Chronicles Continued

…of sorts.  It has been ‘sitting’ with me, the $40. swindle; so today was the day.  I had to be  near Canal Street, again, so decided to confront the perfume seller.  I walked into his shop, it was easy to remember where it was, and handed him the perfume box with bottle inside and said “you sold me a fake, and I want my $50. back.”  The following 39 minutes went like this: He pretended at first he didn’t know to what I was referring.  I explained that the box had come out of a specific drawer.  He said he owed me nothing, and didn’t I want another perfume of which he had a wall full, he would make an exchange.  I explained in a somewhat raised voice that once a fool, I certainly wasn’t going to take a second bottle.  He tried to ignore me.  I told him, I would sit and wait for my $50. and if he didn’t return it, I would go to the police.  It was a Pakistani stand off from there on.  I told him that I would explain to each customer that entered his store, exactly why I was there.  When two separate customers entered and began to talk perfume with him, I piped up: “Would you like to know why I am here?” and proceeded to educate them.  After two of those, he gave me $20 and said ‘leave’.  I said, ‘$50 is what is owed to me, but I would leave for $40’.  The Asians with whom he shared the shop [four of them] where clearly not pleased with the energy I was bringing to the scene.  Two more customers came in, looked around and when asked if they could be helped, replied ‘no’ and left.  He gave me a $5 bill and said,”now get out, you are harming my business and I will call the police”.  “Oh”.  I said, “Please do call them, it saves me the trouble.  I will wait here, as I am not leaving.  You got $50. from me, sold me a fake, and I want my money back.”  He tried all sorts of arguments:  1. I was in the wrong shop.  I pointed to the drawer from where he had withdrawn the box.  Challenged him to open it.  He didn’t.  2.  I didn’t have a receipt, he said.  I said “I asked for one, and you wouldn’t give me one.  3.  Pointed to sign posted high above door that reads: ‘no refunds, no exchange’.  ‘Yes’, I said, ‘If the articles you are selling were real”.  4.  Finally he says, “Everyone is selling fakes, I don’t know where you got it, and you come to me”.  “Yes”, I said, We white folks all look alike and no one ever returns to confront you and so you think I’ll go away, but I don’t live in Ohio, I live in NY and I can wait it out and discuss my fake with your customers.  5.  ‘You’re crazy!’  he says. ” No”, replied I, “Not crazy just determined to have my $50 back.” and I resumed my seat on the step stool in his shop.  In the meantime, the Asians with whom his ‘wall’ is shared were talking among themselves and were agitated.  Another two customers enter.  The weather is dark and rainy outside.  He goes to the door, he paces. I sit.  I don’t look at him, I don’t speak with him, I don’t read a book or look at my smart phone.  I sit determinedly.  Waiting.  I realize that I am willing to wait an indefinite amount of time.  At that moment in time, when I had not been paying attention to him for at least 5 minutes, without warning he comes to where I am sitting, holds out $10.  I take it.  I now have a total of $35.  I give him the perfume box.  I leave.  Since I had originally paid him $40.  I am content to live with a $5 lesson.

Bundles of wood for wood-burning fireplaces like mine.  You see the size of the bundle; easily carried home.  Price $9-11.  Think:  might be just as ‘inexpensive’ to roll up the dollars and burn them, and they are less bulky to transport.

Always use a PO Box, as it has proven over the years to be the safest/most direct access to my mail.  Recently was out of the city and returned to find the doors to the building of the Post Office bent and the glass shattered.  And my held mail inside.  Of course it was no longer inside… it was at another PO, much farther away.  Life in the City.

The NBC report:    “Authorities are investigating after a car hit a parked taxi, jumped the curb and smashed through the front of a post office in the West Village early Monday. Chopper 4 showed debris and shattered glass on the sidewalk in front of the post office on Hudson Street … around 4:30 a.m.  Police said there were no life-threatening injuries.”  NBC

Before you rush out to the cinema to watch Tom Hanks play a sea captain captured by Somali pirates, rent [by some means or another] the film “Stolen Seas”.  [Find it on itunes among others].  This documentary gives a wondrously big picture on the entire situation.  Thoughtful and far better than a made up story.   The real story is always more compelling!

This City is really just a village.

In the event you only get the address and not the video…trust me on this one, copy and paste.

The super men and women, the devils, vampires, princesses, witches, japanese king and queen, elves, zombies and what-not were all over the subway cars after midnight.  The costumes were outrages and fun.  But the most authentic?  Well, the two guys who boarded at 42nd, and stood for the ride,  why they looked exactly like two cops, even carried guns that looked real.  Of course I complimented them on their costumes.

Never thought about it, until I saw this man busily washing the bus stop plexiglas walls one night.

To my surprise, even gardens in the village are dressed to celebrate.  Or, is that a neighborly spat gone wrong?

Everytime I come across the wagon loads of cans that have been liberated from the garbage, I am amazed at how much schlepping is done to get these back to the deposit points.  Money hard earned.

‘There are no free lunches.’ ‘ If it looks too good to be true…’  ‘A fool and her money are soon…” and there must be a few more.  Found myself on Canal Street, where fakes and knock-offs are sold.  One of those rash moments – bought a bottle of parfum.  Then with box and bottle beside me at the computer, did the research.  Totally scammed.  I’ll save myself further humiliation of giving more details, but buyer beware.  I knew, I knew I knew…and as one reviewer says, it smells like aftershave.  And when you finally see where the differences are in the packaging and the bottle, it seems so obvious.  And once again it reinforces for me, what lousy eye-witnesses we all are.  We only see what we know, not what is necessarily the truth.  How scary is that.