proof of her existence is a photo and her children. As far as anyone has been able to tell, she doesn't even have a tombstone. I know it's a long shot but I'm hoping if I share her information in a blog, someone could see it and be able to help me connect her with family. 

Eunice Lovejoy

Her name before she married my great, great grandfather Lauren Lovejoy was Eunice Eleanor Linsey. So far, I've been assuming that is her maiden name but I'm beginning to have my doubts. 

She was born between 1822 and 1825 in New York(slight possibility of Ohio), according to her census responses. She also lists both parents birthplace as New York. 

She married Lauren Lovejoy in Steuben County Indiana on December 3, 1846. She would have likely been 21 at the time so there is a slight chance that the Linsey name could be from a previous marriage. While we're talking about the Linsey surname, there are several ways that name is spelled in various records. Linsey, Linsley, Linzy, Lindsey, Lindsay etc doesn't make this any easier. 

Lauren and Eunice's first child, Rosetta Jane (Colby) was born in Steuben County Indiana in 1853 so the family seems to have settled there for at least six years. According to the 1860 census, they lived in Caledonia, Michigan which is where their second child, Henrietta Estella (Beckett) is born in 1862. 

They seem to have stayed in Michigan from that point forward. Their third child Willard Winfield Lovejoy was also born in Michigan in 1864.

According to Lauren's obituary, his wife, Eunice E Linzy, passed away in 1884 in Michigan. After Eunice passed, Lauren moved to Rising Sun, Nebraska where he live until his death in 1894. Willard married Alice Adora Faurot in Nebraska in 1888 and later moved back to Michigan.  

There are a couple of families I can see as a potential connection but still no supporting documentation. Martin and Rachel(Butler) Lindsey had a daughter named Eunice who would be the right age but I'm not able to make a connection. Miron Linsey appears in each location and even registered for the civil war draft at the same time as Lauren and James Lovejoy. Miron could be a brother. 

I'm hoping someone will read this and recognize Eunice as a relative of theirs and be able to connect her to her parents and siblings. I have been to most genealogy and state websites looking for any records of her birth and so far, have found nothing. 

To Write or Not to Write

Since I was young, I've wanted to be a writer. Actually, I've always known I am a writer. I just haven't done anything noteworthy to prove it. It's puzzled me for a long time why I just don't write. Well, I do write some but I mean really write something substantial. 

Sometimes I feel like I might be a little ADD. I'll have what I consider a great idea for a story and start writing it and lose interest. Maybe the characters aren't developing how I see them or I can't quite find the right next step to the story. Sometimes I can't write fast enough to keep up with the ideas and start losing them.

I'm very critical of my own writing so there's a good chance that my interest fades when I start to feel that it isn't worth reading. Part of my problem is that the words will just flow sometimes and I feel that it's too easy. It can't be good because it's not challenging me. 

The what if's start. What if no one likes it? What if no one reads it? What if it's not good? I know that in most areas of my life that other people's opinions matter way too much. If I think of a story that's really wild or outside the norm, part of me is always worried about the judgment of others. 

In my mind, I want to be a rebel who doesn't care what others think. I want to let myself go in writing. Embrace a fantasy world that gives me the chance to put everything out there for the world to read. Then the what if's and what will people think of me. Then everything stops. 

Oddly enough, time is not an issue for me. I haven't been able to work for the past few years and honestly, I've wasted a great deal of good writing time. I know the reason for that. While writing can be a job or career, for me it's fun. I seem to be punishing myself for not being able to work by not writing. Writing feels like taking time off from the real world to do something fun. People spend years in school learning to do what they're passionate about but, for me, it feels like cheating.

Another issue I have is that I've found a lot of people in my circle don't respect the process of a writer. 'If I'm typing, I'm working' just doesn't seem to sink in with them. I should be able to stop my thoughts to respond to them. It tends to belittle the whole process. Writing is an art form and writers are unique. Maybe it's just hard for people who don't have something they're passionate about to understand, you need to write when the ideas come. 

Maybe all of the above are just excuses for a lack of self-confidence or lack of skill. I'm certainly worried that I'll find out I have no talent. I guess only time will tell if I have anything to offer a reader. I need to get started and find out for sure.