It's time for The Daily Gripe, from Average Joe American.
But first, an update on The Daily Gripe #1. I promised to let you know what happened to the price of gas this week after it jumped twenty cents at one station just in time for the weekend. I predicted that the price would be back down by today. Yesterday, the price had dropped two cents to $2.979. Today came the big shocker: $3.059 for a gallon of eighty-seven octane. I guess I was wrong.
And now, today's Daily Gripe.
My wife's new stove was delivered today. Once again I left work early so I could be here for the delivery "after five." They were supposed to call before delivering, so I raced home through country traffic -- I don't care what anyone says, country traffic is just as bad as city traffic. Ever get stuck behind a farm implement on a busy two-lane highway going less than twenty miles an hour? I rest my case. I raced home, my speed ranging from twenty to seventy-five, and pulled in the driveway at 5:10. My wife informed me that the delivery people hadn't called yet, so I began to quickly change clothes. With my belt undone and my zipper down, my wife called from the front room to say they had arrived.
That really gripes me! Do they not understand that people with pets and/or small children need a few moments to prepare before taking such a delivery as a major appliance? There's more: I asked them to move the old stove (range, whatever) onto the back deck because we're going to give it away. They hesitantly agreed, as if I had asked them to deliver the stove to another address for free. So after the new range was hooked up and in place (I had to level it myself after they left), I offered them a five dollar tip for their troubles. To their credit, they politely refused, but I insisted. "Take it for moving the old stove," I said. After seeing them off and locking the gate, I returned to the house to find the five dollar bill abandoned on the kitchen table. Why? Was it too small a tip to be worthwhile? Or are they not permitted to accept tips? If that's the case, they could have told me so.
Nevertheless, the new stove is in and my wife is breaking it in with a special dinner.
Joe
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
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1 comment:
As a husband, I understand your feelings completely. I recently learned that many, many years ago my mother-in-law was trying to convince my wife to leave me because we didn’t own a house yet. Meddling mothers-in-law make great long-distance relatives.
As the father of a daughter, however, I understand the concern about the finances of our children. My daughter’s husband is a pretty good guy (though not good enough for her – because no one could be). But I do worry about what I see as bad financial choices that happen too frequently for my comfort level.
Having said that, I must also note that I have never asked them how much they paid for a stove…
But that brings me to point of curiosity. Why is that we (all of us, not just Average Joe) are very comfortable telling the price of something that is a great bargain, but we feel uncomfortable mentioning a standard, fair price for something we buy? I’ve experienced the same thing myself, so I know if happens. But when reading your blog, I was struck by the curiosity of “why?”.
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